K2 2015 Coverage: Climbing Begins

The Karakorum climbing season is settling down to actual climbing with a few climbers already at Camp 1 on K2 and others preparing to begin on Broad Peak. Still others are now starting their trek to the base camps. Thus the area is filled with activity as the weather made a sudden switch from snow and cold to hot and sunny

Welcome to the Karakorum!

Climbers at Camp 1

Mike Horn’s small team were the first to arrive at K2 Base Camp last week and were greeted by heavy snow and cold temps. But over the past couple of days the clouds have left to make way for sunny skies and warm temps. Taking advantage of this, they climbed to Camp 1 at 6050 meters or 19, 965 feet. I’m sure they will enjoy having the pick of the tiny space to pitch their tents to their liking.

The climb to Camp 1 on K2 is perhaps a simple yet strong introduction to what lies above. The climb starts from Advanced Base Camp up a fairly steep snow slope. You hug the rocks as snow avalanches are common to the climber’s right. After about a 1,000 feet you switch from snow to rock as the terrain shifts even steeper. This continues all the way to Camp 1.

It is a stark introduction to the mountain and will not get easier than what they are experiencing now. It will get steeper, rockier, with more rock fall and snow avalanches plus higher altitude, strong winds and colder temps.

Mike Horn made two tweets that summed up the conditions well:

Sleeping in camp1 tonight, will try and push higher tomorrow if snow allows

and a few hours later

We reached close to 6000m. Very bad weather. Avalanche danger too high. Skied down.

Welcome to K2!

Teams Spreading out

Meanwhile Russell Brice’s Himex team has announced they will forgo the Abruzi route, where Mike and his team are in favor of the less climbed Česen Route aka Basque Route. Their Sherpas began today to establish the route with fixed ropes. They ran a bit short of their Camp 1 goal but will return tomorrow.

The Česen route is a bit more direct thus steeper than the Abruzi but is extremely avalanche prone. In 2014, one small team attempted it but never made it to the summit.

Fabrizio Zangrilli, perhaps the most experienced person on K2 has made six attempts on K2, most on the Česen with no summits as he told in this excellent Rock and Ice interview and on ExplorersWeb. He experienced heavy snow, avalanches and rescues that thwarted his attempts.

The Česen or also called the South-Southeast Spur or the Basque Spur avoids the Black Pyramid and Houses Chimney, two of the most challenging, and fun, parts of climbing K2 by the Abruzzi.

That Himex has chosen this route is not a surprise as there are an estimated 125 people on the mountains this year, all using the same route, the Abruzi Spur. As I pointed out in previous posts, tent space at Camps 1 and 2 are very limited thus with so many people, there is a high risk of competition and over crowding.

Brice has a strong team of Sherpas, and Pakistani High Altitude Porters, so they stand a good chance of making the route work, if the avalanche danger is not too high. This is one of the significant changes to how K2 is being climbed this year: overpowering the mountain with manpower and then letting the members follow the fixed route.

In any event,  wishes to all regardless of route for a long weather window and good conditions.

Climb On!

Alan

Memories are Everything