Update 8/8/25 local: Madison Mountaineering & Ryan holding at ABC on 8/8/25 due to winds and potential rockfall. Time running short, but safety over summits. Other teams at C1/2 are rumored to be higher, but Sherpas are concerned. I think it will conclude in the next few days.
UPDATE August 6, 2025 5:00 PM MDT: Madison Mountaineering & Ryan canceled the move from C1 from ABC on 8/6/25 at 5:00 am local due to winds and potential rockfall. Will try on 8/7/25. Other teams at C1 and C2.
After almost five weeks, a weather window long enough for a summit attempt on K2 has emerged. Most teams and many individuals have left, but an estimated (very rough guess) that 20-30 total people, split equally between commercial and independent climbers, remain for the summit push starting today, August 5th, 2025.
Popular US climber Ryan Mitchell and Madison Mountaineering are at K2 Base Camp and texted me that they are moving to ABC Wednesday, August 6, 2025, to be ready to summit between August 9th and 12th. Ryan told me:
Probably going to ABC tomorrow. Very exciting. Bad news is a lot of teams trying to go up tonight / tomorrow. We are strong and should be able to pass anyone. 10 11 and 12 still seem like worth going up. Not great , like max 20 knots, but apparently good enough. Will keep an eye on it before we move. Rockfall still an issue but just gotta hope for a colder and overcast day / night when we move up and will bail if need be. It will just be me, rest of clients have to go, so we will move fast through that zone. Need a lot to go semi-well to make a summit happen
You can follow Ryan on his InReach tracker. He said he’ll post his videos when he gets home and after he has a chance to edit them, probably in late August.
Imagine Nepal posted a simple, ” Ready for Summit push on K2.” Pakistani guide Alpine Adventure Guides made a similar short announcement: “Ready for the final Summit push on K2.”
Is it Late for K2?
K2 has harsher weather than Everest, so there have been more years without summits, such as in 2002/3/9/10 and 16. It was closed in 2020 due to COVID-19. The last time Everest saw no summits was in 1974 and 2015, but that was due to the earthquake.
K2 traditionally sees most summits in late July and into August. For the traditional summer season (i.e., not winter, when summits occur in January), there have been summits on August 1, 14, and 23. Everest’s season ends when the monsoons hit the mountain in early June. K2 is more impacted by the Jetstream, like this year, when it has just sat on top of K2 and the other 8000ers in the Northern Territories.
Nanga Parbat is further south and east, and thus did not get hit as hard. As of August 5, 2025, no summits have been recorded on K2 or Broad Peak.
Tragic Death on Laila Peak
German biathlon legend Laura Dahlmeier, 31, a double Olympic gold medalist and world champion, died from a fatal rockfall during a descent from Pakistan’s Laila Peak. Excellent German journalist, Stefan Nestler, reported on his site:
Laura Dahlmeier (1993-2025)
Laura’s German rope partner Marina Krauss told the German TV station Bayerischer Rundfunk that they had set off during the night to reach the summit. As conditions had deteriorated during the day, they turned back below the highest point. Then the accident happened at around 5,700 meters while Dahlmeier was rappelling.
“I saw a huge rock hit Laura and then she was thrown against the wall,” said Krauss, who was standing below her. Laura was hit on the head. “From that moment on, she didn’t move anymore. It was impossible for me to get there safely.” That’s why she made an emergency call, Krauss said: “She showed no signs of life. I called out to her, and there was no response.”
My condolences to her friends, family, and teammates.
I’ll update this post with news from the K2 attempt.
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2 thoughts on “K2 2025 Coverage: K2 Summit Push On! – Update 2”
Truly amazing to be able to follow Ryan on the tracker
Thank you for wrting about Laura.