{"id":39742,"date":"2021-06-26T17:53:28","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T23:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=39742"},"modified":"2021-07-14T21:18:28","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T03:18:28","slug":"k2-2021-summer-season-coverage-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2021\/06\/26\/k2-2021-summer-season-coverage-begins\/","title":{"rendered":"K2 2021 Summer Season Coverage Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to my annual coverage of the K2 summer climbing season. I will be reporting from my home in Colorado this year based on my personal experience of our successful 2014 K2 summit and covering the action the last six years. 2021 will see a less crowded Karakorum compared to pre-pandemic times. I estimate around 150 to 200 climbers on the large 8000ers this summer.<\/p>\n

The Savage Mountain<\/h2>\n

K2 is a totally different climbing experience from Everest. It requires a honed set of skills and alpine experience.\u00a0It is the second-highest mountain in the world at 28,251\u2019\/8611m. While 60 people climbing K2 is a large number, it is dwarfed by the nearly 800 who attempted Everest this spring.<\/p>\n

\"Down<\/a>
Down Climbing K2 Houses Chimney in 2014. \u00a9 Photo by Alan Arnette. All rights reserved<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Climbing K2 is technical – meaning you are using feet and hands to climb; the exposure is dramatic – if you fall you will most likely die; and the weather is extreme – it is less predictable due to standing alone to the west of nearby mountains thus creating its own systems. It is common to have very different conditions on K2 than on Broad Peak or the Gasherbrums that are only a few miles away.<\/p>\n

Unlike Everest, there are no long, flat sections i.e. the Western Cwm. K2 starts steep, ends steep, and never lets up. Objective dangers are constantly on the minds of K2 climbers. Avalanches and rock-fall are rampant and injuries are common.<\/p>\n

K2 is in a different league than most of the other 8000ers. Just because you summited Everest, doesn’t mean you are ready for K2.\u00a0A bit of trivia, there are around 200 people who have summited both Everest and K2.<\/p>\n

It is well documented that K2 sees significantly more deaths than Everest. Thru the spring of 2021, I estimate 10,700 summits by about 6,400 people and 308 deaths on Everest – 3% compared to 388 summits with 90 deaths on K2 – 23%. Of the 8000 meter peaks, Everest has the highest absolute number of deaths at 308 but ranks near the bottom with a death rate of 1.13. Annapurna is the most deadly 8000er with one death for about every three summits (72:293) or a 3.71 death rate. Cho Oyu is the safest with 3,681 summits and 50 deaths or a death rate of 0.55.<\/p>\n

The number one reason listed for death on K2 is “disappearance” suggesting that the climber fell in a highly exposed area, was blown away by winds, or buried in an avalanche. 33 climbers have died while descending from the summit. 11 died in 2008 including my friend Gerard McDonnell when the towering ice serac just below the summit let a tiny fraction of its 100-meter vertical face loose.\u00a0<\/span>If you attempt K2, you must accept that dying is a real possibility.<\/p>\n

\"Downclimbing<\/a>
Down climbing below the K2 infamous ice serac in 2014. \u00a9 Photo by Alan Arnette. All rights reserved<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Years with No K2 Summits<\/h2>\n

The first summit of K2 was on July 31, 1954, by Italians Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The first attempts began in 1902 by Brit Aleister Crowley. But it was the Duke of Abruzzi who made the most valiant attempts in the early 1900s thus named the ridge most popular used today, the Abruzzi Spur.\u00a0After five separate American attempts, Louis Reichardt and Jim Wickwire summited on September 6, 1978, and John Roskelley and Rick Ridgeway the next day. Amazingly Jim Wickwire spent a night in the open just below the summit at 27,000 feet without food, oxygen, or shelter in temperatures of -40 degrees.<\/p>\n

From 1986\u00a0to 2020 there were\u00a013 years with no summits including in 2020 when Pakistan closed summer climbing due to the Pandemic. From 2009 to 2018, there were only five years with summits \u2013 2011 only from the Chinese side by Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner\u00a0who became the first woman to get all the 8000ers san Os. \u00a0In\u00a02012, 2014, and 2018 each saw about 30 \u2013 50\u00a0people\u00a0summiting \u2013 record-breaking years as a result of a week of excellent and rare summit conditions. Everest went from 1974 to 2014 with summits every year \u2013 40 straight years!<\/p>\n

2019 Summer K2 Results<\/h2>\n

2019 was the last summer season with activity on K2 and the other peaks. This followed a record year in 2018 on K2 with over 60 total summits plus the first true ski descent.<\/p>\n

The 2019 K2 season started out doubtful, got worse but ended on a happy note \u2026 for those who stayed. Thanks to an unusual spate of good weather, over 30 people made the summit, including at least seven not using supplemental oxygen. While impressive total summits, this is about a 30% summit rate given at least 100 climbers had K2 permits for the summer of 2019. Historically, 30 summits are becoming about average for K2. It appears there were no deaths on K2 that season.<\/p>\n

One stand-out climb was by Alpenglow owner\u00a0Adrian Ballinger<\/a>\u00a0plus Ecuador female climber\u00a0Carla Perez<\/a>. They didn\u2019t use supplemental O\u2019s and climbed with Ecuadorian\u00a0Topo Mena<\/a>\u00a0and Sherpas Pemba Gelje Sherpa<\/a>\u00a0and Namgye Sherpa<\/a>\u00a0in support.<\/p>\n

2020\/21 Winter K2 Results<\/h2>\n

With the Pandaminc, there was no climbing during the traditional summer season in the Karakorum, but winter saw success and tragedy.\u00a0History will show that that nine Sherpas and one Nepali made the first winter summit of K2 in the winter of 2020\/21. \u00a0It took a group of Nepalis working together as a team of ten who were experienced and talented climbers along with the vision of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa<\/a>, to make it happen. Nirmal Purja<\/a>\u00a0summited with the team and didn’t use supplemental O’s.<\/p>\n

Three climbers went missing on their summit attempt: John Snorri, Ali Sadpara, and Juan Pablo Mohr, after leaving Camp 3. There was no confirmation if they summited.<\/p>\n

Seven Summits Trek’s<\/a>\u00a0had a massive team of around 50 climbers, evenly split between paying climbers and Sherpas. None summited and two died; 42-year-old Bulgarian Atanas Skatov and Spanish Sergi Mingote. Both perished from falls.<\/p>\n

\"K2
K2 Routes: Abruzzi and \u010cesen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

K2 Routes<\/h2>\n

There are 9 named routes on K2: \u010cesen, Northeast Ridge, North Ridge, South Face (Central Rib), South-southwest Pillar (Magic Line), Northwest Face, Northwest Ridge, and West Face with the Abruzzi Spur aka the Southeast Ridge.\u00a0No one has climbed the East Face, due to the instability of the snow and ice formations on that side. There are no easy routes on K2.<\/p>\n

The Abruzzi has been used for 75% of the summits. There are several technically difficult features including Houses’ Chimney and the Black Pyramid. The Bottleneck Couloir is one of the most dangerous sections serving as a blowing alley for rock and icefall.\u00a0The Abruzzi usually has 4 camps on the mountain:<\/p>\n