K2 2015 Coverage: Karakorum Season ends with Valient Bids, Death … Almost
The summer of 2015 will go down as one of the more difficult seasons in the Northern Pakistan Karakoram climbing season. There have been deaths, illness courageous summit attempts, questionable summit claims and impressive summits. However, casting a huge cloud over everything was disturbing weather that made climbing virtually impossible for many. Broad Peak: At Your Own Risk The entire […]
K2 2015 Coverage: K2 Bids end, Kami Update
The poor conditions across Northern Pakistan have effectively stopped all climbs and almost cost my friend, capsule Kami Sherpa, his life. Kami (Ang Chhiring Sherpa – Pangboche) Sherpa was injured when he was hit by a large rock just below Camp 1. His left shoulder was dislocated and arm and hand broken. He was flown out on […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Summits on G I & II, K2 Stops Bid. More Injuries
Finally we have more summits in this difficult summer 2015 season. Teams topped out on the Gasherbrums. A large number of climbers are currently going for the summit of Broad Peak. The strong K2 attempt was ended by deep snow and strong winds. Meanwhile K2 has injured one of the Sherpas with Madison Mountaineering. The […]
K2 2015 Coverage: K2 Summit Bid Ends, Avalanches puts season at risk – Update 2
Breaking news on K2 as a Swiss team lead by Mike Horn has reportedly turned back around 7000 meters from their summit bid. They were attempting the summit on K2 via the Česen Route aka Basque Route and had reached their Camp 3. Other reports mention deep snow. It is rare for a small team to […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Summit Pushes on all 4 Peaks
Looking at an extremely short weather window, climbers on all four the Northern Pakistan 8000m peaks are climbing today. Heavy weather is predicted to begin around July 26 and some speculate it will take over a week for conditions to be suitable for another summit push. This delay has caused multiple teams to abandon their […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Summit Pushes Despite Poor Conditions
With the aftermath of the death of Pakistan High Altitude Porter, discount Qamber Jangjupa, on Broad Peak quieting, the weather is now the main story in the Karakorum. Most teams are waiting for a better window but some are pushing to squeeze a summit in now, and others had said enough and have quit. The injured Japanese […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Death and Injuries from Avalanche
Attributed to heavy overnight snow and warmer than normal temperatures, an avalanche below Camp 1 on Broad Peak has injured several climbers and taken one Pakistani High Altitude Porter (HAP) life. Progress on K2 and the other Karakorum peaks has been stopped for now waiting for the snow to settle and the weather to calm. […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Karakorum Summits, Bad Weather
There were summits on Gasherbrum II, an aborted attempt on GI, salve fixed ropes on Broad Peak and tired climbers on K2. The climbing has now moved to the end game when it becomes the most dangerous. A seven person team from Kobler & Partner successfully summited Gasherbrum II on Wednesday. They reported 5 members and 2 […]
K2 2015 Coverage
In spite of a bit of conflict on the mountain, everything appears to be in good order in the Karakorum. Summits are expected any day now on the Gasherbrums, a bit later on Broad Peak and next week on K2. Vanessa O’brien, climbing with Madison Mountaineering, reports she and the team are at Camp 2, […]
K2 2015 Coverage: Weather and Avalanches
Climbing continues in the Karakorum on all the peaks however most took a few days off to allow a weather system to pass by. But the stress of climbing is taking its toll. Bo Parfet, climbing K2 with Himex, took a helicopter out of Base Camp this past week citing higher priorities with his new […]