This is a developing story.
Now Confirmed: Kristin Harila, 37, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa and the team’s tracker shows them at the summit. She has summited all fourteen 8000ers, along with Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, in three months and 1 day (92 days.) They are part of an international commercial team from Seven Summits treks. The summiteers included:
Some teams have turned back due to deep, unconsolidated snow around the Bottleneck, creating dangerous climbing conditions. We’ll see how many actually summit today.
Update July 27, 2023, 10:00 a.m. Pakistani time
The rope fixing teams were reported to be only 200 meters away from the summit three hours ago, so conditions must be difficult. An update from Pioneer Adventure now says they are steps away from the summit as of 9:00 a.m. Pakistani time.
Previous Updates
Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering reported his team is on their summit push, hoping to top out on July 27. They will follow the rope team to the summit since heavy snow has delayed them the past couple of days. Often climbers will get frostbite using this model as the rope team moves slowly, and the followers will stand in a long queue, using limited oxygen and getting cold. Maddison has left hours after them to manage this risk,
Look for over 150 people to summit if the weather holds, with perhaps another 100 stationed lower on the mountain.
This feels a bit rushed regarding avalanche risk, given the heavy snow over the past few days. The rule of thumb is to wait at least 24 to 36 hours to allow new snow to bond to the existing snow, otherwise you risk slab avalanches. However, K2’s topology is known for clearing the snow on the upper mountain as high winds swirl over the summit and down the peak. Let’s hope for the best.
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 26th and our team’s up at Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) and preparing to leave for their summit push in one hour at 9:00 PM here in Pakistan.
They took a rest day today in Camp 3 as the rope fixing team, which our Sherpas are a part of, pushed up to Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and has been fixing above Camp 4, hopefully reaching the bottleneck section soon and the traverse. So, our team is a few hours behind when they leave tonight and hopefully they will climb up and make good time with good conditions, good weather, and hopefully get a summit of K2 tomorrow on the morning of July 27th.
So we will stay up tonight following their progress on the route as they climb! Praying and wishing them good luck and good conditions, and cannot wait to hear how it goes. Check in soon!
UPDATE: Kristin, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa and the team are now at 7,993 meters as of 12:36 PM, July 26, 2023.
Kristin Harila, Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa and team are reported between Camp 3 and 4 at 7,855 meters as of Jul 26, 2023, 11:52:00 AM, according to their tracker, but may have left for the summit as July 27 is a good summit day according to many forecasts.
Best of luck to all.
Climb On!
Alan
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3 thoughts on “K2 2023 Coverage: Kristin Harila & Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa get K2 for their Last 8000er”
Why use Nepalese word Sherpa for Pakistani guides? Ther must be a word in Urdu ?
Stephen, I’m not sure what you mean. As I bet you already know, Sherpa is the name of a people and many teams brought in support climbers with the last names of “Sherpa”. In Pakistan, people who have traditionaly supported climbers have been called “High Altitude Porters” or HAPs. Today, they are much more than porters, so I prefer High Altitude Climbers, but certainly not Sherpa.
Amazing lady. Well done to Kristin and her trusted Sherpa Tenjen.
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