Winter Climbs: K2, Everest and Wind
The death of Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz and the rescue of French climber Elisabeth Revol by the Polish K2 team had followers at the edge of their seat over the past five days as once again the world’s attention was focused on high-altitude mountaineering. Now the K2 team is trying to regroup and over on Everest, there has been excellent progress this week. But with high winds hitting both Hills, we can expect a pause for a few days. 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 Climbing an 8000-meter peak is difficult enough in the normal seasons – pre and post-monsoon for Everest and summer for K2 – but doing them in winter takes the difficulty to an entirely new level. There are two major issues: wind and cold. Winter weather is just an unpredictable as summer for high mountains because they make their own conditions poking into the jet stream. The cold is beyond brutal, at times can be -40F/C. Even the best down suits will only do so much. Add in the winds, and exposed skin will almost instantly suffer frostbite. So it becomes a bit of a game to climb as high as you can, as fast as you can and return to the safety of camp before a disaster occurs. If you target a short weather window and are wrong, the results can be deadly. Depending on the year, heavy snow can be an issue. The Poles had reported that K2 had little snow on the flanks and they were climbing on ice-covered rock most of the time. Of course, we will see what they find at Camp 4, about 8,000-meters. The big issue on Everest will be near the South Col and perhaps the Triangular Face. All the climbers are not using supplemental oxygen thus the risk is even higher. Extra O’s primarily help keep the climber warm. When cold penetrates the layers, the body will abandon the fingers, toes, nose and shift more blood to save the heart, lungs and other organs. This natural triage must be consciously managed throughout an expedition. The only cure for these conditions is to get lower and warmer. Winter K2 The Polish team is not 100% back together as the members who went to Nanga Parbat are stuck in Skardu waiting for better weather for the helicopter. The winds are 50kph/30 mph at base camp and stronger up high. The estimate at Camp 2, around 6,300-meters, is winds blowing at 80kph/50 mph. Once back together, they will continue to fix the route up the Česen Route aka Basque Route, hopefully establishing Camp 3 around 7,000-meters. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and the team took advantage of good weather. Two days earlier they established their Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. They put up two tents assuming they can support seven climbers on their summit push. They planned to spend a night at C3 then tag the South Col but it appears they only went a bit higher than C3, perhaps 7,800-meters and are descending. They also are expecting high winds and will return to base camp. Wind gust might reach 150 kph/93 mph at 8,000-meters. Tixkon Garmin Tracker shows they reached just above Camp 3: You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat Elisabeth Revol is now in Geneva Switzerland undergoing treatment for frostbite on her hands and feet. She is receiving drugs (vasodilators), treatment in a hyperbaric chamber. A decision on amputation will be made in a few days according to Frédéric Champly, emergency chief at Mont Blanc hospital in an interview. source Tomek Mackiewicz is presumed dead. In a write-up about the incident, Revol said that after they had summited Nanga, he began to suffer from frostbite, and snow blindness. She made the decision to leave him protected in a sleeping bag in a crevasse at 7,280-meters. He was unconscious and immobile. Desnivel has a good interview with Denis Urubko. 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. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Disaster Developing on Nanga Parbat, K2 Team to Launch Rescue – Update 4
Many media outlets and multiple press reports plus posts on Facebook are describing a developing disaster scenario on Nanga Parbat for Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz. He and his French climbing partner Elisabeth Revol were on their summit bid in a tiny weather window when Mackiewicz developed frostbite and snowblindness. There has also been a mention of injury, but that is unclear. Update 5 Horribly sad but also part of mountaineering for a winter 8000er, due to impending bad weather the rescue efforts for Nanga climber Tomek has ended. The K2 climbers who stopped their historic effort for a winter K2 summit will descend with Elisabeth Revo – one life saved. I will have a full recap and what’s next tomorrow. Amazing effort and well done to all. RIP Tomek. Update 4; 02:00 28 January Pakistan time: We are witnessing a superhuman effort by the K2 team to climb so fast at night. There are only a handful of climbers who could be doing what is happing before our eyes. They climbed at a rate of 400 feet or 121 meters per hour at 20,000 feet/6000 meters up a very steep, icy and technical Kingshofer wall. This is simply incredible. After being helicoptered from K2 base camp, Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki are with Elisabeth Revo a bit more than 200m above the Kingshofer wall around 6000 meters. She is reported to have frostbite on several toes but in generally good shape. They still need to get lower but this is great news. Medical assistance is ready to give aid as soon as possible. She is a survivor to be sure. source Other K2 climbers will continue to try and reach Mackiewicz . He was last reported at 7200 meters but there has been no recent contact with him. If you are accessing any SPOT or other GPS trackers for Nanga Parbat, a request has been made to stop as it is taking up bandwidth, delaying information and preventing access at times. Thanks. Not important now, but there is a report both Revol and Mackiewicz did summit Nanga Parbat on the 25. – not confirmed. Update 3 19:30 PM 27 January Pakistan time: The fundraiser target has been increased to help with more expected expenses. The K2 climbers are now on Nanga Parbat. “The helicopter did not succeed in getting high enough to pick up Eli. It has dropped off rescuers including Denis Urubko and Adam Bielicki at C1 at 4,800m. They have a tracker on them and have last been seen at 5,225m. They will continue climbing up through the night. They are both well acclimatized on K2 and extraordinarily strong. Elisabeth took a decision to start a descent down from 6700m towards them provided she can find fixed ropes. She has no battery power left. We believe in the strength of her spirit.” Update 2 08:00 27 January Pakistan time The helicopters are waiting for better weather before flying to K2 base camp thus delaying the attempt to help those on Nanga. If the K2 team cannot be reached four high altitude porters will be helicopter to 6300 meters to render aid. Revol has been in contact and reports frostbite but she seems to be surviving. Update 1: Latest Update from Crowdfunding page: 19:00 26 January – Eli managed to bring Tomek down to 7280m this morning and set him up in a tent to spend the night while the rescue effort gets under way early tomorrow morning. – There is a good coordination of the French/Polish diplomats and the military – Eli is in the process of descending down and has last communicated from 6671m. Though she has no tent, she is clearly lucid and is making progress on descent to help get rescue effort under way. – K2 Polish climbing team of 4 will be picked up tomorrow from their base camp by a helicopter to mount a rescue attempt from the base camp of Nanga Parbat. – If the weather allows, rescuers with oxygen and food will be dropped off at a higher altitude – Your generosity and the help of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland has helped fund the effort. Background A rescue plan was developed when the Polish K2 team agreed to fly to his location around 7,300-meters. They are already acclimatized to this altitude from their efforts on K2 and are the only viable team available on earth. Also, Polish climber, Adam Bielecki knows Nanga well since he attempted it by the same route in the winter of 2016. Denis Urubko posted on Facebook: Ciao Matteo. Everything is in correct way finally. Tomorrow morning rescue team will fly to Diamir. We will try to go by Kinshoffer route as soon as possible. Adam and me are in head-team, going light style. Will be necessary to climb, sure, because old ropes shall be into the ice. Our group can be 4-6 members finally. We’ll try to do our best. The commercial company, Askari Aviation flying a Pakistani military helicopter, refused to launch the mission without $100,000 rescue costs guaranteed. This is standard procedure in Pakistan. Mackiewicz doesn’t have insurance but Revol does. The government of Poland stepped into secure payment but two crowdfunding efforts, crowdfunding 1 / crowdfunding 2 have already raised over € 80,000 within hours. Two helicopters, standard on Pakistan, will conduct the operation. First, they will pick up K2 climbers, Denis Urubko, Adam Bielecki, Piotr Tomala, Jarek Botor and Marek Chmielarski, Saturday morning then fly to Nanga which is 111 miles from K2 – about one hour flight. UPDATE: Several reports have the helicopters have left Skardu to pick up the K2 climbers but unconfirmed. Given the location of the climbers, the helicopters will drop off the rescue team around 6,000-meters and they will need to climb up the Diamer Face to aid the climbers. They will attempt to rescue Revol first who is reported to have tried to descend to a safer altitude near Camp 3. She has sent her GPS location via her SPOT tracker. Then they will return to attempt to
K2 Winter Update and News from Everest
As expected the K2 team is making excellent progress while the Everest gang is about to re-engage climbing Everest. The climbers on the other winter 8000er, Nanga Parbat, have been staged high on the mountain waiting for calm 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. Big Picture There are two styles often discussed when climbing the worlds highest peaks: alpine and siege. With alpine style, climbers make one push from their base camp to the summit, carrying all their gear with them and making camps as needed. This is often impossible on 8000-meter peaks due to the need for acclimatization but has occurred when climbers acclimatize on other peaks. With siege or expedition style, teams will establish and stock several intermediate camps roughly 1000-meters or 3,000 feet apart. This takes more time but is generally safer and provides an opportunity to rest or wait out bad weather. Both Everest and K2 teams are climbing in siege style without supplemental oxygen. Alex Txikon is doing almost a hybrid given he summited a 7,000-meter peak last weekend. Winter K2 The Polish team has had some illness in their camp that is slowing some of the team. Due to what was called a “minor health problem”, one team member, Dariusz Zaluski was flown to a hospital in Skardu for treatment but plans on returning. Meanwhile, other members are taking advantage of good weather – tolerable winds – to acclimatize and continue fixing the Česen Route aka Basque Route with ropes. They have established two camps: C1 at 5,900-meters and C2 at 6,300 to 6,400-meters and are rotating members between camps. There is only one tent at C1 and two tent at C2 according to outstanding pictures posted by Denis Uruboko. He reported very high winds when he was at C1 and C2. Denis Uruboko, Marcin Kaczkan, Marek Chmielarski and Adam Bielecki have either spent the night in C2 or are currently there. Rafał Fronia and Piotrek Tomala are currently at C1. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and the team are completing a rest cycle after their rare and successful summit of Pumori Peak at 23,419’/7138-meters – equivalent to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. They are leaving Base Camp tomorrow for another climb, perhaps as high as Camp 4 at 8,000-meters or the South Col. Most climbers who do not use supplemental oxygen try to climb and preferably spend one night, at 8K to ensure their acclimatization. Txikon had previously said he expected to attempt the summit in the third week of February, about a month away. This gives them plenty of time to deal with weather delays, illness or unexpected conditions. They need to summit no later than the spring equinox on March 20, 2018, at 18:00 NPT to meet a winter summit definition. Prior to their summit, there have only been 17 winter summits on Pumori. Tixkon posted on facebook: You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol over on Nanga Parbat have posted that they were at C3 in 60mph/100 kmh winds. Today, Wednesday 24 January, they planned to move to C4 and go for the summit on 25 January. This is the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. Quiet 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 Yakutsk on their way to the peak. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Winter K2 and Everest Climbs – A Rare Summit on Pumori!
This week both the Everest and K2 team should make huge progress. Over on Nanga Parbat, the two-person team will attempt to summit midweek. 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 Entering their third week, both the K2 and Everest teams continue to set the route and acclimatize. They are busy establishing the low camps i.e. under 7000-meters before moving higher. Winter K2 The Polish team reports excellent weather for the first time in a few days. They continue to rotate climbers up the Česen Route aka Basque Route in two or three person teams to fix the route. Today they noted they were able to establish a small Camp 1 about 5,900-meters. The ridge is very steep and there is little room for even one tent in many spots. Climber Jarosław Botor posted 26 pictures on his Facebook feed. It gives a good idea of what they are facing. Denis Uruboko posted an update on fixing the lower part of the route from a few days ago. He said it was extremely windy and took them about an hour to reach the base of the Česen ridge from base camp. They investigated fixed ropes last set by Russell Brice’s Himalayan Experience 2017 summer effort on the Česen but were deeply embedded in the ice and impossible to pull out. Even if they could retrieve them, they would have been rotten due to the exposure from direct sun at this extreme altitude. He went on to add that the climbing was on hard black ice meaning the ice covered the black rocks of the ridge. As they approached 6,000-meters the winds really picked up. He felt that they had gone as high as possible given the conditions. This may be the story throughout their expedition – to take what the mountain will allow. I am told by their home team that there is less snow than they expected and more hard ice and rocks, so they must be mindful of rockfall. This is one of the key dangers climbing K2 by any route. Denis Urubko has a nice post with an overview of their effort thus far. This picture shows the route: You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and five Sherpas have fixed the ropes through the Khumbu Icefall and reached Camp 2 at 21,000’/6400m. However, this week Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Pemba Bhote Sherpa and Nuri Sherpa summited nearby Pumori Peak at 23,419’/7138-meters – equivalent to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. This is a rare event these days given many climbers avoid Pumori due to avalanche danger. Tixkon posted on facebook: Pumori was first summited by the German team of Gerhard Lenser, Ernst Farrer, Ueli Huerlemann, Hans Ruetzel on 17 May, 1962. Since then, there have been 507 summits and 41 deaths – 19 from avalanches and 13 from falls. Pumori has a death rate of 2.13 compared to Everest’s 1.22. The most recent summit prior to Txikon was by a Czech Republic team on 1 November 2011. There were unsuccessful attempts in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 on multiple routes. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol over on Nanga Parbat are reported to go for the summit this upcoming Wednesday. They made an attempt over the weekend but turned back due to winds. They are staying at a camp at 7,000-meters to wait for better conditions. This will be their only attempt. If they don’t make it, it’s over for this trip. This is the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. Quiet Winter Climbs There are several other climbs this winter but they are not updating from their base camps so I will list them for reference only: A small team of Pakistani climbers are 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. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Winter K2 and Everest Updates
Progress when climbing 8000-meter mountains is often measured in small steps, and that is what we have this week. Also, it appears the Nanga Parbat team is heading for a summit attempt. 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 the K2 and Everest teams continue to acclimatize as well as trying to establish the low camps i.e. under 7000-meters before moving higher. The main issue has been, is and will always be wind. If it is about 30 mph/48 kph the windchill becomes deadly. Winter K2 The Polish team is starting to send members up the Česen Route aka Basque Route to scout out conditions. High winds hit K2 a couple of days ago but seem to have calmed allowing further progress. A big decision was made on Wednesday, 17 January, by Janusz Gołąb and Denis Urubko to skip establishing a Camp 1 at 5,900 meters and move on to Camp 2 at 6,200 meters. This means the climbers will have a very long day from Base Camp to Camp 2 but might save some time in the long run by spending less time on the exposed ridge. I’m told by their home team that they choose the Česen Route primarily because it was faster. It is steeper than the Abruzzi so these strong climbers should be able to cover more ground faster. Also, it avoids House Chimney and the Black Pyramid which are time-consuming technical rock climbs at extreme altitude. While Gołąb and Urubko rest, another group of climbers will continue fixing the route and establish C2 over the next few days. The four Pakistani High Altitude Porters are Sadiq, Amina Ullah Baig, Jalal Uddin and Fazal Ali. They are from the Pakistan valley of Shimshal. Their primary role is to help ferry gear to the camps, not to fix the route even though they have for previous summer expeditions. This is a nice video at the extreme lower part of the route by Janusz Gołąb and Denis Urubko: And a good photo from at the beginning of the route. This is their commentary: Simple approach from base to wall-About 1 hours. Other than in summer – without dodging the podtopionych ponds or getting closer to the kuluarów that can leave something. The team team is heading to the right of Spurs rock, against the wall. You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and five Sherpas have fixed the ropes through the Khumbu Icefall. They have established Camp 1 at 6,050 meters in the Western Cwm and did a day hike to Camp 2 just below the Lhotse Face. Currently, they are climbing Pumori, adjacent to EBC. It’s unclear how high they intend to go. It’s quite common for Everest climbers to go to Camp 2 on Pumori for day hikes and acclimatization. This is an easy hike with no serious avalanche danger. Above C2 to the summit has been dangerous with significant avalanche danger. From Pumori, there are stunning views of Everest Base Camp, the Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm, Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest. I took this photo in 2015. You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Nanga Parbat Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol are working their way up NB this winter. They have been experiencing poor weather and have been locked down the past two weeks but today reported the weather is clearing. They suggest they are going for the summit now. They have a cache of supplies at 6700 meters. This will be the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. Quiet Winter Climbs There are several other climbs this winter but they are not updating from their base camps so I will list them for reference only: A small team of Pakistani climbers are 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. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 and Everest Winter Efforts Begin Climbing
Now that both the K2 and Everest teams are nicely established at their respective base camps, they are beginning to make progress climbing the Hills. 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 teams are dealing with the same challenge: establish camps to support their summit push. Both will put in fixed lines to protect them from falls. Along the way, they will set up camps along the route. The highest camps will most likely be created on their summit push. Each camp will be stocked with tents, food, stoves, and fuel. Neither team is using supplemental oxygen thus significantly reducing the loads but also greatly increases the risk of frostbite. Establishing the low camps is critical but in the grand scheme not the biggest challenge. That will come when they break 7,000 meters or about Camp 3 for both the Everest and the K2 efforts. This is when high winds, heavy snow and avalanche conditions will come into play for their winter attempts. So the next couple of weeks should be calm by comparison to what we may see in mid to late February. The short-term issues will include climber health, a good acclimatization program and sufficient good weather to establish the route. Winter K2 The Polish team has established their BC and set up a solid camp complete with an Internet connection. 16 Jan update: I’m being told by their home team that high winds have hit K2 and the team may be stuck at base camp for a week or more. More details tomorrow. 17 Jan UPDATE: Janusz and Denis, according to info from the base camp, have reached about 5.900m, then return to the base. There will be no Camp I just Camp II at an altitude of 6,200. Part of their team has already gone to the base of K2 to scout out Camp 1 on the Česen Route aka Basque Route. They have very short days- starting at 8:30 with sunset at 15:30 – 7 hours total! High winds continue to be reported and we can expect to read this throughout their effort. In fact, in my opinion, that will be the only reason they don’t summit this year, short of a disaster. This is a nice video of the team at base camp and the extreme lower part of the route: You can follow them directly on their website, Facebook, and SPOT tracker Winter Everest Alex Txikon and five Sherpas have fixed the ropes through the Khumbu Icefall. They have established Camp 1 at 6,050 meters in the Western Cwm. Today they did a day hike to Camp 2 just below the Lhotse Face. Alex posted this video on his Facebook feed: You can follow their movements on Alex’s GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Quiet Winter Climbs There are several other climbs this winter but they are not updating from their base camps so I will list them for reference only: A small team of Pakistani climbers are 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. Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol are hoping to get a winter summit of NB this year. This will be the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. Their organizer did Tweet: “…Eilsa & Tomek back to BC, due to the strong winds they have deposed at (6700m), the weather extremely cold and windy increasing, they will continue next journey for up soon.” Aconcagua The highest peak outside the Himalaya is seeing the normal busy season. High winds have stalled quite a few attempts but one I’m following is a British team working on their 7 Summits. Chris and Ian Beale at age 70 have left for their summit bid. They report that Cecile Korg and team are attempting to take a Norwegian comedian to the summit via the False Polish Glacier Route! A Greek climber died on Aconcagua. 59 year-old Dimitri Constantinou was found near the summit in high winds and low visibility. Meanwhile, a valiant effort to break the speed record on the South Face of Aconcagua has come to an end due to winds and heavy snow. Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and Nicolas Miranda were out to beat the current time of 22 hours by Bruno Suzac, France in 2002 from Plaza Francia to the North Col as reported by Aconcagua Online. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 and Everest Winter Efforts Gets Serious and a Death
Both the K2 and Everest teams have established a base camp and touched their mountains. In other news sadly a death on Lobuche Peak in Nepal. 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. Winter K2 The Polish team arrived at the spot where they are currently building their base camp. Meanwhile, a few climbers began to fix a small part of the route up the Česen. They are reporting high winds at base camp that has delayed some progress but also some issues with getting all their gear to BC. Some were left at Concordia so they had to arrange for more porters to ferrying the last goods to their camp. Winter Everest Alex Txikon and five Sherpas have fixed the ropes through the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 1 at 6,050 meters in the Western Cwm. Alex was quite pleased with their progress noting it took them one less day than last year with six instead of 11 climbers. Muhammad Ali Sadpara was acclimatizing elsewhere and did not participate in this work. The team will take the weekend off during a period of forecasted high winds and resume fixing the route early next week. Alex posted this video on his Facebook feed: You can follow their movements on Alex’s his GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Lobuche East Death The Himalayan Times is reporting that Austrian climber, Markus Schett (41), died while attempting to climb Mt Lobuche East (6,119 m). He was reported to have asked his guide to stay at base camp while he attempted to summit alone. He left high camp on December 19 and was not heard from. His guide contacted authorities who did a helicopter search but his body was found by another Lobuche team on 29 December. Authorities were preparing to retrieve his body but his family has requested he stay where on the mountain. There is no update on this as of this date. Masherbrum West Peak A small team of Pakistani climbers are attempting the first winter summit 7200 meter Masherbrum West Peak aka Masherbrum 2. Lead by Maaz Maqsood. No updates until they return. Moro-Lunger Cold Climb 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 not posted any updates. Nanga Parbat Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol are hoping to get a winter summit of NB this year. This will be the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. No updates available. Remembering Sir Edmund Hillary Today is the 10th-anniversary of Hillary’s passing at age 88 due to illness at the Auckland City Hospital in New Zealand. Of course, he made headlines with being on the first team to summit Everest in 1953 but more so for his foundation that built 25 schools, 2 hospitals, 12 clinics, and numerous water works in Nepal. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Winter K2 and Everest Progress to Base Camp
The Polish K2 team is trekking up the Baltoro Glacier and should be at K2 base camp around 8/9 January and the Everest team has arrived at base camp but had a problem already. Also updates on a few other winter climbs. 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. Winter K2 The Polish team continues to trek over the Baltoro Glacier towards K2 Base Camp. It’s reported they have 100 porters! Friday, 5 January was Krzysiek Wielicki’s 68th birthday. He is leading the team. They were last reported at the primitive camping spot of Urdukas after a day delay due to porter issues. They have another couple of nights to camp out before crossing Broad Peak Base Camp and then on to K2 BC. This 1 minute video is from my own K2 summit in 2014 as we traveled on the Baltoro: Winter Everest Alex Txikon and Muhammad Ali Sadpara took 8 days to trek the Khumbu to Everest Base Camp on the Nepal side. The pictures on their blog reveal a dry Khumbu! Alex has already made mention of very windy conditions at the base camp. They have established their base camp a bit higher, by 100 meteres/300 feet, than last year. This shortens the access to the Icefall but also give them a bit more sun as Nuptse, Lhotse and the West Shoulder of Everest block the morning sunrise. Before the Sherpas will enter the Icefall, they have a puja where a local Lama will ask the mountain Gods for permission to climb the mountain, forgiveness for damaging the mountain and for the safety of the climbers. The day before their puja, an inauspicious event took place with one of the Nepali team. Nauam, who serves as the coordinator of the Base Camp, apparently fell, opening a large wound that wouldn’t stop bleeding. He was helicoptered to a local hospital, probably Kathmandu, and is reported to be recovering. Their puja has been delayed to Monday. From their GPS tracker, it appears they made their first sorte’ into the icefall. This is a normal first step to evaluate the condition and begin to set the route. They had reported they will acclimatize on Pumori Peak which is located immediately next to Everest Base Camp. This 7,161 m (23,494 ft) mountain is extremely avalanche prone and rarely climbed these days. Perhaps they have changed plans given the conditions. You can follow their movements on Alex’s his GPS tracker, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Masherbrum West Peak A small team of Pakistani climbers are attempting the first winter summit 7200 meter Masherbrum West Peak aka Masherbrum 2. Lead by Maaz Maqsood. They are going very low budget as Maaz describes: we gonna use one mess tent at our basecamp it ll be our sleeping tent,kitchen tent n everything (of course we have high altitude camps lol),with used clothing n gear it will also be tough job to survive beside climbing, but we r a great team, we r planning to move light n fast n will be climbing in Alpine style n using less rope as we have only 30 days for climbing including acclimatization n base camp setup, due to low budget we will have to be bak by 8th of February in shaa Allah, will leave from skardu on 5th of January n will establish our basecamp probably by 8th January.. Moro-Lunger Cold Climb 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. It has not been climbed in winter. He says on his Facebook post announcing the expedition that in the center of a nearby town, the temperature was officially recorded at 71,3 c° (-96,34 F) They have not posted any updates. Nanga Parbat Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol are hoping to get a winter summit of NB this year. This will be the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz. They are planning on climbing the same route Reinhold Messner and Hanspeter Eisendle attempted in 2000 but cross over to the Kinshofer route or on the original Hermann Buhl line for the final leg to the summit according to montagna. This was the same route they attempted in 2016 according to his crowdfunding page. They arrived at Base Camp on 24 December and are reported they have reached 6000 meters on their first acclimatization push. Best of luck to all. I’ll be covering these climbs throughout this winter. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 and Everest Winter Teams on the Move
The Polish K2 team is now in Pakistan and the Everest team in the Khumbu. It will be weeks before they begin actually climbing either peak. See this post for full background on both expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth. Winter K2 I received this update today from the Polish team: News from Pakistan: The expedition crew arrived in Skardu today by morning, all rested and in excellent moods. Repacking and preparing jeeps and tomorrow they will drive to Askole, from where the caravan will go to K2 Base Camp. Everything according to plan Most teams try to fly from Islamabad to Skardu but some have to drive the Karakoram Highway – a 48-hour grueling journey with sharp turns and bumps every other minute. The drive to Askole is on one of the roughest roads around. Pure dirt, blocked by landslides along the way, the teams will cross creaky wooden bridges and across rushing streams. Once to Askole, they begin the 80-mile hike to K2 Base Camp! This is a video I made from my own journey to Askole in 2014. Drive from Skardu Drive to Askole in 2014 byAlan Arnette Winter Everest Alex Txikon and Muhammad Ali Sadpara are already in the Khumbu. They had reported they will acclimatize on Pumori Peak which is located immediately next to Everest Base Camp. This 7,161 m (23,494 ft) mountain is extremely avalanche prone and rarely climbed these days. As you can see from his GPS tracker, and he posted on Twitter, they were at Pheriche at 4371 meters. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Everest and K2 in the Winter
Will there be a winter summit of Everest and finally on K2 this winter? This is always a question as we approach winter. And teams usually keep their plans quiet. The recent suspects include Alex Txikon on Everest and the Poles on K2. To claim a true winter ascent of a northern hemisphere peak, the summit must be reached during the calendar winter of the northern hemisphere. For 2017/18 this begins with the winter solstice on December 21, 2017 at 11:28 am EST and ends with the spring equinox on March 201, 2018 at 12:15 pm EDT. Also to be fully certified as a winter ascent, not only the summit has to be reached within the winter calendar, but the start of the expedition cannot be before winter solstice either. Practically this means that the Base Camp must be reached after the winter solstice. 8000ers in Winter As this table shows, Polish climbers have dominated first winter ascents of the 8000 meter peaks. Peak First Winter ascent First Winter summiter(s) Everest 17 Feb 1980 Krzysztof Wielicki Leszek Cichy Manaslu 12 Jan 1984 Maciej Berbeka Ryszard Gajewski Dhaulagiri I 21 Jan 1985 Andrzej Czok Jerzy Kukuczka Cho Oyu 12 Feb 1985 Maciej Berbeka Maciej Pawlikowski Kangchenjunga 11 Jan 1986 Krzysztof Wielicki Jerzy Kukuczka Annapurna I 3 Feb 1987 Jerzy Kukuczka Artur Hajzer Lhotse 31 Dec 1988 Krzysztof Wielicki Shishapangma 14 Jan 2005 Piotr Morawski Simone Moro Makalu 9 Feb 2009 Simone Moro Denis Urubko Gasherbrum II 2 Feb 2011 Simone Moro Denis Urubko Cory Richards Gasherbrum I 9 Mar 2012 Adam Bielecki Janusz Gołąb Broad Peak 5 Mar 2013 Maciej Berbeka Adam Bielecki Tomasz Kowalski Artur Małek Nanga Parbat 26 Feb 2016 Simone Moro Muhammad Ali Sadpara Alex Txikon K2 source: Wikipedia Everest for Alex? Alex posted on after his amazing effort last year saying he will be back for another winter Everest attempt. He declined to join another team this winter citing his Everest desire but, to my knowledge, has made no public commitment about this year. This isn’t a goodbye, it’s a “see you later”. Everest hasn’t wanted this year to conquire its heart, but what I do appreciate clearly is that it has stolen my heart. I dream, every day, since we left our home on December 25 that we reach the 8848 meters that separate us from the sky, but greed is useless in the mountain. You never have to go against nature; this is something that has been engraved during my entire career in which I have lived very difficult moments: if you don’t want the mountain defeating you, don’t end with it; respect and care of it. Therefore, although I feel very strong physically and psychologically, the winter hasn’t given a truce, the strong wind tossed us to the ground and the forecast of the next few days is terrifying. However, there is no doubt that it has been the most special expedition of my life, in which I have been surprised by myself, and in which we have achieved the world of mountaineering to have a continous follow up that excites me. In addition, without a doubt, all of you are the icing on the cake, that I have felt you every minute as if you were my family, supporting me in every achievement and every complicated moment. I promise you that I will return to the mountain that has stolen my heart in the purest way. I love you, guys. K2 This Winter? Of course, K2 remains the only 8000er not summited in winter. Last year, Nanga Parbat succumbed to the team of Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Simone Moro, and Tamara Lunger. It took 31 winter attempts before summiting Nanga in winter. Now on K2, Krzysztof Wielicki, 67, who was in the first team to scale Everest in winter in 1980 will lead the Polish K2 attempt this winter. Funding had been a problem but it appears they have received $275,000 from the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism according to this article. They will be a team of 10 but only four will be on the “summit team.” They will climb in traditional siege style establishing several camps along the route. Of course weather is the primary concern as K2 is always hit with high winds but in winter the jet stream tends to sit on top of it with 200 mph winds and experience heavy snowfall. The team is scheduled to include: Janusz Goląb, 50, with a Gasherbum I ascent, Artur Małek, who made the first winter ascent of Broad Peak, Marcin Kaczkan, K2 in the winter of 2002/03 to 7,600m and summited K2 and Nanga Parbat in the summer, plus Marek Chmielarski, summits of Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak. Other team members include Rafał Fronia (Lhotse and Gasherbrum II), Piotr Tomala (Broad Peak and Cho Oyu), Dariusz Załuski (filmmaker / climbed five 8,000-metre peaks) and doctor Krzysztof Wranicz. They are not sure which route they will take but it most likely will be either the Abruzzi or the Česen. See this post for a nice overview of K2 winter attempts. But these are the highlights from Gripped: 1980 Reconnaissance: Pol Andrzej Zawada and Canadian-resident Polish national Jaques Olek 1987/88 Attempt: 13 Poles, 7 Canadians and 4 Brits / made to Camp 3 2002/03 Attempt: 14 climbers from Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Georgia / made Camp 4 2011/12 Attempt: 9 climbers from Russia / made Camp 2 2014/15 Near Attempt: Denis Urubko and team lost permit Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything