by John Stenderup | Jul 12, 2018 | K2
Our tent worked out great, despite our original skepticism, and allowed us another good night of sleep. Geoff and I spent the entire morning watching movies and editing pictures on my iPad. Garrett popped in our tent and we ended up chatting for about an hour,...
by John Stenderup | Jul 12, 2018 | K2
Two great nights of sleep in a row! Sleep is so critical in the mountains to maintain health, as well as peak physical and mental performance. I regularly check my O2 saturation and I’m currently running around 65%. This might sound alarming to most but considering...
by John Stenderup | Jul 12, 2018 | K2
It’s amazing what good sleep does for your psyche. Usually, sleep when moving up in elevation can be a real challenge, especially during the first night and when making a big leap, like 4,000 vertical feet. My night’s sleep was just the opposite of difficult, I was...
by John Stenderup | Jul 12, 2018 | K2
I’ve always done my best to be honest with you, regarding the events that transpire on the mountain and how they affect my psyche. What you read is my personal journal, I don’t keep any side records. The problem with this approach is that my emotions are tied to these...
by John Stenderup | Jul 10, 2018 | K2
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by John Stenderup | Jul 6, 2018 | K2
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous before a climb, especially on the “Mountain of Mountains”. The nerves are some combination of the eager butterflies before a football game, self doubt, and fear of the unknown. For that reason, I have a kind of ritual...
by John Stenderup | Jul 5, 2018 | K2
First things first. I want to wish my wonderful Sister a happy birthday! Even though she is 2 1/2 years younger than me, she has always been my rock. Believe it or not, when I was younger, I was incredibly shy. At the ages of 6 and 4, I was often too afraid to ask...
by John Stenderup | Jul 5, 2018 | K2
Disclaimer: For my Non-American citizen readers out there, I won’t blame you for skipping this journal but you might find it interesting to delve into the oxygen deprived mind of a proud American from a small farming town in California! Happy Independence Day to all...
by John Stenderup | Jul 5, 2018 | K2
Today was a great day full of 4 firsts: 1) We caught our first glimpse of the summit of K2. 2) We made our first trip to Advanced Basecamp (ABC). 3) We had our first Pakistani BBQ. 4) Last but far from least, I had my first shower! 1. Breakfast was moved up from 8 AM...
by John Stenderup | Jun 29, 2018 | K2
8 Miles / 15,000>16,400 ft After 6 days, 65 miles, and 7,000 feet of elevation gain, I’m home! Our team arrived to our Basecamp around 11 AM today and despite sitting just a few hundred yards from the base of the 2nd tallest mountain in the world, we still have yet...
