{"id":28702,"date":"2018-01-21T12:32:11","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T19:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=28702"},"modified":"2019-04-06T12:28:21","modified_gmt":"2019-04-06T18:28:21","slug":"winter-k2-and-everest-climbs-a-rare-summit-on-pumori","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/21\/winter-k2-and-everest-climbs-a-rare-summit-on-pumori\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter K2 and Everest Climbs – A Rare Summit on Pumori!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week both the Everest and K2 team should make huge progress. \u00a0Over on Nanga Parbat, the two-person team will attempt to summit midweek. See this post<\/a> for full background on the K2 and Everest expeditions and the history of winter attempts on the highest two mountains on Earth.<\/p>\n

Big Picture<\/h3>\n

Entering their third week, both the K2 and Everest teams continue to set the route and acclimatize. They\u00a0are busy establishing the low camps i.e. under 7000-meters before moving higher.<\/p>\n

Winter K2<\/h3>\n
\"K2<\/a>
K2 \u010cesen Route 21 January 2014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Polish team<\/a>\u00a0reports excellent weather for the first time in a few days. They continue to rotate climbers\u00a0up the \u010cesen Route aka Basque Route in two or three person teams to fix the route.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Climber\u00a0Jaros\u0142aw Botor posted 26 pictures on his Facebook<\/a> feed. It gives a good idea of what they are facing.<\/p>\n

Denis Uruboko posted an update<\/a> 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 \u010cesen ridge from base camp.<\/p>\n

They investigated fixed ropes last set by Russell Brice’s Himalayan Experience<\/a> 2017 summer effort on the\u00a0\u010cesen 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.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0This may be the story throughout their expedition – to take what the mountain will allow.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"HImex's<\/a>
Himex’s ropes on K2 in summer 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Denis Urubko has a nice post<\/a> with an overview of their effort thus far. This picture shows the route:<\/p>\n

\"There<\/a>
Lines showing the lower section of the \u010cesen Route aka Basque Route<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can follow them directly on their website<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, and SPOT<\/a> tracker<\/p>\n

Winter Everest<\/h3>\n

Alex Txikon<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Tixkon posted on facebook:<\/p>\n

\"Alex<\/a>
Alex Txikon on the summit of Pumori with Everest over his right shoulder and the Lhotse Face under his left arm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pumori was first summited by the German team of\u00a0Gerhard 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.<\/p>\n

\"Pumori\"<\/a>
Pumori from Everest Base Camp by Alan Arnette<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You can follow their movements\u00a0on Alex’s\u00a0GPS tracker<\/a>, \u00a0Twitter<\/a>, \u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nanga Parbat<\/h3>\n

Tomek Mackiewicz<\/a> and Elisabeth Revol<\/a> 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.\u00a0This is the seventh attempt for the 42 year-old Polish climber, Mackiewicz.<\/p>\n

Quiet Winter Climbs<\/h3>\n

There are several other climbs this winter but they are not updating from their base camps so I will list them for reference only:<\/p>\n