Dispatch 21 – Descent from Camp II (6417m/21,052ft) to Base Camp (5083m/16,676ft)

Simone descending toward Camp I (6000m/19,685ft) in the pre-dawn hours of the morning.
Simone descending toward Camp I (6000m/19,685ft) in the pre-dawn hours of the morning.

Today, we woke up at 2:00am, ate breakfast, and packed up our equipment in Camp II. The night had been windy and spindrift had filled in the small wind screen I had made from snow for my stove. Luckily, when it was time to get out of the tent, the winds had calmed and a half-moon lit the way. The three of us quickly began descending through the ice fall toward Camp I. The route had been partially obscured by the wind and spindrift so we had to route find in a few sections. We arrived to Camp I in just under an hour and a half. I quickly unpacked the gear I will leave in Camp I and changed out of my down pants into gore tex for the remainder of the descent to Base Camp. We left Camp I at 5:20am and made our way quickly towards base camp, the thought of a hot breakfast and a shower driving our pace. We arrived at 8am. I was met on the glacier close to base camp by the other member of my base camp team, Harald Hablacher (Austria), who had just arrived. We spoke briefly as I continued toward base camp. Upon arriving, I had a Pakistani tea, quickly showered, and then had breakfast. Next I went up to visit with Ferran. We made plans for the coming good weather window to go directly from Base Camp to Camp II and fix the route in the Japanese Couloir, and if weather and snow conditions allow it, perhaps make a summit attempt. After chatting with Ferran, I got into a political conversation with their liaison officer. Our thoughts on US-Pakistan relations aligned well. Afterwards, I rushed back to my base camp for lunch, chatted more with my new Austrian companion, and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and drying my climbing equipment. I will spend the next few days of bad weather recovering in base camp and preparing for a potential summit push.