It didn't take long for the Dreamers Destination team to set off on their summit push on Broad Peak. Yesterday I reported that the squad had left K2 Base Camp, but rather than begin the long trek back down the Baltoro Glacier and head for home, they had set their sites on returning to BP instead. The team arrived there later in the day, and immediately went up to 7000 meters (22,965 ft) where it now appears they are already eyeing the a dash to the top.According to team leader Mingma G, the 10-member group is now ready to go for the summit. As I mentioned yesterday, all of the climbers are well acclimated after spending time on Broad Peak earlier in the season and summiting K2 last week. Here's what Mingma had to say on his Facebook page:
"We are in 7000m. We 10 climbers plan to start at 8pm for summit push. Broad Peak will be my 11th 8000m peak and 10th 8000m without oxygen. more news will be given tomorrow morning."So, it seems they are about to begin the long ascent to the top. The weather forecast looks promising for the next day or two, and while the team is exhausted from a long season in the Karakoram, it appears they aren't ready to call it quits just yet. If all goes as planned, they should reach the summit sometime in the next couple of days, adding yet one more major mountain to their resumes.
If the group is successful, and Mingma is amongst those who top out, it will cap what has been an amazing year for him so far. In addition to K2, he has already summited Makalu and Dahulagiri, and has a potential summit on Nanga Parbat under his belt too. I say potential, because bad weather made it difficult to determine if the team actually made it to the true summit of the mountain, but they were certainly close. Broad Peak would be his fourth confirmed 8000 meter peak this year alone however.
We'll continue to keep a close eye on progress. We should know more soon.
