Dispatch 20: Rest Day in Base Camp

Dhaulagiri viewed from Base Camp in bad weather

Today, I woke up at 8:00am, iced my leg, took another NSAID to reduce swelling, and hobbled over to the mess tent for breakfast. My leg felt a bit better in the morning, which gave me hope that it would recover before the next weather window for our upcoming acclimatization cycle. We all showered, ate lunch, and watched as our weather forecast materialized with snow in the afternoon. Dhaula (the dog) showed up in the afternoon, whimpering with excitement when she saw Eva and I. I spent the remainder of the day organizing gear for our upcoming climb to Camp III, maintaining optimism that my leg will heal and that I will be able to continue my expedition on Dhaulagiri. Dhaula spent the night in Eva’s base camp tent’s vestibule, sheltered from the snow.