Bad Weather at K2 Base Camp

The third of July. Sitting in base camp while it snows and blows outside. We've been here eleven days and have only gotten one good day of climbing in. Made a carry to base camp and, in the interest of the expedition, I left my camera behind and carried more rope instead. We had hoped to finish fixing line to camp 2 today and tomorrow, but bad weather has moved in early.

This morning I awoke to the sound of snow on my tent. Knowing that meant we wouldn't climb, I stayed in my sleeping bag until breakfast at 8:00 AM. In the morning it was frigid and windy and I wore several pair of long johns, boots, a down parka, balaclava and hat. By noon the temperature inside our tent was up to 95°F (35°C) as the sun tried poking out. Now it's snowing again and quite cold. It's a bit annoying, constantly having to put layers on and take them off off as the temperature fluctuates wildly.

We have ten climbers here, each with their own tent. Then there's our dining tent, with a long table and chairs, and our kitchen tent where three guys work most of the day to keep everyone fed. We also have a nice dome tent, a Marmot Lair, which is about seven feet high in the middle and a nice, warm place to hang out during these snowy days. It's where I'm tapping out this message now.

That's it for now. We're probably snowed in for another couple of days, so shooting lots of tent interiors and snowdrifts.