2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Everest West Ridge, No O’s on K2
For the first time since 1979, there will be an attempt on a rarely climbed Everest route. K2 climbers arrive in Pakistan for a no O’s K2 Winter attempt and progress on Broad Peak. It’s getting serious now! There are expeditions on K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few others. Everest – Taking West Ridge German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, has announced on his Facebook page that he will take the West Ridge. The route is set! It will be the west ridge. Until the first camp at 6000 meters the complete rock could be fixed with 3 pitches. To climb the partly very hard climbing sections solo was really challenging. In the next day’s Daniel and I will climb up to camp one for documentation purposes – after that I will start solo. He always said he wanted to try the West Ridge but took his time to explore other possibilities. January 1, 2020, his route tracker showed him taking a hike approaching the Lho La Pass. This from his tracker: In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost had acclimatized on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters). Most Everest climbers, especially those not using supplemental oxygen try to reach 8,000 meters before making a summit attempt thus I had expected him, at the very least, to go to 7,000 meters before attempting the summit but it appears he will not make that investment. This precise route has only been climbed twice. It begins from Nepal’s Everest Base Camp then up the Lho La Pass at 6,000 meters/19,685 feet then skirts around the West Shoulder and onto the West Ridge reaching the Hornbein Couloir then the summit. The decent has been either the West Ridge or the standard Southeast Ridge. According to the Himalayan Database, Yugoslavian Andrej Stremfelj, Nejc Zaplotnic, Stane Belak-Srauf, and Stipe Bozic, with Ang Phu Sherpa, who died during the descent, was the first expedition to summit using the Lho La/West Ridge on May 13 and 15, 1979. All used supplemental oxygen. Another team was successful on May 8 and 9 1984 using a variation on the Khumbutse Peak at 6,636 meters/ 21,772 feet; Bulgarians Metodi Stefanov, Ivan Georgiev, Kiril Dimitrov, and Nikolay Mihaylov. All used supplemental oxygen. Christo Ivanov, also on their team, made the attempt without oxygen and died on the descent on April 20, 1984. In 1989, five climbers died from an avalanche off Khumbutse’s East Face. Famous for his solo attempts, Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki made a solo, unsupported, no Os attempt on the West Ridge starting from the Cwm in 2012. He had reached the base of the Hornbein Couloir when he called for help. Sherpas from his base camp were sent to meet him as he descended from the West Ridge. He had reported cold hands, could not move his fingers and had frostbite on his nose. He lost his fingers to frostbite. Nobukazu made multiple attempts on Everest and perished on his eighth attempt on May 20, 2018. Of course, the West Ridge/Hornbein route was pioneered by Tom Hornbein and Willie Unsoeld in 1963. They reached the Ridge from the Western Cwm, not the Lho La Pass. K2 – No Os! K2 Confirmed – Team arriving in Pakistan Most of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team has arrived in Pakistan according to a message I received from Mingma plus his logistics organizer Apricot Tours. Only Mingma and Gao are not there but scheduled to arrive mid-week. The team includes: Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Nepal) Tamting Sherpa (Nepal) Pasang Namgel Sherpa (Nepal) Kili Pempa Sherpa (Nepal) John Snorri Sigurionsson (Iceland) Gao Li (China) Tomaz Rotar (Slovenia) No Os! Mingma has been criticized for planning to use supplemental oxygen. I assume he feared his summit would not be respected if he did so. Today he announced he would not use Os. It is unclear if the rest of the team will. Antarctica Complete, Now Nepal Alex Txikon is planning his third winter Everest attempt. He just finished an outing in Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks before going to Nepal to acclimatize for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. He is now traveling back home and then on to Nepal. Safe and sound on the mainland! We have arrived just in time to catch the plane back home, but soon I will tell you everything I lived in the Antarctic Peninsula and in the Ocean. Above all, navigation has been a really hard experience, but from which I have learned some very valuable lessons. Broad Peak – Rotations have begun to 5,100 meters Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They have made a couple of rotations to 5,100 meters and cached gear. On January 2, 2020, Bowie posted on IG: First day on the mountain proper for me… Denis Urubko and I reached Camp 1 on Broad Peak at 5800m in 4hrs from base camp. Not bad time considering the tough conditions. The route we set dances a delicate line between heinous, avalanche-prone snow slabs, and bullet-hard blue ice. In summer this section is quite easy and straightforward, but in winter the mountain is stripped of snow, leaving bare ice and loose rock, and pockets of unstable snow. Despite my frosted face (and looking a bit weary from nearly 3 weeks of chest infections and illness) the day was actually quite warm… ahem, I mean, relatively speaking Gasherbrum Traverse – Acclimatization Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger have arrived at the base camp for G I/II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Multiple Climbs Begin
The winter climbing season of 2019/20 has begun in earnest. Teams are arriving at Base Camps and some are already on acclimatization rotations. There are expeditions on K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few others. Everest – Exploring German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, is at Everest Base Camp using it as a base to explore an alternative route to the Khumbu Icefall. Prior to his arrival he had mentioned wanting to use the West Ridge but then said the standard Southeast Ridge. Yesterday, January 1, 2020, his route tracker showed him taking a hike approaching the Lho La Pass. This from his tracker: He is doing posts on his Facebook page with a good update today: Lho la is a col on the border between Nepal and Tibet north of the Western CWM. It is the lowest point of the West Ridge of Mount Everest. When the Everest glaciers were much bigger than today, the pass was used as a trade route between Namche Bazaar and Tingri.🗻 Yesterday I prepared everything at the lower point of Lho la to mount a fixed rope at the rocky slope. During the solo the rope can be used for rappeling in case of emergency. But for now, it will help Daniel to film the first steps of the climb. I can’t wait to feel this rock in my hands, to get to know this new section and to take another step to slowly dissolve the unknown.🧗🏼♂️To expand my personal map. – But in a down suit, as I otherwise at -19 degrees don’t only freeze my fingers off In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. Jost had acclimatizing on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters). Most Everest climbers, especially those not using supplemental oxygen try to reach 8,000 meters before making a summit attempt thus I would expect him at the very least to go to 7,000 meters before attempting the summit. K2 K2 Confirmed Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort has recieved his permit to make a winter attempt on K2. In a message exchange, he said they would arrive in Pakistan soon. They will have a local guide, Pakistani Sarbaz Khan. Minga said they had financial issues but it wouldn’t stop them. On their GoFundme site, they have raised $331 of the $75,000 goal. New Summits in Antarctica, Then Everest Alex Txikon is planning his third winter Everest attempt. But first, he’s in Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks before going to Nepal to acclimatize for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. His posts from the ship indicates they are having a fantastic time in addition to accomplishing their goals last reported in: Happy New Year to everyone! Sailing with Juanra and Diego towards Puerto Williams (Chile), after a few days in Antarctica climbing and bordering some of the islands that form the South Shetland. I wish you the best for 2020! On December 26, they made the summit of what they believe was an unclimbed mountain: Yesterday, the 26th, we opened the way to a peak that we don’t know if anyone has climbed before. The feeling is of real adventure. It is what I was looking for, an authentic environment, without transforming by the human being, in which to climb in alpine style. Soon we will tell you more about our trip to this amazing place! Broad Peak – Rotations have begun to 5,100 meters Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They have made one rotation to 5,100 meters and cached gear. Today they did a quick round trip to C1. Bowie posted on IG: First day on the mountain proper for me… Denis Urubko and I reached Camp 1 on Broad Peak at 5800m in 4hrs from base camp. Not bad time considering the tough conditions. The route we set dances a delicate line between heinous, avalanche-prone snow slabs, and bullet-hard blue ice. In summer this section is quite easy and straightforward, but in winter the mountain is stripped of snow, leaving bare ice and loose rock, and pockets of unstable snow. Despite my frosted face (and looking a bit weary from nearly 3 weeks of chest infections and illness) the day was actually quite warm… ahem, I mean, relatively speaking Gasherbrum Traverse – At Base Camp Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger have arrived at the base camp for G I/II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a single push via the Gasherbrum La at 6,400 meters. They acclimatized to 6400m/20,100 feet using an altitude chamber prior to traveling to Pakistan. You can read about their technique in this article. Tama Luger made this update on their progress yesterday: Dear friends, thank you so much for being so present. Despite the fact that I am here in Pakistan I feel all your energy, prayers and thoughts so much. It was a good year for me, despite the fact that I threw all my energy into my health! But I can guarantee that even though it seems impossible or too difficult, far away or unthinkable, it is always worth fighting for your dreams or for an improvement. I have learned that whatever happens is our responsibility. But there is always the possibility to look beyond the ugly and believe it! Success is in us! I love you, thank you again and wish you a happy, enlightened, colorful, satisfying New Year 2020 in which we can see a little bit of beauty in everything. And about their trek in: I can’t wait to get to base camp and finally have a comfortable and pleasant fixed
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Everest Climb Has Begun
The winter climbing season of 2019/20 continues. A bit of progress but no summits .. yet. There are expeditions planned for K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few others. Everest – Exploring German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, has arrived at Everest Base Camp. He appears to be exploring an alternative route to going through the Khumbu Icefall. Prior to his arrival he had mentioned wanting to use the West Ridge but then said the standard Southeast Ridge. His route tracker shows him taking a few hikes up the Lho La Pass. This from his tracker: He is doing posts on his Facebook page but no reveal as to his plans: The days up here are so unreal in this radiant stone desert, which is icy and yet so beautiful and can also be a little warm as soon as the sun shows up . I love to challenge “accepted thinking” – I’m totally excited and I’m really happy that everything starts now – it all feels big and meaningful Merry Christmas everyone. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. Jost has been acclimatizing on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters) so he may try for a fast, alpine-style attempt now that he is at EBC. However, most Everest climbers, especially those not using supplemental oxygen try to reach 8,000 meters before making a summit attempt thus I would expect him at the very least to go to 7,000 meters before attempting the summit. K2 K2 Confirmed Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort has been cleared to make a winter attempt on K2. He told me today that he is not in Pakistan but expects to be there soon. After Antarctica Also planning the south side of Everest is Alex Txikon who is back for his third winter attempt. But first, he’s in Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks before going to Nepal to acclimatizing for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. He last reported in: Hi everyone! It’s been several days after the Drake crossing. It has been very hard days. In the words of the captain, we have faced winds that if they had happened in the Caribbean would have been a category 4 hurricane. With some more calm than no tranquility (you can not relax in such a wild environment), we started our activity on the mainland!! Yesterday, the 26th, we opened the way to a peak that we don’t know if anyone has climbed before. The feeling is of real adventure. It is what I was looking for, an authentic environment, without transforming by the human being, in which to climb in alpine style. Soon we will tell you more about our trip to this amazing place! Broad Peak – Depot at 5,100 meters Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They are at Broad Peak Base Camp where Bowie posted on IG: Denis Urubko and @lottahintsa return from establishing the route to the bottom of the west face of Broad Peak, leaving a gear depot at 5100m. The bitter cold temperatures of our approach have abated (it was a frigid -40C the morning we arrived at base camp) and now daytime temperatures are a balmy -5C, but feel warmer in the high altitude sun. I think I am finally over the barrage of illnesses which have battered me for two and a half weeks now. Today was the first day my lungs felt clear, and I should be ready to climb in a few days. Trekking for 8-days in winter with a fever has definitely been a lesson in personal suffering for me, and now I think I have enough antibodies built up that you could probably inject me with the plague and I’d be OK. #sufferfest – Gasherbrum Traverse – In Pakistan Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger are in transit to Skardu to start their trek to base camp planning to make a winter attempt on Gasherbrum I and II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a single push via the Gasherbrum La at 6,400 meters. They tried to acclimatize to 6400m/20,100 feet using an altitude chamber. You can read about their technique in this article. Winter 2019/20 Everest Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – in Antarctica K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – soon Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – on the trek Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – in Pakistan Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: K2 Permit Issued
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort has been cleared to make a winter attempt on K2. They are back from Acocangua and will leave for Pakistan any day now. No updates on their financial issues but Minga told me it wouldn’t stop them. Wajahat Khan of Ariprcot Tours, the logistics agency for MIngma’s effort, told me today that: The climbing permit for “K2 Winter Expedition 2019-20” was issued yesterday (19th December, 2019). The team leader of the expedition is Nepalese mountaineer Mingma Gyalje Sherpa. Permission has been granted for a total of 7 mountaineers listed below: Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Nepal) – view profile Tamting Sherpa (Nepal) – view profile Pasang Namgel Sherpa (Nepal) – view profile Kili Pempa Sherpa (Nepal) – view profile John Snorri Sigurionsson (Iceland) – view profile Gao Li (China) – view profile Tomaz Rotar (Slovenia) – view profile Broad Peak – Trekking to BC Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They are the trek to base camp hoping to arrive around December 23. Bowie posted on IG: Dinner time at 4276 meters elevation on the Baltoro Glacier. Our cook Mohsin is taking good care of us with delicious meals despite -20C temps. To stay warm and conserve energy, Denis Urubko, @lottahintsa, and I, sleep in the dining tent along with some of our base camp staff. Another 2 days and we should reach base camp- but the snow is getting deeper each day. Keep your fingers crossed for us… – Nepal Cuts Climbing Permit Fees, but not for Everest Once again the outstanding PR machine out of the Nepal Ministry of Tourism has succeeded in generating global headlines of “in 2020 Nepal will cancel and reduce the cost of climbing permits by 50%.” Kathmandu Post, This is a nice deal on Dhaulagiri and Kanchenjunga which will now cost $900 instead of the usual $1800, 50% of the usual cost. But Everest remains at $11,000, no change at all as it generates the most revenue of all the peaks in Nepal. Last year 384 permits were issued. A few other smaller peaks have low to no cost including Api, Saipal, Ganesh Himal. Gyalzen Peak but the largest sleight of hand was promoting that the popular 8000-meter mountain, Cho Oyu, will be offered at no fee, zero! But of course, Cho is usually climbed from the Tibet side. Since 1954, there have been 137 summits from the Nepal side and 3,707 from the Tibet side. Winter 2019/20 Everest Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – in Antarctica K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – delayed Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – on trek Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – in Pakistan Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: At Everest Base Camp
December 21, the winter solstice, is considered the beginning of winter, so let the race begin. Momentum is picking up with the first climber at Everest Base Camp, potentially, but unlikely, looking at a summit attempt this upcoming week. There are expeditions planned for K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few others. Everest – At EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, has arrived at Everest Base Camp. He is doing frequent posts on his Facebook page. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. Jost has been acclimatizing on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters) so he may try for a fast, alpine-style attempt now that he is at EBC. However, most Everest climbers, especially those not using supplemental oxygen try to reach 8,000 meters before making a summit attempt thus I would expect him at the very least to go to 7,000 meters before attempting the summit. It’s unclear on his exact route. At one time he said he wanted to use the West Ridge but then said the standard Southeast Ridge. He says he will make a final route decision when he arrives at base camp. Also, the weather is hideous. From the NatGeo weather station at the South Col, it reports temperatures of -30C/-22F and wind gusts at 18 m/s or 40 mph. This would put the windchill at -50C/-60F. Earlier this week, the winds were gusting to over 90 mph or windchill at -57C/-70F. This is Jost’s most recent post on Facebook: Let´s get STARTED!!Today is not only the calendrical beginning of winter, it is also the official start of the Everest expedition. We are already in the base camp – quite windy here. Therefore, I have weighted my tent with stones. The route up to 7200 meters looks very good, the conditions are better than expected – at least for now. Do you want to know exactly where I am right now? With this link – https://jostkobusch.com/de/live-tracking#g-showcase – you can follow me in 3D live tacking. Otherwise I wish you and your families a happy 4th Advent and a merry Christmas! As he said is his post, you can track his progress on his tracker: Also on the south side is Alex Txikon who is back for his third winter attempt. But first, he’s in Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks before going to Nepal to acclimatizing for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. He last reported in: We are already arriving, like tomorrow we make first eye contact with Antarctica, we are 200 miles【322 km】 away and the nights begin to disappear. We’re already arriving, maybe tomorrow first visual contact with Antarctica, we’re about 200 miles【322 km】 【322 km】 away and the nights begin to disappear. K2 – Hopes Money Woes – Delays Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort has been postponed to January due to a lack of funds. They are currently on Acocangua acclimatizing and training. I contacted Mingma while he was on Acocangua and asked if he thought his K2 attempt would continue. This was his reply: Namaste Alan, we will not quit our winter project because lack of fund. We are all prepared to go for K2 in 2020 this winter. Broad Peak – Trekking to BC Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They reached Skardu and will begin the trek to base camp starting in Askole hoping to arrive around December 23. Bowie posted on IG: Denis Urubko, and I arrive with our small support team at Joula camp. It will take at least another 5 days to reach Broad Peak base camp- if the snow around Concordia is not too deep, that is. We are in good spirits despite Denis and I both fighting fevers and coughs due to some nasty flu-like bug, but still it’s amazing to be in the Baltoro again during winter.- Gasherbrum Traverse – In Pakistan Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger will make a winter attempt on Gasherbrum I and II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a single push via the Gasherbrum La at 6,400 meters. They have arrived in Pakistan after Moro and Lunger after pre-acclimatizing by sleeping in a terraXcube pressure chamber since November 29. They tried to acclimatize to 6400m/20,100 feet. You can read about their technique in this article. Winter 2019/20 Everest Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – in Antarctica K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – delayed Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – on trek Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – in Pakistan Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Moving or Delayed
As we hit mid-December, teams are on the move, in most cases, towards their winter Himalayan peaks. There are expeditions planned for K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few others. Everest German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, is trekking towards Everest Base Camp. He is doing frequent posts on his Facebook page. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. But his solo plans may be broken with Alex Txikon on the same Southeast Ridge route. Originally he said he would climb the West Ridge but now has doubts on the route. Jost has been acclimatizing on other peaks so he may try for a fast, alpine-style attempt before Alex arrives. He says he will make a final route decision when he arrives at base camp. Also on the south side is Alex Txikon who is back for his third winter attempt. But first, he’s in Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks before going to Nepal to acclimatizing for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Nepalese Jonatan García and Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. He last reported in from Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands. K2 Money Woes – Delays Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort has been postponed to January due to a lack of funds. They are currently on Acocangua acclimatizing and training. Misunderstanding? The French team of Jonathan Bordes and Vincent Saura made an emotional post on their website, Saura-K2-Bordes saying they never intended to attempt to summit K2 but only to “explore the Karakorum massif in winter. Our personal initiative aims to provide information that we will share as widely as possible with the entire mountain community to allow a future French team to climb this summit.” They added: Jonathan Bordes was forced to leave the expedition due to medical concerns and will be returning to France in the coming days. The rest of the expedition will notably have the objective of an unlisted summit more than 5000 meters in the Nanga Parbat massif. Broad Peak Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. They reached Skardu and will begin the trek to base camp starting in Askole hoping to arrive around December 23. Gasherbrum Traverse Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger will make a winter attempt on Gasherbrum I and II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a single push via the Gasherbrum La at 6,400 meters. Moro and Lunger are pre-acclimatizing by sleeping in a terraXcube pressure chamber since November 29. They hope to acclimatize to 6400m/20,100 feet before leaving for Pakistan. You can read about their technique in this article. Batura Sar – Training for 2020/21 K2 In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt ,Piotr Tomala,Rafał Fronia, Wojciech Flaczyński, Filip Babicz, Mariusz Hatala, Kacper Kłoda, Marco Schwidergall and Oswald Rodrigo will try the first winter at Batura Sar, an impressive 7,795 meter peak, located in the western Karakoram Pakistan. They are in Pakistan now. Elsewhere Teams are flying to Union Glacier to attempt Antarctica’s Mt. Vinson. Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering is one of the many teams there. Also, Aconcagua is starting to get busy as are the peaks in Peru. David Roskelley is hoping to complete his quest of climbing the highest volcano on each of the seven continents. He will be in Antarctica in January for Mount Sidley is the highest volcano in Antarctica. He has six of the seven and if he gets Sidley may be the only American to complete this list, but I can’t confirm it. The list of the seven and more information on these climbs is on James Stone’s Blog. Ojos del Salado – Chile/Argentina – 6,893m Kilimanjaro – Tanzania – 5,895m Elbrus – Russia – 5,642m Pico de Orizaba – Mexico – 5,636m Damavand – Iran – 5,611m Mount Giluwe – Papua New Guinea – 4,368m Mount Sidley – Antarctica – 4,285m Winter 2019/20 Everest Jost Kobusch – trekking Alex Txikon – in Antartica K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – delayed Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – on trek Vincent Saura, Jonathan Bordes, Vadim Druelle, Tim Serra, David Sherpa Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – acclimating in a chamber Batura Sar Adam Bielecki, Filip Babicz, Rafal Fronia and Piotr Tomala Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I/II
With winter now here, its time to review the Himalayan action for the next few months. There are expeditions planned for K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few other peaks. I’ll cover Everest and K2 in two separate posts. This is for K2 and Broad Peak. See this post for Everest. K2 Money Woes First up is Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal effort. In 2011, Mingma became the first Nepalese to summit all the 8000ers. He made the grand K2 Winter announcement on September 7, 2019: This winter we will try K2 via Abruzzi Route following the traditional and most successful route. We are 3 members in the team: 1. Mingma G – Nepal, 2. John Snorri -Iceland, 3. Gao Li -China. I have successfully climbed K2 in 2014 and 2017. And i was looking for someone to climb K2 in winter. I am very familiar with John Snorri from 2017 and we have climbed K2 together in 2017. He also has climbed Mt Ama Dablam and Mt Lhotse 8516m previously Gao Li is another member in the team and we are known from 2016 during his Manaslu Expedition, After that he has climbed Everest 8848m in 2018, Lhotse (8516m) and Makalu 8463m in 2019 and was on K2 till 7800m. So we are known to each other very well and we have been talking about winter ascent on K2 since long time now. We are all now going to Manaslu 8163m to build our confidence and understand each other even more. Depending on our fund, we will try to add 2-3 more Nepalese Sherpa and Pakistani Climber to make this climb successful. If our own contribution is not enough then we will go for some sponsorship too. We are also very confident in our project and we will make this huge success. Now he posts he needs more money: We were supposed to go for K2 by this month but we got to postpone to next month because of our funding. We have raised money from our pocket but calculating everything, we found it’s beyond our budget. And the reason I planned to go through GoFund. As this is winter climb, there are huge hidden cost. So this is our humble request to all friends and mountaineering communities to donate little in this winter projects. We expect the mountaineering community and mountain lovers will enjoy our climb. Serious? A French team with zero K2 experience made a splash with a website and an announcement that THEY would climb K2 this winter. There are only two members, Jonathan Bordes, age 42 and Vincent Saura, age 25 and their team is named Saura-K2-Bordes. Multiple media reports say they only have a trekking permit but appear to have enough gear to try for a summit push. Others report they just want to “inspect” the peak. This will be interesting to watch how it develops. They are playing a dangerous game with Pakistan if, in fact, it is a ploy. UPDATE: on their website, Saura-K2-Bordes saying they never intended to attempt to summit K2 but only to “explore the Karakorum massif in winter. Our personal initiative aims to provide information that we will share as widely as possible with the entire mountain community to allow a future French team to climb this summit.” Broad Peak Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 Then there is Denis Urubko who is well known in the winter climbing world and on K2. Also for his rescues of other climbers. His last attempt on K2 was the ill-fated 2017 attempt where he left his Polish team for a solo summit bid. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa who will stay in base camp to support the two climbers. Their goal is to climb what Urubko considers the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He writes on his blog: In this reason all climate (meteorological) WINTER ascents in the Himalayas need to happen in period 01 December – 28(29) February. I am very proud to have successful experience on Makalu and G2 already. And hope to repeat same on Broad peak (and K2 perhaps) for the coming winter 2019-2020 with my friends Donald Bowie and Lotta Nakyva. If I manage to climb the peak of Broad Peak, then I will have good acclimatization. This is my plan for the coming winter, but its implementation depends on many factors – the risk while climbing K2 is very high. He does not accept any of the winter summits outside of his definition including the March 5, 2013, Broad Peak summit by Polish climbers Maciej Berbeka, Adam Bielecki, Tomasz Kowalski, and Artur Malek. K2 Winter Background K2 is the world’s 2nd highest mountain at 28,251’/8611m. It is located in northwest Pakistan about 30 miles from the border with India. K2 is called the Mountaineer Mountain and the Savage Mountain for its deadly and difficult reputation. The most significant obstacle K2 climbers will encounter is the weather. Even in the summer, it is unpredictable, harsh and deadly. High winds have blown climbers off the summit, avalanches have killed climbers in their tents at high camps and some have simply disappeared. But the weather is the wild card. They will need winds under 60 kph/40mph for a safe ascent. Climbing K2 While there are multiple routes on K2 including from the Chinese side, most of the summits have been successful via the Abruzzi Spur. On this route, there are multiple camps depending on conditions. The Česen and Abruzzi routes merge at Camp 3. 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”/8611m From my own summit of K2 in 2014, this is my brief description of the Abruzzi route. The climbing starts steep from start to finish as in 40-degree minimum snow slope angles and near-vertical rock or ice walls. BC to C2 From ABC to C1 it is a long snow slope with some rock. The rock climbing starts upon leaving C1 to C2 and includes House’s Chimney
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Everest
With winter now here, its time to review the Himalayan action for the next few months. There are expeditions planned for K2, Everest, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums plus a few other peaks. I’ll cover Everest and K2 in two separate posts. This is for Everest and the other planned climbs. See this post for K2. Everest 2020 – Two Separate Attempts There are two separate attempts. Jost Kobusch had announced he would attempt from the southside, crossing over the Lho La Pass to the West Ridge and then ascend the Hornbein-Couloir (A on this map) but this may have changed according to this article in ExplorersWeb. Meanwhile, Alex Tixkon just announced that he will lead a team from the normal Southeast Ridge route on the southside (G on this map.) Solo German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, is currently in Nepal, preparing for his upcoming Solo Everest Winter Expedition without supplemental oxygen. He wants to be completely solo on the route citing his experience on Annapurna where he shared it with other climbers thus he didn’t consider it fully solo. But his plans may be broken again with Txikon on the same Southeast Ridge route. He says he will make a final route decision when he arrives at base camp around December 16. In this interview with Dream Wanderlust he said: Full-fledged Expediton will start from 22nd December and will last till 29th February, 2020. I will start in the beginning of calendar Winter and I will end this expedition with the end of the meteorological Winter. I am not sure about the calendars. Some people say meteorological Winter starts on 1st December and ends on 29th February and calendar Winter starts on 22nd December and ends on 22nd March. I am just taking the tightest definition as because I believe Winter starts from end of September and ends in the month of February. 3rd Try On the south side will be Alex Txikon is back for his third winter attempt. He will first go to Antarctica to explore new routes on various peaks then acclimatize for Everest on Ama Dablam. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Nepalese Jonatan García and Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. In 2018, Alex Txikon and team made it to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face when high winds hit them again. While it was expected for late Saturday into early Sunday morning, the anticipated window never developed. Txikon set out anyway for Camp 4 but turned around and returned to Base Camp along with the five Sherpas and Muhammad Ali Sadpara who said “We are back at base camp from C4. Very strong winds and lethal weather made it almost impossible to go for the summit.” In 2016, he reached Camp 2 but was met by high winds. A tiny window of low winds was forecasted for 8 March but would quickly regain strength for the foreseeable future. Txikon noted winds well over 40 mph at Camp 2 with an air temp of -40F. He knew the winds would be higher and the wind chill would have been deadly so he called an end to their expedition. Everest Winter History A paltry 0.2% of all summits since 1953 have occurred in the winter. The Himalayan Database reports that the last successful winter summit was in 1993 and the only previous summit without supplemental oxygen was by Ang Rita Sherpa in 1987. Technically winter begins on the winter solstice on December 21st or 22nd and ends on March 20th. To add to some controversy, the solstice in 1987 was on December 22nd at 4:45:13 and Ang Rita summited at 15:20. There have been 21 winter expeditions with only five successful summits. Elsewhere Gasherbrum Traverse Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger will make a winter attempt on Gasherbrum I and II. They want to traverse the two peaks in a single push. The last time this was done was in 1977 by Messner and Kammerlander Moreau and Lunger were pre-acclimatizing by sleeping in a terraXcube pressure chamber since November 29. They hope to acclimatize to 6400m/20,100 feet. You can read about their technique in this article. In March 2018, the two summited Siberia, Pik Pobeda, 3003 meters, in the Chersky Range region. It has not been climbed in winter. Batura Sar – Training for 2020/21 K2 In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt, Adam Bielecki, Filip Babicz, Rafal Fronia and Piotr Tomala will try the first winter at Batura Sar, an impressive 7,795 meter peak, located in the western Karakoram Pakistan Best of luck to all. Winter 2019/20 Everest Jost Kobusch Alex Txikon K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa Saura-K2-Bordes Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko Vincent Saura, Jonathan Bordes, Vadim Druelle, Tim Serra, David Sherpa Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger Batura Sar Adam Bielecki, Filip Babicz, Rafal Fronia and Piotr Tomala Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2018/19 Winter Climbs: Summit Push on Nanga, Climbing on K2
As per the forecast, high winds kept teams quiet on K2 this week but have now let up and they are planning aggressively to push for the summit. Both K2 teams are scattered over the lower camps. Over on the other 8000er being attempted this winter, Nanga Parbat, the climbers have left for the summit push. K2 Big Picture First, remember that many in the climbing world feel the end of February is the end of winter so our climbers are motivated to attempt the summit in the next 6 days – a hard but not impossible feat. The Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan team have climbed as high as the top of the Black Pyramid – around 7,300-meters/24,000-feet. They have established C1, and C2 with tents and some supplies as well as a fixed rope (that may now be buried) on the Abruzzi route. Next up is to establish their Camps 3 and 4 at 7,300-meters/24,00-feet and 7,800-meters/25,500-feet with food, fuel, stoves, medical oxygen, ropes, and personal gear. The Spanish/Galician team has not climbed above C1 soothes have more work to do. Their strategy seems to be one of swift climbing with less acclimatization – a risky approach – but they have five or more Sherpas who might be able to make this strategy happen. Even though the huge winds have calmed a bit, the weather forecast over the next seven days stills calls for summit winds as high as 70 kph/45 mph with still air temps at -40C/-40F making wind chills as low as -65C/-85F. The lowest winds are forecasts for the night of Thursday, February 28. K2: Climbing! K2: Spanish/Galician Team – Climbing The K2 team lead by Alex Txikon sent Felix Criado, Ignacio de Zuloaga and the doctor Josep Sanchis to Advanced Base Camp. A nice video showing the conditions at K2 Base Cmap the past few days: You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. K2: Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan Team – Up t0 C2 The Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan team is divided into two groups so be careful not to confuse their two groups with the two teams on K2 of Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan Team and the Spanish/Galician Team. In any event the so-called “International team” is headed back up now that the winds have calmed: 22.02 5000 weather is normal, the wind is not strong. This afternoon the whole team of the two groups goes up. The first group (Pivtsov, Aubakirov, Danichkin, Abildaev Brown) plans for output up to ABC, C1, C2, C3 and then the weather. The second group (Ants, Shepelin, Gabbassov, Smailov, Temirbaev) will act according to circumstances. A video they posted climbing to C1 on 21 February You can follow them on Instagram but Facebook and their site are the best sources. Winter Nanga Parbat – Summit Push!!! Daniele Nardi, and British Thomas Ballard have left their Base Camp for the summit on the Mummery’s Spur. The Long-awaited window of good weather came on time and this morning daniele and Tom left loads of energy and confidence to reach, as planned, c1. but once they arrived on the spot they decided not to stop their race! And so, given the excellent weather conditions and the strong grit that never abandoned them, not even in these last days of forced rest at base camp, they pushed up to c2. we await updates! You can follow them on their sponsors site, Montane. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
My Summit Video from the 2014 K2 Climb
It took a while but I finally got around to editing all my K2 video clips from our 2014 summit climb into one short (33 minute) video. As regular readers remember, all my climbs are to raise awareness and research funds for Alzheimer’s Disease. I became the oldest American at age 58 and the 18th American to summit K2. We summited on my birthday July 27, 2014. The video starts with our arrival in Islamabad, then the journey via planes, and FJ Cruiser’s to the “end of the road” at Askole where the 80-mile trek to K2 Base Camp begins. Hiking over the Baltoro Glacier is an adventure in its own right. Once at Base Camp, we visit the Gilky Memorial to remember those who have died in these mountains. The climb on K2 begins at Advance Base Camp with a steep 1,000-meter (3,000 ft) climb to Camp 1. After acclimatization rotations as high as C2, the summit push begins near the end of July. I hope you enjoy the video and remember and continue to support the cause to find a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything