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SEE ALSO
Greenland '99
Denali '99
Ed Viesturs
Climbs 8K Peaks
Everest '99
Everest Archives
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Editor's Note: Tommy Heinrich was to report on his attempt on K2 this summer, but the tragic death of his companion in an accident has resulted in his attempting Broad Peak instead.
Stuck Between a Truck
...And a Rock Wall
Sunday, July 4, 1999
Well, we arrived to Skardu today. Piotr Pustelnik arrived to Pakistan on Thursday, but his luggage did not, so we had to wait for two more days in Islamabad. Since flights from Islamabad to Skardu had been cancelled quite often during the past few days, we decided to take a bus and drive for two days on the Karakoram highway.
On the way we encountered an army truck carrying a tractor in a very narrow and steep section of the road, too narrow for both vehicles to fit properly. The nervous truck driver, concerned about falling 1000 feet into the Indus river, drove as close as he could to us, getting us stuck between the rock wall and the tractor, denting the sides of our bus. Our driver Mohammed Ali, patiently got off the bus and guided the other one...back, forward, back, forward...finally out of the mess...
Shuckrya, 'thank you' in Urdu, was the last thing he said before getting back behind the wheel. Amazing when you consider that this would have ended in a big fight in our culture.
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| "Shuckrya, 'thank you' in Urdu, was the last thing he said before getting back behind the wheel. Amazing when you consider that this would have ended in a big fight in our culture..." |
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Tomorrow, early, we will be on our way to the village of Askole by jeep, and from there six days of hiking will lead our way to Base Camp. Piotr will be left at Broad Peak Base Camp, only one hour from K2 Base Camp. This will be Piotr's second attempt on Broad Peak, after last year where he took a 1200-foot fall that he walked away from with a few bruises, a broken rib, and very tired.
He is once again, getting back on the horse that bucked him off...
— Tommy Heinrich, MountainZone.com Correspondent
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