Winter K2 Update: Nirmal Purja to Attempt High Camp

Black Pyramid

Nirmal Purja and his Sherpa team arrived at Base Camp and almost immediately announced they would fix the ropes on the Black Pyramid, leveraging the work of John Snorri Sigurjonsson with Muhammad Ali Sadpara and his son Sajid Ali who fixed to C1 and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa with two Sherpa teammates who fixed the ropes to the traditional Camp 2 above House’s Chimney.

Big Christmas Winds

Mingma G reported a tough night, Christmas, at Base Camp:

Last night, We had terrible night. We woke up whole the night watching at the tents. Wind didn’t stop whole night and still continus….Having good rest here. Lol

Nim’s Plan

Nirmal Purja revealed some of his plans, but no details on who is with him. It’s assumed to be his team from the 8000er project and, apparently, also no clients. He made this update:

Admin day at the Basecamp today. It’s pretty hard core to set up personal tents, Comms tents and of course the dinning tents making our base camp as homely as possible in a very short time. I must admit it’s pretty cold as we are also having a slightly bad weather today at the base camp with the wind speed upto 45km/hr. We also have one million camera equipment to charge tonight before we head out early morning tomorrow Plan of attack – Tomorrow morning me and my team will head up to the higher camps. Depending on the situation, we are hoping to get upto Camp 4 and fix lines in the next couple of days. Game is on folks
I would not be surprised to see Nirmal Purja summit before Wednesday, weather allowing as I’ll describe in a moment. Also, he is said to be climbing without supplemental oxygen and planning to paraglide off the summit. Both of these are unconfirmed. Recall that Nirmal Purja and team were the first to summit last July, 2020.

Weather Window

The forecast according to MountainForecast.com calls for mind-numbing cold temps and horrific wind chills approaching -100F.  That said, this is usually worse-case with extreme gusts and there appears to be a window starting Sunday, December 27 through Wednesday, December 30 so I expect everyone already at Base Camp to take advantage of this unusual pattern

Also from Windy.com

Other Teams

Tamara Lunger and Alex Găvan issued a press release on their plans with this money quote:

“Tamara and myself are not here for the race of whom will be the first to the top of K2 in winter. Still more, we are not interested in this race and we do not belong to any kind of summit rush and fever. We are not in any kind of competion with other teams on the mountain but bringing our energy and equipment instead for collaboration to work up the route in the spirit of abundance, generosity and altruism. It is my deep belief that mountains are to be climbed not only with ice tools and crampons, which we all can have, but above everything else, with humbleness. For myself, climbing mountains outside is climbing mountains inside. To me, K2 is a great teacher and a great master which I revere, not some gigantic pile of rock to just be desecrated by a Victorian mindset of conquest. Going without supplemental oxygen is not only a choice we deem ethical but the only by fair means approach we can envision and have over this most extraordinary being, the mighty K2. For us being on his steep and icy slopes is foremost a spiritual matter, and only secondary a climbing feat. Ascension is always from within”. – Alex Gavan

Seven Summits Treks is at the Urdukas 4135m camp on the trek in. They should arrive at K2 Base Camp in a couple of days.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

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9 thoughts on “Winter K2 Update: Nirmal Purja to Attempt High Camp

  1. It seems that perceived altitude, in terms of oxygen available, varies quite a bit at 8000m. So K2 may feel “higher” than Everest sometimes, due to the pressure variations in the atmosphere which in turn determine the amount of oxygen molecules. A warmer climate will lead to higher atmospheric pressures up high and will, on average make ascents without oxygen easier: https://eos.org/articles/mount-everest-can-sometimes-feel-lower-than-k2

  2. I wish they would use oxygen. Those temperatures seem lethal even with oxygen.

    Thank you for the update Alan.

  3. Who really belongs on these mountains? I guess only people like Jost Kobusch who denigrate other climbers by calling them “ordinary” belong on the high slopes these days…

    1. im thinking about getting off my couch and climbing K2 next year. if my presence is a danger to the pros they shouldn’t be there either lol

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