Everest and K2 Winter Climbs Update
The winter Everest summit team is taking the normal spring schedule for their summit bid as they have good weather at the moment but it is deteriorating slightly. The Polish K2 team is resting at base camp. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Big Picture OK, now that the Everest team is on their summit push and the K2 team may start soon, it all comes down to weather. Many websites and media reports are using computer generated forecasts from Mountain Forecast and Meteoexploration but how accurate are these online resources? In my experience as a climber, the daily weather forecasts can vary widely from what really happens on the mountain. One phenomenon is the occurrence of micro bands. This is where only a narrow section of altitude is hit with strong winds while the other levels are calm. I got hit on Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face in 2011 by one of these. Camp 2 and the South Col reported somewhat lite weather, while we were inside our tent, holding it up with our hands to keep it from blowing away. The storm lasted for 12 hours then disappeared as quickly as it arrived. In previous years of covering Everest, I asked Michael Fagin of everestweather.com his opinion of these types of forecasts. Michael has provide professional weather forecasts for Everest expeditions for over a decade. Q: Some forecasts are posted on the web, the so called grid forecasts. What are these and who accurate are they? These grid forecasts take what the weather conditions will be for an exact latitude longitude coordinate. So the grid forecast will give you the exact wind speed for the coordinates for Everest. I have found that the problem with these forecasts is if the forecast is off say 200 miles or so that this can make for an extremely inaccurate forecast. For example. Let us say that the grid forecasts says Everest summit winds will be 30 knots and the grid forecasts 70 knot winds several hundred miles to the north of Everest. It is not uncommon for the actual forecast to be off by several hundred miles and the real time winds can easily be at 70 knots over Everest. So the forecast of 30 knot wind over Everest vs. real time winds of 70 knots is a big problem. Thus, it is important to get some weather professional analyzing the forecast models and explaining to expedition groups what can happen Today, I asked Chris Tomer who also provides forecast for climbers through Tomer Weather Solutions what he sees for Everest right now: The big drop in summit wind is still there SAT AM and again SUN AM. But it’s bookended by strong jet stream wind FRI and MON. The summit air temp of -35F on SAT AM. I noted in a recent interview with K2 expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki, that he is getting several forecasts. I assume one of those is from a professional service and has human interpretation. The same for Txikon and crew. Winter K2 – Resting The entire Polish team is back at base camp resting. Denis Urubko posted a nice video of he and Adam climbing the Black Pyramid and in some of the upper Camps. Note melting water, this becomes one of the most critical parts of climbing a big mountain and takes a long time at these altitudes. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Summit Bid Underway – At C2 Alex Txikon, Muhammad Ali Sadpara and team are now at Camp 2, 6500m/21,325′, targeting a weekend summit date. They took a rest day today 22 Feb and will move up the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 on the 23 where they will spend the night. Next is to the South Col to sleep for a few hours then go for the summit, hoping to top out around dawn on Sunday, 25 February. Of course this schedule can change due to weather, snow conditions, health, etc. High winds are expected back on the summit on Sunday night. It is clear that Alex will not be using supplemental oxygen, that is the point of this winter attempt. I understand the Sherpas will be on O’s to serve as a safety net. It’s unclear if Sadpara will use O’s. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Traditional Elevations and Times Between Everest South Col Camps Base Camp: 17,500’/5334m C1: 19,500’/5943m – 3-6 hours, 1.62 miles C2: 21,000’/6400m – 2-3 hours, 1.74 miles C3:23,500’/7162m – 3-7 hours, 1.64 miles Yellow Band – 1-3 hours Geneva Spur – 1-2 hours South Col: 26,300’/8016m – 1 hour or less Balcony: 3 – 6 hours South Summit : 28500′ – 8690m – 3 to 5 hours Hillary Step – 1 hour or less Summit: 29,035′ / 8850m – 1 hour or less Return to South Col: 3 -7 hours Return to C2: 3 hours Return to Base Camp: 4 hours Winter? Some people have asked about the dates I showed on yesterday’s table of winter summits as reported by the Himalaya Database with winter summits before the official start of winter, December 21, the winter solstice. I contacted Richard Salisbury, who runs the database part of the Himalayan Database and he said: The original start of the winter season set forth by the Nepal Ministry of Tourism was December 1. Autumn-permitted teams were supposed to end their climbs by mid-November (there was a two-week gap where no climbing was permitted). Winter-permitted teams were not allowed to go above BC before December 1 (although they could arrive at BC before that date). We have continued to use December 1 as the start of winter season. Choosing between
Winter Everest Summit Bid Starts!
After six weeks of preparation and waiting, the winter Everest summit bid has started. The Polish K2 team is back at base camp waiting out a few days of weather. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Winter K2 – Waiting for Weather Window The entire Polish team is back at base camp except for Martin Kaczkan who slept at C1. Only Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki have slept at 7300m, which expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki had said previously was the requirement to go on the summit push. We will see if he holds to that for the rest of the team. They have camp 3 established around 7300m. There are a few nice pictures of them climbing on their website. Wspinie.pl has a good interview with Bielecki. One comment caught my attention when he talked about the wind saying at time it was gusting to 100kph/60mph knocking him around: Wind 20 to 40 km / h is not something that makes a big impression on us. Above 40 km / h there is a problem. It is very important whether they are gusts or constant wind. Up to 7000 m with a wind of 40 km / h, with gusts up to 70 km / h, it can work, if there are higher values it is already hard. We at the descent had gusts above 80 km / h, and even reaching hundreds. Then it is very hard, any manipulation is difficult, even getting into the exit, the snow is blowing in the eyes.Every climber knows what it’s like to be a dupe in the wall. Especially that it is cold. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Summit Bid Underway Alex Txikon, Muhammad Ali Sadpara and team are now at Camp 2, 6500m/21,325′, targeting a weekend summit date. The weather window appears to be a few days so they probably will not rush as in leaving for the summit from Camp 3, but instead get to the South Col, establish camp and rest for a few hours then leave. The key will be to move fast since the temperatures are brutally cold, -40C/F on the summit. If the wind blows at 30mph/45kph that puts the windchill at a deadly -80F/-62C. They are not using supplemental oxygen which makes the risk even higher. It was the wind near the South Col that stopped Txikon last year. There are 5 Sherpas with them, names unknown, but most certainly include Pemba Bhote Sherpa and Nuri Sherpa who summited Pumori with Txikon and Sadpara a few weeks ago. Also, I suspect Fursang Sherpa, Dawa Rinji and Tanjing Sherpa are with them. Txikon posted: The time has come. We are already in Camp 2, the whole team ready waiting for good weather. First and last chance to get to the summit of Everest in winter without artificial oxygen. We expect the summit day to be on the 24th or 25th. We need all your support! GO! You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Everest Winter History With this bid underway, let’s look at the history for a moment. 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 making the summit. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 Team Reach Expedition Altitude Record, Everest Camp 2 Destroyed
With continued good weather, the Polish K2 team reached their highest point yet. On Everest, good news, bad news. Both expeditions have set early March for serious decisions. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Big Picture A reasonable question is why the Polish team on K2 is making such good progress on the Abruzzi compared to the Cesen. There are several factors. First, they know this route well. Most of the climbers were there last summer (2017) to get familiar with the route. Second, while rockfall is still present, it is less, thus far, than on the Cesen so they probably move faster with slightly less angst. Third, they are all acclimatized and rested. And finally, they are motivated knowing the clock is ticking closer to 20 March – the end of winter. And of course, these are strong, strong climbers. Over on Everest, another fair question is if the team have lost their acclimatization after waiting several weeks since they touched almost 8,00-meters. Well, they probably would have preferred to sleep at the South Col since they are not using supplemental oxygen, but it appears they mix “active rest days” in with their time at EBC. This keeps their body used to working at altitude and the red blood cells active. Remember that EBC is at 17,500’/5300m so it is high. Winter K2 – Pushing Hard The Polish team are pushing extremely hard to get the route in. Expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki has targeted early March for a summit push saying that any of his climbers who have slept at 7,300-meters will be given the opportunity to summit. Remember they are not using supplemental oxygen, so the usual process is to sleep as high as possible before going above 8,000-meters. K2 is 8,611-meters. There are three pairs of climbers currently doing rotations up and down the Abruzzi Ridge. They need to space themselves due to usually only one tent at each camp. They will bring more tents to the High Camp before launching their bid. High Camp, aka C4, is at 25,080’/7600m. Adam Bielecki and Denis Urubko touched 7,400-meters before returning to 7,200-meters C3, to sleep. Maciej Bedrejczuk, Janusz Golab, Marcin Kaczkan and Darek Zaluski have all slept at Camp 2, 22,110’/6700m. It appears all climbers will return to base camp on Wednesday due to poor weather returning, maybe for 5 days. Bielecki and Urubko found a good route to High Camp, which is usually around 7,600-meters. This section between C3 and C4 is one long snow slope with no technical challenges but there is significant avalanche danger. In 2013, guide Marty Schmidt were killed along with his son, Denali, as they slept in their tent at Camp 3. On the team Facebook page they thanked the four Pakistani High Altitude Porters: Amin Ullah, Fazal Ali, Jalal – all from Shimshal Valley in Hunza and Saddik Sadpara who is from Lake Sadpara. The Polish climbers wrote These are experienced climbers – Amin and Saddik have in your account after 5 eight-thousanders, and Fazal came to K2 twice. Another thing that they are more prepared for summer conditions, taking into account their equipment. During our trip did not use supplemental oxygen. We would like to thank the Pakistani climbers for their hard work and dedication that they put into this expedition. Without them we would not be where we are now. Gentlemen – THANKS A LOT!!! Members of the National Winter Expedition on K2 Finally Rafal Froni posted a video on his Facebook feed showing an avalanche heading towards him. The text says this was when a rock hit and broke his forearm on 9 February. It is startling video. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Timeline Set Alex Txikon and team remained active while waiting for the winds to calm on the summit. That is the good news. The bad news is they took a climb to Camp 2 and found their tents destroyed by wind. They also had to repair the route in the Khumbu Icefall. Nether of these are particularly troubling and I’m sure they are prepared for this with some spare tents. Teammate Muhammad Ali Sadpara posted on facebook “Team leader Alex says we’ll continue our attempts until March 10.” They expect a weather window to emerge – a time of low winds on the summit – next week. Just as on K2, the Everest team is supported with local talent. They have several Sherpas from Seven Summits Treks: Txikon posted on Facebook: – Chandra Tamang: One of the responsibility of keeping us fed. It’s the firts expedición together, but although he is very young he has a lot of experience with more than 20 expeditions. He is marvellous and always helping us in everything we need. He has two sons and originary he is from Solukhumbu valley, where we are. It’s a pleasure to meet you! – Fursang sherpa: It is the second time we work together, any problem with our feather jackets, Fursang takes care of it. Since 2013 he has worked on expeditions as a sherpa and as a member of the Base Camp. He has participate it in expeditions of the beautiful Ama Dablam mountain three times. He is also father of 2 sons and he was born in this región of Nepal. You are an artist! – Dawa Rinji: He is the oldest of the expedition with his 59 years. He makes everything easier, as his predisposition, affection and kindness are incredible. He has more than 30 years of experience in different expeditions and after we met in Nuptse we have work together in more than four ocassions. He has 3 daughters and he is from the Makalu region. You’re
Progress on K2
With good weather, the Polish K2 team established their highest point yet this season while the Everest team is forced to sit at base camp waiting for lower winds. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Winter K2 – Pushing Hard The Polish team are enjoying low winds for a change but expect high winds to return on 25 February according to this interview with expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki. He noted that the temperatures are higher, approx. -13 ° C in the shade, before it was below -20 ° C. They must be feeling great with all the team climbing, the route getting set, camps established. Their patience is paying off. Today, Sunday 18 February 2018, Adam Bielecki and Denis Urubko were reported to have climbed House’s Chimney to Camp 2 near 22,110’/6700m. They used the ropes that were placed last summer. They will spend the night just below the Chimney as it is at the base of a large wall (hence the Chimney) and blocks the strong winds that usually shatter Camp 2 (see image at top of post from 2014). Tomorrow, they will climb the Black Pyramid in hopes of establishing Camp 3 at 23,760’/7200m on this rotation. The other climbers, Marek Chmielarski, and Janusz Golab are either at Camp 1 or 2 with the intention of climbing higher and Artur Malek and Maciej Bedrejczuk returning to base camp. Meanwhile in an excellent demonstration of respecting the mountain, Wielicki sent the Pakistani High Altitude Porters back up the Česen ridge to remove ropes and tents. Well done! You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Waiting Alex Txikon and team remain at base camp and got a little spray from an avalanche off the Lho La Pass. This is extremely normal and happens often but I’m sure was “entertaining” for them! You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Winter Everest and K2 – Can They Summit?
With about one month to go before the end of winter, it may be time to wonder if either team will make their winter summit. There was talk of a 20 February summit push but the winds seem still too high, however the forecast is improving. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. The Big Picture Climbing these peaks in the winter is all about weather, specifically cold and wind, wind, wind. Both the K2 and Everest teams are coping with the cold but when the wind gusts over 40mph/65kph it gets virtually impossible. All the climbers have the skills, are strong and experienced so their capabilities are not in question. But even the strongest person cannot withstand 100mph wind gusts. On Everest the Jet-stream sits on the summit for most of the year only relenting in late May and again in early October. Most summit pushes require a minimum of four days from base camp. On Everest, an extremely aggressive schedule would breakout like this: EBC – C2 at 21,000’/6400m C2 – C3 at 23,500’/7162m or South Col at 26,300’/8016m Summit Bid at 29,035′ / 8850m Back to C2 Back to EBC They could climb in high winds through the Icefall but probably not above C3 around 23,500’/7162m. They did have fixed ropes almost to the South Col, but that was a couple of weeks ago and they could be buried under new snow or frozen in since then. On K2, it is a similar schedule. They have reached C2 at 22,110’/6700m but have no ropes through the Black Pyramid or above. With the icy conditions, I would assume they want to put the ropes in before or during a summit push. They have found old ropes but it is exhausting and time consuming to chop them out of the ice. Their schedule might be: K2BC – C2 at 22,110’/6700m C2 – C4 at 25,080’/7600m Summit Bid at 28,251’/8611m Back to C2 Back to K2BC Winter K2 – Pushing Hard The Polish team continues to push, even in high winds knowing the clock is ticking. Marek Chmielarski and Artur Małek reached Camp 1 and Saturday, 17 February 2018, Janusz Gołąb, Maciej Bedrejczuk, Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki (who was injured by rockfall, is returning to the climb) will leave K2BC. This is the most climbers they have had on K2 this season suggesting they are pushing hard to acclimatize in anticipation of a summit window. There does appear to be reasonable winds up to the 8,000-meter level for the next week. Rafał Fronia, who had his arm broken by rockfall, is back home in Poland and did a radio interview. The money quote was : If people are acclimatized and will weather window, the chance is one hundred percent. In contrast, if you run any factor, because we do not know what will happen, well, the chances are zero. This is a good team of good people who can climb and they will come up on this, but under some circumstances. Thanks to Altitude Pakistan, this is a brief summary of the previous attempts: During the first winter attempt in 1987/88, the team noted that they only had 10 days of good weather during their three months expedition. Krzysztof Wielicki, the leader today, was a climber on that expedition. They didn’t reach C3 on the Abruzzi until March 6th and then harsh winds stopped them almost killing two of the climbers with severe frostbite. The next attempt in 2002/3 was lead by Wielicki and attempted the North Pillar. It was a team of climbers from Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Georgia – they didn’t get along. Denis Urubko was also on this effort and stayed with the team after others left. Marcin Kaczkan and Urubko were the only climbers to attempt the summit on 25 February but Kaczkan developed HACE and they abandoned the attempt and the expedition. In 2010/11 a Russian team reached 7,000-meters at the end of January by the Abruzzi but again high winds forced a retreat, then one member died at base camp and the effort was called-off. So, as you can see these winter attempts are a huge gamble, complete with deaths. They rush to establish the route during brief periods of suitable weather but spend most of their time waiting at base camp. When they do go for the summit, it has been the winds and illness that have stopped them. Of course both Urubko and Wielicki know this well as they were there. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – There is Hope! Alex Txikon and team must be thinking this is a scene out of the movie Groundhog Day. Everyday they wake hoping for a good weather report and each day, the report is wind up high. However, the computer models show a lessening at all attitudes starting next Tuesday. Given the previous discussion on needing 4-5 days, it’s feasible to see them making a summit bid late next week around 22/23 February. This would have them leaving base camp on Monday or Tuesday. A bit of trivia, the latest winter summit of Everest was on February 17, 1979 by the current K2 team leader, Krzysztof Wielicki. Fellow Polish climber Leszek Cichy also summited that day. Another trivia, there has never been a winter summit of Everest from the Chinese side. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 Progress, Everest Dancing, Tomek’s Wife Thanks Everyone
The Polish K2 team continues to fight the weather, but now over on the Abruzzi route. On Everest, they are dancing at base camp! Both teams are eying February 20th as a potential summit date. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. The Big Picture Is climbing a team sport, or a team of individuals? In the old days of true National Teams, members were selected for their skills and experience. They didn’t know if they would have a chance to summit as that was decided by the leader after they had worked together to get camps set up and perhaps fixed rope on the route. Every leader had their own selection criteria but mostly it came down to who was strongest to make the summit. Remember in the “old days”, if one member summited, the entire expedition was called a success. This winter season we have seen many examples of how teamwork goes in modern times. On K2, there is a clear split between Denis Urubko and the rest of the team. He is even going so far as to taunt them in the media. On Everest, Txikon and crew seem to be working well together even posting videos of them dancing and having fun. And on Nanga Parbat, it was the worse of all worlds with a close partnership to make the summit, then death and now an ugly time of finger pointing. To be clear, climbing these high peaks – in winter – is an almost impossible task – just look at the success rate. It takes a strong team of climbers, complete with strong egos, to break trail in deep snow, put in fixed ropes, establish camps, fight the wind and stay focused and motived during long periods of downtime. But the real test comes when they go for the summit. That is when they need to be working as a closely knit team supporting each other with a shared purpose and understanding of the risk profile. If one member wants to be more aggressive than the others, they will waste precise energy arguing over continuing or turning back. With summits window emerging for next week, now is the time to gel as a team. Winter K2 – Fixing the Abruzzi The Polish team has completed a few reconnaissance climbs to inspect the condition of the Abruzzi and determined they will need fixed ropes. They found some old ropes that are encased in ice, but will need to bring more up. Keep in mind, they are already familiar with the route as many of the team was on it this summer for training and knowledge with no attempt to summit K2. Polish climbers, Piotr Tomala and Marcin Kaczkan wanted to fix the route to Camp 1 around 20,000’/6100m yesterday but the weather tuned bad so they left a cache of supplies just below C1. The plan for today, 14 February was to send the High Altitude Porters (HAP), Saddik and Jalal, to complete the route at least to C1. Denis Urubko continues to criticize the team and methods on his blog. This time he does a “told you so” series of rants saying they should have climbed from the east side of K2 and they never should have attempted the Česen or be on the Abruzzi now. And today he does interview with RussianClimb showing him hoping to reach Camp 3 on the Abruzzi but stopped by weather. He did reach 6500-meters, alone, with more rope. But once again, he criticizes his teammates and leader but obeys orders to return to a lower camp when weather moves in. Its makes for an interesting read (link). He ends his post with a hint that 20 February might be a good weather day and then adds “opps”. He is certainly focusing the attention on himself. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Still more Wind, But a Break Soon? Alex Txikon posted a fun video of how they are spending their time at base camp waiting for low summit winds. reviewing the computer models on Moutnain Weather, next Tuesday, 20 February 2018, could be a day with low winds up high. If this is true, they would leave later this week to get in position to push for the summit then leaving the South Col on Monday night. Txikon posted on Facebook just now “The Base Camp is all covered in snow these days before the summit. Getting ready!” You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat: Appreciation, Finger Pointing and Lost Hope The echo of Tomek Mackiewicz’s death and Elisabeth Revol’s rescue continues to haunt Nanga Parbat, and in some ways the Pakistani mountaineering community. Mackiewicz’s wife, Anna Antoinette Solska, posted on his Facebook page a classy and emotional thank you to all involved in the search for her husband. It began: I would like to express my profound gratitude to Elisabeth Revol for staying with Tom as long as possible, for bringing him as low as possible, for taking immediately a fight to save him, for words of comfort for me, which in such a dramatic situation both for Tom and her alone was able to direct me to tell me that he was doing everything he could to help him. She did everything in her power to that moment where she had to continue to fight to save her life too. We are unable to imagine the dramatic situation in which she found herself or the moral tragic choice she had to make. We have no right to judge. I’m with her all my heart to get better. Thank you for her love giving tomek to children, for her willingness to support children and
K2 Teams Stops, and Starts Back Up.
The Polish K2 team halted climbing on the Česen and switched to another route believed to be safer. The Everest team continues to wait meanwhile there has been a summit of extremely cold Pik Pobeda. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Winter K2 – Switch to the Abruzzi The Polish team planned to climb the Česen Route aka Basque Route because it was shorter, steeper and somewhat faster than the Abruzzi or other routes on K2 from the Pakistani side. However the winter of 2017/18 has been a low snow year allowing dangerous rockfall on the ridge. Two climbers had already been injured, Rafal Fronia with a broken forearm and Adam Bielecki with a broken nose and gash to his face. Adding to the dynamics, Kazakstan alpinist Denis Urubko who has held Polish citizenship since February 2015, publicly criticized the team and methods on his blog. As a result, expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki halted all climbing, brought his team back to base camp to regroup and consider alternatives. There are multiple routes on K2 but the two most commonly climbed are the Česen and the Abruzzi. It now appears they will attempt the Abruzzi. I summited K2 in 2014 by this route. While a bit longer than the Česen, it has very similar issues – exposure to wind and objective dangers. It requires climbing House’s Chimney, a 50-meter/150 foot off-width crack rock climb just below Camp 2 (22,000’/6700m) and up the Black Pyramid, a section of highly loose rock for almost two thousand feet to Camp3 at 24000’/7300m. This route will not be any easier, or safer in my opinion. The Česen and Abruzzi merge at Camp 3 so they would have had the same issue on the upper mountain regardless of route selection. They had reached 6,300-meters on the Česen. Today, 11 February on the Abruzzi, Janusz Gołąb and Maciek Bedrejczuk reached 5,650-meters and established their Camp 1 at 5,300-meters. Tommorrow, if the weather allows, they will put in fixed ropes according to their official site. Also the weather allowed Rafał Fronia to be helicoptered to a Skardu hospital to look after his broken arm. Adam Bielecki is staying with the team and expected to continue climbing. The good news is the weather is expected to be acceptable for the next week but we know how forecasts go for K2. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Wind, Wind, Wind Alex Txikon and the team continue to wait for low winds up high before starting their summit bid, hopefully this upcoming week. They are safe and comfortable, as much as you can be in sub-zero temps, at base camp. They have ropes set to 7,850 meters between Camp 3 and the South Col. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Pik Pobeda – Summit Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger have summited Pik Pobeda, 3003 meters, in the Siberia’s Chersky Range region. Their hometeam posted: Summit! First winter ascent of Gora Pobeda (Pik Pobeda), the highest mountain (3003 m.) of the Mounts Cerskij Range, in the coldest place on earth, in Siberia, at the Polar Artic Circle. In about 7 hours, at 3.37 pm local time, Simone and Tamara Lunger reached the summit and in 11 hours total they were back to BC. “It snowed all day long, but there was good visibility. It was extremely cold! How cold we do not know yet, we’ll check and tell you.” These are the quick comments made by Simone and Tamara who called once back at the village of the reindeer herdsmen who have already brought them from BC to their little village. “We are very grateful to the herdsmen who really supported us.” In the next days, as soon as they will be back with internet connection they will send us the pictures of the ascent and the summit. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Discontent on K2, Nanga Anger and Everest Patience
Another member of the K2 Polish team was injured by rockfall. This one was more serious and he will be evacuated to Skardu. The weather watch continues on Everest and Elizabeth Revol has some harsh words for some of the organizations involved in her rescue. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Big Picture – Team Dynamics Team dynamics may be the most import part of an expedition’s expedition’s success. If the teammates turn against one another, the summit is usually lost. Being on a long expedition like Everest or K2 is filled with a lot of downtime, pressure and, at times, a feeling that everything is out of your control. All of this conspires to put pressure on relationships. Of course, people handle this pressure in different ways. Some avoid contact, others try to be the peacemaker and then some seek to control the whole group to their strategy. It’s up to the leader to maintain control through creating an open and honest environment where everyone can speak their mind while being respectful. Winter K2 – 2 Injured, Team Unsettled The Polish team lost a key member today. While climbing to Camp 1, rockfall hit Rafal Fronia breaking his forearm. He was able to return to base camp on his own but will be flown to Skardu for surgery and then home to Poland. This is the second loss for the team as Jaroslaw Botor also returned to Poland for personal reasons. Now down two members and with five weeks to go, the anxiety must be increasing to some degree. Perhaps this is why Denis Uubko wrote on his blog that he doubts the team’s tactics. While written in Russian and translated awkwardly by Google, the message is pretty clear and reported by multiple outlets. He complained that he was the only one fixing ropes up high and was worried the progress was too slow, that he was forced to speak in Polish to most of the members, not venting the tents when they cook inside, are not hydrating properly, and more … He reflects on his 2003 K2 winter attempt noting the similarities. That effort was also lead by Krzysztof Wielicki. They set a winter K2 altitude record by reaching 7,550-meters on the north side via the Chinese Pillar route. Current K2 climbers Marcin Kaczkan and Piotr Morawski were with Urubko in 2003. Kazakstan alpinist Denis Urubko has held Polish citizenship since February 2015. See this recent interview with Urubko in Alpinsimonline. where he discussed this K2 winter effort. Urubko was the 15th person to summit all 14 of the 8000ers without supplemental oxygen. In spite of these difficulties and with good weather at the moment, the team is moving up and down the route for acclimatization and fixing the rope. Marek Chmielarski and Artur Małek went to Camp 1 then Camp 2 allowing Piotr Tomala to overnight at C1. With such limited space at the camps, the team has to climb in tight coordination. The plan is to establish at Camp 3 at 6,900-meters if the weather allows. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest – Wind, Wind, Wind Alex Txikon and the team continue to stay at base camp. They have ropes set to 7,850 meters between Camp 3 and the South Col but the recent high winds and snow have caused some of the route in the Khumbu Icefall to be rebuilt, not all that unusual as the Icefall can move a meter a day at times. Txikon made an interesting post on Facebook where he showed this graph of winds in May compared to January. As you can see, theJetstreamm sits right on top of Everest right now creating hurricane force winds that would be deadly to any climber. They must wait for several days of winds under 30 or 40 mph before attempting the summit. They hope that breaks occur next week. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Pik Pobeda – Summit Bid is Next Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger have reached 2,000-meters according to his Facebook post. They are back at base camp waiting for summit window where they will make a “speedy climb” He notes that it is cold, -40/45°C and there is a lot of snow. They are attempting Pik Pobeda, 3003 meters, in the Siberia’s Chersky Range region. Nanga Parbat Reflections and Anger Elisabeth Revol held a press conference and lashed out at the Pakistanis, Polish and French embassies claiming their delays cost Tomek Mackiewicz his life. The Polish media outlet RFM24 also reported that Revol said the Pakistan authorities “blackmailed” them when they increased the helicopter rescue fee from US$15,000 to $40,000 – all in cash. This took two more days as the Embassies didn’t have that much cash on hand. Askari Aviation, who conducted the operation, describes on their website about rescues: “All teams visiting Pakistan as per existing Government policy will be required to deposit US$ 6,000 or provide guarantee of respective embassies to Askari Aviation to clear dues within 7 days. She went on to defend her leaving Mackiewicz as she was told to descend because the helicopter couldn’t reach them and the rescue team would retrieve him later.” The French media BFMTV quoted Revol: “I have a lot of anger in me, she continues. We could have saved Tomek had there been real relief made on time and organized.” She remains in the hospital receiving treatment for her frostbitten hands and feet. She is fighting to avoid amputation of her left foot. The rescue fundraiser has been redirected to benefit Mackiewicz’s wife and three children. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Injury on K2, Everest Summit Push Next Week
A member of the K2 Polish team was injured by rockfall. While serious, he will continue climbing. Over on Everest, they remain locked down at base camp waiting out the weather but hope to start the summit push next week. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Both expeditions need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 0:15 PKT for K2 and 18:00 NPT for Everest to meet a winter summit definition. Big Picture Of all the objective dangers in climbing mountains, rockfall might be the one most feared. Along with avalanches and “disappearance” rocks hitting climbers are the most common dangers on K2. What makes rockfall on K2 so serious is the angle of the slopes – once a rock gets going, it becomes a deadly missile – without warning. Climber wear helmets but they do little to stop a moderate size rock zooming down a steep face. deven small rocks can cause serious injury. In 2015, Kami Sherpa had his shoulder dislocated and arm broken when he was hit by a rock on the Abruzzi Ridge. In 2006 Irish Climber Gerard McDonnell was hit in the head by falling rock and had to be helicoptered off the Hill. Winter K2 The Polish team took advantage of a low-wind day to continue their acclimatization rotations. After sleeping at Camp 1, Maciek Bedrejczuk then went to Camp 2 at 6,300-meters. Janusz Golab and Adam Bielecki left base camp towards Camp 1 at 5,900-meters. But the big news was that while only 100 meters below Camp 1, a falling rock hit Adam Bielecki in the face breaking his nose. He was helped back to base camp by two high-altitude ports where he received six stitches to close a large gash. He never lost consciousness and will return to the climb after a few days of rest. The team reported a snowstorm at base camp but the next few days should be good enough to make progress to Camp 3 with winds right at the edge of 30 mph/50 kph. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and the team continue to stay at base camp after reaching 7,850 meters between Camp 3 and the South Col. The winds continue to be too strong to climb higher – 70 mph/112 kph at the South Col. The computer models show strong winds for the rest of the week, but that can change quickly. Over on Muhammad Ali Sadpara‘s Facebook page he noted: Team is resting on base camp. Weather is very bad. Wind is blowing at approximately 70mi/hr tearing down our tents. Some portions of khumbu ice fall has collapsed near camp one. A team of sherpas headed by me has fixed the ropes and ladders again. We got the report of a clear weather window after Feb 11. Hopefully we’ll push for summit in coming week. All team members are in great shape and health. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Other Winter Climbs There are a couple of other climbs this winter: It’s over for the Pakistani climbers attempting the first winter summit 7200 meter Masherbrum West Peak aka Masherbrum 2; too much snow. Maaz Maqsood. has lots of pictures on his Facebook page. Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger established their Camp 1 in perfect weather according to his Facebook post. He notes that it is cold, -40/45°C and there is a lot of snow. They are attempting Pik Pobeda, 3003 meters, in the Siberia’s Chersky Range region. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 and Everest Winter Climbs Back in Business
The winter climbs of K2 and Everest were progressing normally but with the recent rescue on Nanga Parbat, the activity paused to help out. Now that Elisabeth Revol is recovering in a hospital and the Polish K2 rescue team is back at base camp, the on-mountain activity has picked back up. See this post for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Big Picture Both K2 and Everest are not “easy” anytime but in the winter the challenges are amplified. This past week has shown how the best plans are often stopped by the weather – high winds to be precise. Currently on Everest winds are a sustained 160 kph/100 mph and on K2, slightly lower but still high. I can tell you from personal experience that these winds can easily toss you around like a piece of paper. A well-known story of deadly wind gusts comes from the 1995 death of Alison Hargreaves and five teammates on K2. They summited in good weather but it deteriorated quickly as a storm approached. The next day, climbers who had turned back fearing the storm found her jacket, boot and harness. A body, presumed to be her, was spotted near Camp 4. It was assumed all six were blown off the mountain during the storm. Winter K2 The Polish team is now back together but once again hit by high winds on K2. The members who went to Nanga Parbat caught a small break in the weather that allowed the helicopter to fly from Skardu to K2 base camp. Late in the week, other team members, Marek Chmielarski and Artur Małek, slept at Camp 1 and Camp 2 keeping the Česen Route aka Basque Route open and acclimatizing. This is a good video showing Marek and Artur climbing between C1 and C2 on the Česen Ridge. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and the team are back at base camp after reaching 7,850 meters between Camp 3 and the South Col. They are experiencing windy conditions as shown in this video they posted on Facebook: You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat Elisabeth Revol continues to receive treatment for frostbite on her hands and feet in a Swiss hospital. She gave a complete interview to AFP this week revealing that they did summit and Tomek Mackiewicz got in trouble almost immediately on the descent. She said he became blind and suffered frostbite on his feet, hands, and face. When they couldn’t reach any of the high camps, they took refuge in a crevasse for the night. At sunrise, Mackiewicz was worse and Revol saw blood streaming from his mouth – a sign of altitude sickness and the only cure is a rapid descent but he was now immobile. Revol was told by the rescue team to descend to 6,000-meters due to limitations of the helicopter, weather and lack of a suitable landing spot higher. She said leaving Mackiewicz was not her decision. She spent another night out, again in a small crevasse but began to hallucinate. She saw people giving her tea and she gave them a boot as payment thus exposing her foot to the harsh temperatures for five hours. This is when she began to develop frostbite on her hands and feet but continued to climb down the mountain. Eventually, she met up with Denis and Adam. The fundraiser has been redirected on behalf of Mackiewicz’s wife and three children. Other Winter Climbs There are a couple of other climbs this winter: A small team of Pakistani climbers is attempting the first winter summit 7200 meter Masherbrum West Peak aka Masherbrum 2. Lead by Maaz Maqsood. Another big winter climb is by Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger on a very northern peak in Siberia, Pik Pobeda, 3003 meters, in the Chersky Range region. They have arrived at the peak but there is little information. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything