Category: K2 2014 Summit

K2: Leaving Basecamp for the Summit

We leave for the summit push of K2 today. I have been looking at the summit for weeks now. I have flirted with the flanks only to be humbled, any semblance of self-confidence shredded on the steep slopes by a simple gust of wind or loose rock. But now I return. When I look at a summit, medicine I don’t see a pile of rocks, a sharp point on the earth’s surface daring the brave to climb. I see an invitation, a peaceful a place of solitude and serenity, a tiny spot where I can see what I can see, feel what I can feel and be what I can be. A place to be in touch, not out of touch. A summit can be harsh, deadly winds, steep edges, slick surfaces. It is a place for care, for caution. It is an end and a beginning. Every climb aims to end on the top, not all do. Every return starts where you finish. If you are lucky it is the top. Often it is out of your control. The tired expression for climbers is that they will take what the mountain will give them. Yes, that may be true but mountains can be generous and give a lot. Climbers can take home satisfaction, respect, friendship, camaraderie. They can return a new person, cleansed of the past, full of spirit to try something new. Life can be renewed. For me, this attempt provides an opportunity beyond a summit. It enables a sharing of a purpose, a life purpose, a way of telling many that they are not alone in their struggles. I will draw strength from their commitment to their struggles, their unquestioning support of their loved ones, their research, our disease. We will climb together. You know what to do on your end. And you know my gratitude is eternal. So I leave base camp full of hope, ambition, optimism both for the climb and the cause. I am confident in my teammates. I am confident in myself. I will accept any outcome knowing it what was K2 was willing to give on that day. And I will be grateful. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything An anonymous donor has generously agreed to match all donations made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund throughout our K2 climb, to a maximum of $25,000. Double your impact and make a donation to end Alzheimer’s today!

K2: Summit Schedule

The weather has cleared and it is a perfect day here at BC. The forecast calls for summit winds under 30 mph over the next week – ideal for us. There are about 60 people going for the summit over this period including around 7 women. This is much more than normal for K2 but 2014 is the 60th anniversary of the first summit in 1954 by Italians led by Ardito Desio, and the two climbers who reached the summit were Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni. The team included Pakistani member, Colonel Muhammad Ata-ullah. There is still work to do on K2 as the fixed ropes have only been set to Camp 3. Thus the early summit teams will take on an additional load of breaking trail and fixing the bottleneck above Camp 4. Our Sherpas will assist as possible. By the way, our Sherpas have over 30 summits of Everest between them, maybe 40 … They reported tonight waist deep snow from Camp 1 higher after the recent snowfall experienced in Base Camp. If I summit, I believe I would be the oldest American. Since the first American summit of 4 in 1978, there have only been 10 more including the likes of Viestures, Fisher, etc. One died on the descent. The last American summit was in 2007 by Chris Warner thus there have been 14 Americans summit. The last year K2 allowed a summit was 2012 with 28 on July 31 bringing the total to 334 with 83 deaths (updated numbers). You can follow me on the summit push through the SPOT tracker on the main blog page , http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/k2-2014/, where I will also post audio updates, however, the audio updates seem to be unreliable possibly due to the high rock walls of K2. I will also try to send short updates via Twitter to @alan_arnette. I will do my to make a sat call from the summit to my blog if I am so fortunate. We leave on Tuesday, July 22 2014. This is the ideal schedule assuming no weather or health delays July 22: ABC July 23: Camp 1 July 24: Camp 2 July 25: Camp 3 July 26: Camp 4 – leave for summit anywhere for 10PM to 2AM depending on many factors (winds, other teams, ropes, etc) July 27: Summit hopefully between 5am – 10am again depending on many factors. Return to Camp 2 July 28: return to Base Camp By the way, July 27 will be my 58th birthday. If you want to send me a gift, a donation would be perfect to one of the Alzheimer’s non-profits. 🙂 Regardless of the outcome, I want to thank Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering for providing a world-class expedition in a difficult environment. I have not lost any weight or gotten sick. His attention to detail, gentle style and caring spirit has been outstanding. Thanks Garrett. We packed our summit push food yesterday, took showers and shaved today, are reviewing our gear, even though most of it is cached at the High Camps making our pads nothing this time to C2, and getting mentally prepared. Since the last rotation to Camp 2 at 22,000 feet,  I feel 1000% better. I know the 2nd time up is always easier I also have a hint of what is above C2 and it is hard. I am not so much worried about the ascent 🙂 🙂 but rather fatigue on the descent. That bit me on Everest so I’m thinking through strategies of how to cope with it (pace, food, oxygen, technique, etc). All I know is that I’m going to attempt the summit of K2. I will do my , not give up unless it is life or death and push until I cannot push anymore. I fully understand that not summiting is not the end of the world and coming home is more important than a summit, but I want this bad – real bad, very bad. I want to show the world that we can do hard things. I want this summit. I want a cure. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything An anonymous donor has generously agreed to match all donations made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund throughout our K2 climb, to a maximum of $25,000. Double your impact and make a donation to end Alzheimer’s today!

K2: Honoring the Fallen

K2 is well known for taking lives be it from avalanches, mind falls or disappearances, 84 people have lost their lives. This is not lost on anyone who comes to K2, even to base camp.  Art Gilkey lost his in 1953 as part of the legendary belay often called the Brotherhood of the Rope. I visited the Gilkey Memorial today. It has become a gathering space for all who have lost their lives on K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and II. Friends, teammates, family often place simple plaques on the rock pillars standing high above the Goodwin – Austin Glacier. Some plaques are simple metal plates with a name and date hammered into the soft metal. One plaque was special to me, Ger McDonnell. I climbed on Broad Peak with Ger in 2006. He lost his life on K2 in 2008 trying to save the lives of others. I didn’t know Ger well enough to call him a close friend, but I knew him well enough to know he was a special person with a gift few have in this life. His spirit shown so bright, it was impossible to be sad around him. His voice so smooth as he sang his Irish songs, impossible not to sing along. His smile so contagious, impossible not to smile back. I stood there today overlooking K2, base camp, the glaciers frozen in time as are the memories of these climbers. It is hard to visit such a site and explain why we climb, but then it is clear why we do. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything An anonymous donor has generously agreed to match all donations made to Cure Alzheimer’s Fund throughout our K2 climb, to a maximum of $25,000. Double your impact and make a donation to end Alzheimer’s today!

K2: House’s Chimney to Camp 2

It’s the weekend at K2 Base Camp and Friday night was just like any other place on earth. Our team watched a James Bond Movie while many others danced the night away to Bollywood and Sherpa music in the “Disco Tent” aka the cooking tent :). Thankfully the snow has stopped but high clouds filtered the bright sun light, a blessing for some … It appears everyone is off the mountain and preparing for summit bids. Teams may start going back up as early as tomorrow, Sunday. We are looking a mid next week to start our summit push. Yes, to start our summit push of K2, hard for me to type those words. This is the last blog post for our rotation to Camp 2 this past week. As I have said outright and hinted, it was hard on me at times, and this specific leg, the over nights at 22,000 feet and the return to base camp, pushed me to my limits. I feel like I have recovered now, after 3 days back in BC, but the memory is strong, the impact real and the lessons valuable. Moving Higher We left Camp 1 as a smaller team of Garrett, Matt, Kami, Kacha and myself. Once again every step was committing. The fixed line waved in and out of the rock buttresses, seemingly random until a quick glance to my right or left revealed a 300 foot drop into a snow gully. A slip would be fatal, self arrest impossible. My breathing increased some from the altitude, but mostly out of stress. My pack was heavy for this altitude, maybe 30 pounds. Kami ed me with respect and as a child. At camp he would grab my pack. “Too heavy” and he would immediately transfer a few stuff sacks to his already overloaded pack. His load was probably 70 pounds. At an anchor he would grab the rope and try to move my jumar pass the obstacle. I simply said no and shook my head. He eventually migrated from doer to manager to fellow climber stopping his overzealous help but never letting me out of his sight. Climbing We climbed and climbed and climbed. At times the rocks became true vertical as in a wall in a house – 90 degrees. I pulled on the lines hoping the wisdom of Rick’s generation and their brilliant yet simple notion of a piton still worked in a rusted state. I used my free hand to place a leather gloved finger on any outcropping, no matter how small. My breathing raced, my heart struggled to keep up, my mouth revealed a tiny smile. I was climbing K2. And it went on. It is hard to describe continuous rock climbing above 21,000’ over unknown and difficult terrain. Each step higher, each foothold, each glance was new, exciting, a discovery, and intimidating. It was hard to believe I was actually climbing this route, at age 57. My crampons scraped the rocks, while I created new bruises on my shins from smashing into sharp rock edges. Each handhold had to be tested. The rocks were loose in places, putting all my weight on a rock, large or small, only to have it release would put all my body weight on the fixed line. Would it hold? Could I recover? Questions I had no interest in answering. So each step, each hold was a calculated risk, a premeditated move designed solely to move my body higher, or lower. I was living in the moment, no thought of yesterday or tomorrow, no consideration of what to eat for dinner, if I could summit. It was total concentration in a world of distractions. House’s Chimney Hour three passed, then four came as we saw tiny yellow tents, Biblers, just before the brown rock wall that held House’s Chimney. If you climb mountains or even read about climbing history, House’s Chimney is like the Hillary Step on Everest but magnitudes of more difficulty in spite of the lower altitude. Free climbed by American Bob House in 1939, it is a 100’ shoulder width crack in a rock wall. Over time, it has been determined to be the safest route to the higher flanks of K2. Some rate it at 5.6 without aid, but at 21,500’ it is a challenge regardless of the rating, or aid. The clouds have moved in lowering the temps and the winds were blowing steadily. We had left the nice weather of Camp 1 and were beginning to feel the real K2. As I was sitting heavily on my pack recovering from the climb from Camp 1, I began to wonder if I had the strength and skill to climb the Chimney when I heard my name. Samuli Mansikka aka Sammy from Finland waved his gloved hand, we had climbed Alpamayo two years ago. It was supportive to see my friend, remembering looking at the ice flutes of Peru and doubting myself only to climb the route and celebrate the summit. But that was at 20,000 feet; lower than where I was now. The rest of the team had gone on and topped out on the Chimney so I approached it alone. The lower section was a serious obstacle of thin ice over 45 degree angled rock with an anchor half way up the 30 foot ice rink. I front pointed to the anchor and passed my jumar by as my breathing once again took off. Two minutes later I stood at the bottom of House’s Chimney. I looked up. Ladders The well known ladder was there but it was a rock climber’s ladder, not like those used in the Khumbu Icefall or 2nd Step of Everest’s North side. I don’t think Home Depot stocks these. It was narrow, a foot wide with rope rungs covered with a thin metal covering. They are known as Etriers or Aid Slings and are mostly used in Yosemite, the Dolomites and other big wall areas. The ladder

K2: The Climb to C1 – Reality Hits

Friday started like Thursday, heavy snow coated K2 Base Camp muting any noise of gas stoves, doctor or social talk but the avalanches still dominated one of the five senses for everyone. All of the ten climbers who are climbing K2 without supplemental oxygen had spent at least one night at Camp 3 were now back at base camp. Most people have completed their acclimatization rotations and are enjoying a break, even with the heavy snow. The current weather forecast calls of a break soon, that combined with a few days to let the new snow settle and consolidate, implies summit pushes beginning in a week or so, maybe sooner. Our team is ready after our rotation to above Camp 2. Yesterday I took you to ABC so now it is time to move to Camp 1. Camp 1 Waking up on Sunday, July 13, 2014 at ABC at 17,300’, it was time to move to Camp 1 at 20,000’ – a big move. We had a good breakfast of cereal and hash browns, packed our packs with clothing layers, food, sleeping bags, down suits and other gear needed as we moved towards the summit. Once again we moved from the rocks of ABC to the snow field and put on our crampons. The previous day we had climbed about 500’ on an active rest day so we knew this part of the route. A tiny bite of a huge pie. One by one by we settled into our individual rhythms and made progress higher. It didn’t take long before the altitude showed me who was stronger. I slowed down to get into a pace that was steady yet didn’t stress my cardio. Steep and Steeper As we climbed toward C1, the steep angles became real. It was one step, four breaths. The snow was soft in spots, seldom hard packed making each foot placement a challenge, a struggle. I began to think about commitment, my goal, my purpose. But the overriding emotion was fatigue. We made it half way to C1 in 2 hours covering 1000’. Not bad really for the first time at real altitude. I looked over at the slope we were following and could see avalanche debris everywhere. We hugged the rock walls for a false sense of security. Mind you, this was two hours into the real climb of K2. The immediacy, danger, risk, commitment slapped me in the face. It hurt. It left a mark. Rocks We left the snow slope and got into the rocks. I always tell people that climbing Everest from the North is hard because of crampons of rock, well I was about to live it on K2. Each step scrapped the rock. Where there were larger rocks with smooth surfaces, they tricked you into stepping on the flat surface only to slide, fighting gravity. My old knees hurt. My bad knee twinged with strained ligaments, my calves cried when I front pointed, my thighs said enough. And this was hour three. The fixed ropes hosted our jumars, the mechanical device with teeth attached to the rope that stop a fall. Our carabiners served as a safety placed in front of the jumar. I pulled or jugged on the lines like never before as the angle increased to 60 degrees. Another moment of truth as I looked behind me to see some of my teammates dotting the black and golden rocks searching for that next secure foot placement. I looked up. All I could see was vertical rock walls with an occasional weakness that held the thin white fixed line. The line was secured into the rock with decades old pitons, small sharp slivers of steel hammered into any available crack in the rocks. New rope was tied into two pitons, equalizing the load. The pitons were rusted, the line looked shredded in places. K2 was a mountain preferred to be climbed without aid, but the truth is, you have no choice. The angles are too steep, the rock is too vertical. Transitions I found a spot to pass my jumar and ‘biner past the anchor, a transition point, and quickly made the swap. It became second nature, unclipping my ‘biner from the rope and moving it above the anchor, unclipping the jumar with an efficient sweep of my thumb and grabbing a new bite of rope with my free hand then quickly placing it into the jumar while letting the spring loaded teeth grab the rope thus securing me to the mountain. This binding was the only thing keeping my on route, and alive if I fell. The closer we got to C1, the steeper the angle, now at 70 degrees. The rock was merciless, the few flat spots held loose fragments. The frantic call of “ROCK” was ever-present. You did not look up, but you do, to see what was coming. After 4 or was it 5 hours, we reached the tents of Camp 1. The clouds had cleared and the temps were pleasant, the views of the Karakorum, glaciers and beyond – thought provoking. I had reached C1 on K2. Reality As I left an audio message, I had to let it sink in as I said the words, “Hello this is Alan at Camp 1 on K2, about 20,000 feet”. As I disconnected the sat phone, I wondered if some of my followers really understood what I was trying to accomplish other than a mountain climb. I know in this world, only the unusual stand out. I also know from emails and comments that many understand and relate as they are going through their own journeys as I was now and did with my mom. I could only hope what I was doing was considered worthy. The cause compelling, urgent. As I unpacked my sleeping bag, I settled into my new home. Oddly enough there were now extra tents from the other climbers not showing up as expected so I had a 3 man tent