Today, I woke up at 5:30am, packed up my bag, and headed down for an early breakfast in the lobby restaurant of my hotel. I then loaded my bag onto a van that was packed with Chinese tourists that had missed their flight the previous day, and headed to the airport. I checked in, cleared security, and then waited anxiously at the gate hoping that the flight wouldn’t be cancelled. The flight from Islamabad to Skardu on Pakistan International Airways is notorious for being cancelled if there’s even a single cloud in the sky in Skardu. They usually blame the cancellation on the fact that Skardu airport does not have GPS, but it is normally due to funding issues that prevents them from operating the flight. I was relieved as we were called to board the aircraft but knew that the flight could be turned around mid-air. I didn’t believe that we would make it until we landed in Skardu. Upon arrival, I registered with the police in the airport, then retrieved my bag and met Akbar outside the terminal. We made our way through town and to the hotel where I had lunch and met another American climber (Kelly Soohoo) who is climbing on the Gasherbrums. We spent the afternoon talking. After sunset, I had Iftar with Akbar and Manzoor’s brother at the Dawan-E-Khas restaurant (my favorite restaurant in Skardu) and then turned in for the night.