And it’s over, but we still don’t know the ending. History will show that that nine Sherpas and one Nepali first summited K2 in the winter. While others gave it their best, the harsh conditions kept most just below the top. There is a reason K2 took 23 years and stood strong as the last 8000er to be summited in winter. And it took a group of Nepalis working together as a team of ten who were experienced and talented climbers along with the vision of Mingma G to make it happen.
However, there is still no news from three climbers assumed to be descending at this point, almost 10 pm Friday night K2 time: John Snorri, Ali Sadpara, and Juan Pablo Mohr. They left Camp 3 almost 24 hours earlier. There is no conformation if they summited, their current status or plans. I’ll update when I have 100% confident news.
I’m getting direct reports from the mountain that Sajid Sadpara is back in camp 3 after an oxygen regulator problem. He reached the Botttleneck. It is still a long way from there to the summit.
John’s wife gave this update around 6 pm K2 time, Friday, February 5, 2021: This was four hours before this post.
“Sajid is back in camp 3 his oxygen regulator was not working he came back from bottle neck. They were at bottle neck around 10 am PKT. According to him everyone was fine and were going with good pace. John Snorri, Ali and J Pablo from Chile are going together for summit. The Garmin tracker is out of battery. I am talking with the teams chef and base camp manager Harry. He has radio connections with the team. We have decided not bother them and wait until they will contact Harry. We are not listening to other news, we are the only source to the team. We have strong believe that they will summit soon.
Tragically, 42-year-old Bulgarian climber Atanas Skatov died from a fall after he turned back earlier in the night. He was descending from Camp 3. A Pakistani rescue helicopter recovered his body according to this report. He was one of the most experienced climbers on K2 this winter with 13 8000ers. It appears he fell when passing an anchor and was not clipped in to any of the fixed ropes. Contrary to other reports, it was not an old rope failure according to Dawa of SST.
This is the second K2 death, following Sergi Mingote’s fall while descending between C1 and ABC. The other death was Alex Goldfarb who died while acclimatizing on Pastore Peak, in preparation to attempt Broad Peak. My sincere condolences to all of the families, friends and teammates.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
Resources:
- Share your opinion on the reader polls
- A 30-minute documentary of Alan’s 2014 K2 Summit
- Known GPS Trackers:
- The traditional K2 Camp locations are:
-
-
- Base Camp: 17,500ft/5334m
- Advanced Base Camp: 18,650ft/5650m
- Camp 1: 19,965’/6050m
- Camp 2: 22,110’/6700m
- Camp 3: 23,760’/7200m
- Camp 4: 25,080’/7600m
- Summit: 28,251”/8611
-
-
20 thoughts on “Winter K2 Update: Summit Push Update #4”
Ahoj všichni!Sleduji vas, miluji vas, jste udatni a skvělí. K2 je nádherná, ale já bych nepřežila ani cestu do BC ani pobyt v nem. Hory jsou nádherné ale jen pro zdatne, Ja jsem stará dýchavicna babka ale diky you tube a Google je moje duše s vámi na srazech K2. Vase Mářa
Hi Alan, just a note that you are doing a great service with your timeline and objective reporting. A sincere thank you from all of us who are following along in this difficult moment.
Thanks Paul.
Hello Alan, thanks for your continued scavenge of the 8000m peaks. I read that Atanad Skatov submitted ten 8000m peaks, not 13 as you stated in the article.
I am worried
There are now three climbers unaccounted for above camp III ….and it’s now the middle of the night on K2, with those temperatures up there, it sure does not look very good . I just don’t understand why they pushed so much for the summit at all cost, given the circumstances ( tents situation, changed weather report ) and not a first winter ascent. Hope they show up really soon .
Both of the fatal falls -Sergei and Atanas – on K2 seem to involve not being clipped into the rope. So tragic.
My heart is with their families.
Rest In Peace
Waiting !
Thank you,Alan,for your objective and documented reports of this adventure.
Is Sajid alone in C3 tonight?
apparently
I noticed a strange coincidence on K2 Winter expeds. On 16th January 2021 moments close to the news of First Winter ascent of K2, seasoned @sergimingote slipped and died while descending. Today, 5th February 2021, quite close to second posdible winter ascent of K2 @atanasskatovathlete an accomplished climber falls to his death while descending.
That’s is quite logical and no coincidence as those were the only times climbers were on the move on the mountain due to the weather.
How sad
Thanks Alan. Also hoping that the 3 still up high are OK. Is C3 above or below the Black Pyramid? I remember you saying that area is particularly steep.
C3 is above the Pyramid. Yes, it’s steep with very limited space for tents, perhaps 3 or 5 max. Platforms must be dug out. Also, no visibility of the Bottleneck from C3.
Hoping the last few summited and get back down safe.
With the volume of climbers, only two deaths is quite remarkable. Very sad for the family, he looked like a man enjoying his life and a twinkle in his eye.
Thank you for your coverage Alan. We hope that all climbers will return safe. At least three Pakistani media are reporting that Ali Sadpara has reached the summit, I do not know if it is a reliable media.
I think we need to wait for verifiable news directly from the mountain. Pakistani TV also reported fo a rescue last week which was 100% incorrect.
I completely agree
Even we Pakistanis don’t believe in iur media as they air news without verification just in race of being first.
Comments are closed.