Dispatch 11 – Trek from Urdukas (4052m/13,292ft) to Goro II (4305m/14,124ft)

Nick in Goro II with the magnificent Mashabrum in the background
Nick in Goro II with the magnificent Mashabrum in the background

Today, we woke up early, had a quick breakfast and started toward Goro II. The morning was again cool but around 9am, we were blessed with views of Mashabrum and the peaks surrounding Concordia (Mitre Peak, Marble Peak and Gasherbrum IV). We broke for lunch at Goro I (4232m/13,886ft) and continued on to Goro II (4305m/14,124ft), arriving before noon. We waited endlessly for our porters and donkeys to arrive with our equipment. When they finally did, we quickly set up camp. High winds began blowing as soon as we started putting up the tents. It snowed in the afternoon and cleared up again in the evening, affording us views of Mashabrum at sunset. We went to sleep early. Fida will leave around 3:30am tomorrow morning to see about recruiting porters at Concordia to ferry the loads carried up to this point by horses and donkeys. We have heard that the route from Concordia to Gasherbrum Base Camp has up to three feet of snow in some parts. Hopefully, he will be successful in getting the porters and we can arrive on time to Base Camp with all of our equipment.