K2 2022 Summer Coverage: First Karakorum Summits
We have the first summits of the 2022 Summer Karakorum seasons reported to me by Pemba Sherpa with 8K Expeditions. He says Norwegian Kristin Harila supported by Sherpas Dawa Ongju Sherpa and Pasadawa Sherpa topped out on Nanga Parbat This is a continuation of their project for all three to summit all of the 8000ers in record time. Next up are K2 and Broad Peak.
K2 2022 Summer Coverage: Ropes Higher in the Karakorum
There is nice early progress on fixing the ropes throughout the Karakorum but don’t get too excited as the task gets harder as they move to the high camps.
Big Picture
In a carry-over from Nepal’s 8000er mash-up, it appears the multi-8000ers craze has spread to Pakistan’s five 8000ers. It used to be BP and K2, of which few if any ever achieved. Now it the Gasherbrums, BP, K2 and Nanga Parbat.
It will not surprise me if a few make it based on the new formula: use a team of strong Sheras to overpower the peak, fix the rope to the summit, establish and stock the high camps while the clients rest at BC or acclimatize to the lowest camps. Then leave BC, some already using oxygen, at high flow rates following the same, or fresh Sherpas to the summit. Once back, move quickly, albeit without helicopter support as in Nepal, and repeat the formula on the next 8000er.
K2 2022 Summer Coverage: Business As Usual
Teams are steadily arriving at their respective base camps. Thus far its businesses usually with unsettled weather – hot days, followed by snow storms. The rope fixing will begin on K2 and Broad Peak in a day or so, followed quickly by the first rotations.
K2 2022 Summer Coverage: How Hard is K2?
With an estimated 348 people attempting K2 this summer, it begs the question if people have succumbed to marketing and clever public relations as to the difficulty of climbing this peak. I guess the question of difficulty begs the decision of which route, are you following Sherpas who broke the trail, what’s your experience, and these days, not if you use Os, but at what flow rate and from which camp?
Should Everest Base Camp Be Moved?
The Nepal Ministry of Tourism is back to its old games of playing the mainstream press to make themselves look like credible custodians of Mount Everest. In this year’s spin, they floated, not announced, but said they were considering moving the current location of Everest Base Camp, EBC, a bit lower to be off the foot of the current Khumbu Icefall. They cited environmental reasons.
K2 2022 Summer Coverage: A Record Year?
The 2022 Karakorum climbing season has begun! Multiple teams have arrived in Pakistan, and many are already trekking the Baltoro Glacier to their respective Base Camps. Of the fourteen 8000-meter peaks, Pakistan is home to five: K2, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum I & II. Without a doubt, some of these are the most difficult 8000ers as are plus countless 6000 and 7000-meter mountains. Those who summited Everest will be shocked when they attempt K2. They are entirely different experiences.
The number of climbers, close to 700, in Pakistan this summer is staggering compared to previous years. I’m concerned about their safety, given the objective dangers presented on the 8000-meter peaks, crowds kicking rocks on other climbers, and the lack of space to establish high camps. The operators need to coordinate movement like they never have to avoid massive confusion, congestion, delays, and potential tragedies.
With that said, I’m delighted to see so much work for the Pakistani operators, High Altitude Workers (aka Pakistani mountain support climbers), porters, and the associated tourism industry. However, it must be noted that the Nepal operators are swamping the climbing in Pakistan and bringing in scores of Sherpas to support their clients along with copious amounts of supplemental oxygen at high flow rates beginning at camps lower than in previous years. It’s similar to what we saw in Nepal, with a record 1.6 Sherpa support for each member across the 8000ers. Perhaps Pakistan will develop enough support that they can be the dominant force in their own mountains.
Video Interview Wilco Van Rooijen: No O’s Kanchenjunga 2022 Tough Decisions
We sometimes hear about a climber who has to make a tough decision as we follow mountaineering each season. Usually, it involves weather moving in that might jeopardize the team’s safety or rescuing a teammate. Well, this spring, my long-time friend, Wilco van Rooijen, 55, faced a difficult decision, but it involved staying true to his style.
The Dutch mountaineer cheated death in 2008 on K2, but we both lost a dear friend, Ger McDonnell, that year. Wilco, who always climbs without supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support, had summited K2, Everest, plus many technical climbs in the Alps. He had a sold attempt in 2018 on Kanchenjunga, the 3rd highest mountain at 8,586 m (28,169 ft), with his best friend and climbing partner, Cas van de Gevel.
This 2022 spring, they returned to Kanch for another try in their style. They had perfect weather day after day and had acclimatized on Meru Peak before arriving at Kanch’s base camp. They made one attempt but were going too slow behind a large group, and it was getting late in the day, so they returned to base camp. It was then that their expedition began to experience problems. The operator they had paid to provide base camp logistics told them they only had three days left as they were going. Cas developed health problems. Soon Wilco found himself high on Kanch with a climber he didn’t know and a very young and inexperienced Sherpa. Wilco faced a decision that would test his character and test his commitment to the style head sworn to honor.
It’s a fascinating interview where we talk about our Broad Peak experience, Wilco and Ger on K2 in 2008, and Wilco and Cas this year on Kanch. I take the opportunity to ask Wiclo his views on the changes we are seeing in the world of mountaineering of excessive use of oxygen, inexperienced clients with unqualified guides, helicopters, and more.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
Everest 2022 Season Summary: The Year of the Missing Jetstream
2022 brought even more stable weather windows than during the great Everest 2018. This May, a stalled high-pressure system made for horrendous temperatures in Northern India while paradoxically creating nearly ideal climbing conditions across much, but not all, of the Himalayas. The net result was nearly 650 people summiting from Everest’s Nepal side and another 50 on the Tibet side.
Unlike previous seasons, this spring saw more experienced climbers resulting in fewer deaths, rescues, and an overall low drama environment. Despite this good news, there were periods of brutal weather and climbing conditions, and yes, there were rescues, close-calls, and, sadly, deaths.
This season, we saw the continued trend of a very high member to support ratio. A milestone reached with more Sherpas summiting than foreigners in total since Everest climbing began in the 1920s. We’ll dig into this later. All in all, it was a year like we saw a decade ago. But, unfortunately, it was not without deaths, three deaths on Everest and three more on the other 8000ers.
In the good news department, for the first time in many years, the Nepal Ministry of Tourism seemed content to stay out of the way and the headlines. But, this spring, significant changes appeared in the world of mountaineering. These changes will disrupt decades of climbing norms on the 8000-meter peaks.
Everest 2022: Team Locations and Headlines
Welcome to the 2022 edition of Alan Arnette’s annual coverage of the Everest climbing season. I try to provide insight and interpretation of the activities ranging from routes to weather to the challenge and reward of climbing Everest. It’s based on my three Everest attempts and my 2011 summit plus my climbing experiences of a K2 summit in 2014, Manaslu in 2013, and 30+ more peaks around the world. My reporting uses my own research, sources, and public information.
Everest 2022: Summit Wave 12 – Recap
The big news is not from Everest but on Makalu where Norweigan Kristin Harila along with her Sherpa support got her sixth 8000er in just 29-days, setting a new record. There were 20 summits on Everest, perhaps the last of this season as the Icefall Doctors will begin removing the ladders on Sunday, May 29, 2022. EverestER has already left base camp.