A sincere thanks to all of you who have followed along with me on the 2009 Gasherbrum III Expedition.

As reported form Pakistan, we did not summit, but managed to establish a route up the lower west face of GIII. We then traversed back into the cwm to 7300meters before Bruce Normand came down with a debilitating altitude illness. When his blood-oxygen saturation dropped to below 40%, things got a little dicey. Despite zero visibility and many harrowing rappels down the center of the icefall, we all managed to make it back to our high camp. As I reported in my last dispatch, Bruce is a very strong guy - and he stuck it out despite his severely weakened state. We now look back to that time with typical climber nonchalantness - a resident (and convenient) characteristic of those who continue to push the limits of higher exploration.

A few days after getting back to base camp, we planned to return to Camp 2 to retrieve our tents and gear. Before our departure I managed to contract some flu-like sickness, so my partners headed up without me. A clear weather window enticed the boys to make another summit shot, and despite being very tired from our prior attempt they made it back up to our high point of 7300meters. Look up the word "stubbornness" in the dictionary to see images from this attempt. Yet, despite sunny days and a promising forecast, the fatigue of altitude forced them back down; a strong effort in my book.

A few days later we left base camp for home. (FYI- for security reasons I don't report our travel progress in Pakistan.)

A special thanks to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, and support for us during those difficult days on the mountain. Also, a special thanks to my expedition partners: Bruce Normand, Guy McKinnon and Billy Pierson for their commitment, drive, and teamwork. Spirit fingers everybody. (Spirit fingers: See video if you don't get that---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDbnkfHtD_E

Next on the agenda for me is a K2 Multimedia Presentation speaking tour - coming to a theater near you. As new dates and specific locations are confirmed they will be added to the events calendar on this website (click on "events" on top tool bar). Here's a quick synopsis of dates and places:

Sept 15-Oct 6th  Northern Europe.
Oct 6- Oct 31st  Midwest USA
Nov 10th-Dec1st  Western Canada

If you are in these regions and interested in booking this presentation at your school, club, charity event, corporation, baby shower, etc., please contact Jill at info@calpinist.com.

Hope to see you out there!

Don