{"id":48342,"date":"2025-07-08T16:25:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T22:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=48342"},"modified":"2025-07-11T16:39:36","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T22:39:36","slug":"k2-2025-coverage-dry-hot-and-rockfall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/08\/k2-2025-coverage-dry-hot-and-rockfall\/","title":{"rendered":"K2 2025: Coverage: Dry, Hot, and Rockfall"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Karakorum’s drought continues due to the low snowfall from Spring combined with warmer-than-normal temperatures; thus, rockfall is a real danger on K2, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat and the Gasherbrums. Ryan Mitchell and his K2 team are acclimatizing on a nearby unclimbed peak, hoping for snow in the next two weeks. They’re doing well, but patience will be tested this year on all the mountains. I discussed the hot weather with meteorologist Chris Tomer<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

K2<\/h3>\n

Nepali operators Seven Summits Treks<\/a>, Elete Expeditions, <\/a>and 8K Expeditions<\/a> are climbing K2 again this year. Multiple Pakistani guides, including Summit\u00a0<\/a>Karakorum, are also involved.<\/u><\/span><\/span> Madison Mountaineering and Mountain Professionals may be the only Western teams there, but information is hard to come by. Most K2 summits occur at the end of July.<\/p>\n

Remember that communications in Pakistan are drastically different from those in Nepal. Cell phone signals are unreliable, so many teams bring expensive satellite connection devices, even though they can sometimes be wonky. Also, since the Northern Territories are adjacent to the disputed area of Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the military will sometimes limit communications. The bottom line is that we cannot expect the same type of coverage we can for the Nepal mountains.<\/p>\n

Popular US climber Ryan Mitchell<\/strong> is at K2 Base Camp, reporting that all is well, save for the lack of snow. They attempted a peak near K2 base camp, turning around at 20,400 feet, thus eliminating at least one rotation on K2. Ryan, a Summit Coach<\/a> client, gained considerable recognition thanks to his impressive video documentation of his 2024 summit of Mt. Everest, which he completed with Madison Mountaineering<\/a>, and is now attempting K2. I did a Podcast<\/a> with him before he left home. You can follow him on his social media:<\/p>\n