An hour later Don had these thoughts on the trip to C4:

Thursday, 2:30 pm

It was a great day, but it was a tough day though - you know K2 has really not given us any easy days.   It's really amazing - once again we had super deep snow, waist deep in places and bottomless in other places...but this time we had the help of a number of different people including members of the Russian and Korean teams, Joao and Amin, and the three of us, so it was much easier slogging up these slopes.  The weather was fantastic, the views spectacular, and we're just excited to be here - we've been staring up at K2 and at the bottleneck with a sense of excitement about going for that summit and a sense of fear because it certainly looks nasty.

The Camp 3 ½ we created last night was mystical and amazing - but we got beat up severely by the wind all night long - I've never seen a tent that was so encased in ice and snow.  Fortunately, in the morning as we starting getting ready, the sun was shining and dried everything out.  In leaving, we kind of dragged our feet a bit on purpose waiting for some of the other teams from Camp 3 to catch up - we needed those people because we would take a beating breaking the trail again by ourselves.

Joao and Amin started things off by getting out early and kicking the first steps out toward Camp 4.  Then our team caught up with them at a pretty steep section where they all rested. Then I took the lead for a bit and we started fixing ropes on that section for the teams behind, as well as a precaution for us when we're knackered coming back down.  By that time, two of the Korean Team and a few Sherpas reached our position. Shortly after, Bruce, the Koreans and Joao continued the push to Camp 4. Two Russian climbers then reached the group and assisted with the upward progress.  I'd like to add that not only is the added dimension of working with members from other teams from other countries exciting for us, it is required - the snow conditions up here would have left us so tired that we likely would not have made it this far.  There are some really strong climbers up here and it's going to be a real benefit and privilege to be part of this international team going for the summit.

At this point, it's very pleasant up here especially in the tent - the solar radiation is pretty powerful up here.  We have the two JetBoils heating water and for the next few hours, we're just going to get hydrated, try to take some naps, encourage each other, and get ready for our summit push around midnight.   I'd also like to add how appreciative we are for the support we're getting.  We can feel the prayers and the good wishes from the people back home and those who have been following along on the Shared Summits and other websites. We thank you and feel you are with us on the shoulder right now.

(Times are local, UTC/GMT +5 hours.)