The start to the Barrards' K2 expedition was not a promising one: Maurice and Liliane had left their entire expedition budget -- thousands of dollars plus airline tickets and passports on the backseat of a taxi! Everything was sorted out in due course, and the Barrards, Wanda Rutkiewicz and Parmentier arrived at the K2 motel at about the same time as Alan Rouse's British expedition, then headed to Base Camp.