Today, I woke up at 5:00am, packed up my equipment, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, then loaded up the jeeps and departed for Askole. The road as far as Shigar is paved, but after that, the track is very rugged and washed out in parts. However, compared with other years, the journey went very smoothly (no broken bridges or landslides along the way) and we arrived to Askole in just seven hours. I was pleased to meet Jorge Egochega and Martin Ramos in Dasu (where we stopped for lunch). I climbed with these two Spaniards on Annapurna in 2010. Once in Askole, I was pleasantly surprised to find my camp already set up as Akbar had departed earlier in the morning to get things prepared. I visited with Badia and Mauricio, then had a delicious dinner in the kitchen tent before turning in early for the night. Tomorrow, we finally begin the seven-day trek to K2 base camp. After sitting for endless hours on planes and in the jeep, it will be a relief to get some exercise in the coming days.