After that gruelling 12 hour day going to K2 Base Camp, we had a "rest day" at Concordia, a chance to relax and "smell the roses". We actually got to sleep in -- breakfast wasn't until a luxurious 7:30 a.m. Most of us used the time to catch up on journals, do some laundry, and just "hang out." Another prime activity was photography, as the setting was just stunning; we were surrounded on all sides by a collection of spectacular peaks.

Here is the panorama of mountains that surrounded us. You can click on each individual photo to see a larger view. In two of the photographs (first and third from the left) you can see our campsite, tiny dots of color among the rocks on the glacier. The setting was starkly fantastic.

Glacial River YES, that's the telephone wire!		So, what did we do on our "rest day"? We went for a walk, of course. A short one -- about two hours. We were led by one of the porters named Asin who took us around and through the ice-world of Concordia.The scenes, as you can see, were fantastic. Icebergs and crystal clear glacial rivers. Keep in mind that the sun was burning hot all day; this made clambering around in the snow all the more surreal.		Icebergs
				Our Snow Guide

K2 from Concordia

But always our inspiration came from the magnificent and daunting view of K2 from Concordia. We were lucky to have such spectacular weather at Concordia. The group before us spent three days there completely socked in, in a thick fog, and never got a glimpse of K2, or any of the other mountains for that matter.

Washer Women

On a more mundane note, Alison and Rona take care of some laundry in the streams of glacial run-off. You can not imagine how absolutely freezing this water is. You could barely keep your hands in it long enough to rinse out a sock without losing the feeling in your fingers.

Last Supper

Our last night at Concordia we had an especially celebratory dinner, with the most magnificent view from the dining tent. Our trusty "KE" mugs are front and center. These were provided to us by the company that organized our trip, KE Adventures, and were used for everything from soup to tea. Washing them out between courses at dinner with ice water always left the tea tasting somewhat like vegetable soup at the end of the meal.