Skardu, Pakistan

The team is now complete. Joel Shalowitz survived his journey through the bowels of JFK Airport's baggage system, and crawled onto the plane with his bags. Three days, three train rides and three flights were all it took for him to get from Charm City to Skardu, Pakistan.

Don Bowie and Chris Stensland, along with the trekking gang and our cargo, journeyed up the Indus River valley, following the Karakorum Highway. Their journey spanned two days, crammed in a hot bus, watching the people and the landscape change as they climbed into the mountains of Baltistan.

Meanwhile, PV, Bruce and I exercised our executive privileges and enjoyed a comfortable 45 minute sight seeing flight, from Islamabad, past Mt. Nanga Parbat, and directly to Skardu.

Together, finally, we spent the last two days repacking 2000 pounds of gear, clothes and food into 55 pound porter loads. Among the things: a gallon of salsa, two car batteries, 7000 feet of rope, 16 sleeping bags, 55 gas cartridges, 80 ice screws and 19 pounds of coffee. And this doesn't account for the 2000 pounds of food and toilet paper that the cooks have already organized.

These two days together have been invaluable. It is the side conversations, the problem solving initiatives and the shared workloads that form a climbing team. If there was a single, shared feeling, it is: this is an excellent team. The depth of experience and the quiet confidence that everyone possesses, will serve us well when things get tough.

We are eager to get moving toward our goal. Tomorrow, before dawn, we will pile into jeeps and drive the 8 hours of dirt roads, often in 4 wheel drive, to the trailhead. From experience, with the road likely to be washed out by mudslides, it will be an adventure.

Chris Warner