K2 2015 Coverage: Summit Dreams
The teams that are already at K2, s Broad Peak and the Gasherbrums are making excellent progress on their acclimatization programs. Some have already slept a night at Camp 1, drugstore which is normally around 19,500 feet or about 6,000 meters. The next step is to retrace those steps and continue to Camp 2 around 21,500 feet or 6500 meters. From there they return to Base Camp, await a week of good weather and start up to the summit. For those used to following Everest climbs, this may seem fast. And in comparison it is, but for K2 and the lower 8000 meter mountains two acclimatization rotations are the standard for those using supplemental oxygen. For those climbing without, they make make at least two more rotations and spend at least one night around 7000 meters. Nick Rice, over on G1, reports a good rotation to C1. Visit his site for some nice pictures The route to Camp I felt longer than I remember from 2006 and veered west to avoid some large crevasses before correcting east to arrive to Camp I. Since this was my first climb to Camp I, I was loaded down with 30kg of equipment, and the climb took close to seven hours (I arrived at 10:30am). Camp I is around 900m higher than base camp, so we were all quite exhausted when arriving. The camp is situated on a glacier in a valley surrounded on all sides by massive snowy peaks. This limits the amount of wind that arrives and also magnifies the intensity of the sun. Inside the tent was miserably hot, however, after climbing all morning in the sun, I was far too sunburned to spend any more time outside. A report from Lance Fox, a friend of Alec Turner with Himex noted: Alec Turner: had a rest day after tagging Camp 1 on K2. Headed up to Camp 2 @22,000′ for 2 nights, after which they will be ready for a summit push, hopefully sometime in the next 8 days. Garrett Madison’s team is still two days from reaching K2 Base Camp but report the trek has eased a bit as have the temps. But the big news is a rumor of an impending summit window from July 20 – 26, which is similar to what we experienced last year. If that forecast holds true, and we all know anything can happen in the high mountains, teams need to get their acclimatization programs completed, rest up and push hard when it appears. On Everest there was always several summit windows that seemed to materialize in the second half of May, but on K2 it seems that there are only one or two and that’s it for the seasons, so when it appears, the teams that are ready are rewarded. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Avalanches and Progress
The earthquake, 100 miles northeast of K2 apparently had no impact on the climbers throughout the Karakorum. I’m sure those who were on Everest this past spring had a bit of a flashback if they felt the ground moving. David Tait provided some impressions of the avalanche off K2 as he was in his tent at Base Camp when it occurred: As I hauled on my clothes, I reflected on the previous, avalanche prone afternoon. At one point a huge chunk of ice, part of a gigantic, threatening serac some 1000m above the foot of the Česen route had let go and plunged vertically into the valley below – directly across the route I had used the previous day to ascend to and descend from C1. I heard the roar, leapt from my tent and gazed in horrified awe and an immense ice cloud ballooned across the valley. The foot of the Česen is a good 45-minute trudge from our BC, but it soon became obvious that this gigantic cloud of snow, ice and impact wind would certainly reach and “dust” BC despite this distance! I had no time to grab my big camera, but had my iPhone [music] to hand and snapped off a few shots before the diving into my tent as the mini snowstorm gale hit us and soaked everything. This location is a usual suspect for avalanches and was frequent occurrences in 2014. The picture attached is one I took last year from K2 Base Camp. This is the full video: 2014 K2 Base Camp Avalanche in 2014 So, the work of climbing goes on as the teams are working to move higher as they adjust their bodies to the high altitude. NOTE: I will be climbing Mt. Rainier in the Washington State, US next week so updates will be limited. You can follow my climb at https://www.facebook.com/alanarnettepage Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Earthquake Near K2 but no Damage Reported
The earth continues to shake around the Himalaya with a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in China’s far western region of Xinjiang. The epicenter was in a largely remote and sparsely populated area and about 100 miles northeast of K2. No damage was reported in China. Billi Bierling, look climbing Broad Peak, which is a few miles east of K2, try reported excellent climbing conditions but also noted there were some avalanches on K2 that have stalled activity: Going up to C1 and C2 for 2 nights. This morning saw a few avalanches on K2. Work there on hold for moment. No one reported any incidents on K2, but climbers were scheduled to be at Camp 1 on the Česen route. Meanwhile, climbing has finally begun on Gasherbrum I and II. Nick Rice had an “interesting” welcome as he set up his base camp for their Gasherbrum I climb: The place we chose for our base camp was quite steep and required a great deal of effort to make level enough for the mess tent, kitchen tents, and our personal tents. We worked all afternoon on this, the effort made harder by the newly fallen snow and the fact that the stones were frozen in place. We were startled as mortar fire erupted from the army camp just across the glacier from us. It continued all afternoon and we were told it was for target practice and not to worry. As for the teams still trekking, they report that it is hot, hot hot. Joe Ashkar noted: A combination of high temperatures and very rugged terrain made for a difficult trek. Everything you hear and read about the trek to K2 base camp is real … Today was another day with temperatures in the 100s. We made our way from Jhula to Paiju in about 6 hours. I’m severely dehydrated but I’m OK; I started at a very fast pace this morning and should have slowed down when the sun hit. Assuming the conditions allow, it is time for the fixed lines to be established on the multiple mountains then camps set up steadily reaching higher and higher altitudes. This will continue for several weeks. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Climbing Begins
The Karakorum climbing season is settling down to actual climbing with a few climbers already at Camp 1 on K2 and others preparing to begin on Broad Peak. Still others are now starting their trek to the base camps. Thus the area is filled with activity as the weather made a sudden switch from snow and cold to hot and sunny Welcome to the Karakorum! Climbers at Camp 1 Mike Horn’s small team were the first to arrive at K2 Base Camp last week and were greeted by heavy snow and cold temps. But over the past couple of days the clouds have left to make way for sunny skies and warm temps. Taking advantage of this, they climbed to Camp 1 at 6050 meters or 19, 965 feet. I’m sure they will enjoy having the pick of the tiny space to pitch their tents to their liking. The climb to Camp 1 on K2 is perhaps a simple yet strong introduction to what lies above. The climb starts from Advanced Base Camp up a fairly steep snow slope. You hug the rocks as snow avalanches are common to the climber’s right. After about a 1,000 feet you switch from snow to rock as the terrain shifts even steeper. This continues all the way to Camp 1. It is a stark introduction to the mountain and will not get easier than what they are experiencing now. It will get steeper, rockier, with more rock fall and snow avalanches plus higher altitude, strong winds and colder temps. Mike Horn made two tweets that summed up the conditions well: Sleeping in camp1 tonight, will try and push higher tomorrow if snow allows and a few hours later We reached close to 6000m. Very bad weather. Avalanche danger too high. Skied down. Welcome to K2! Teams Spreading out Meanwhile Russell Brice’s Himex team has announced they will forgo the Abruzi route, where Mike and his team are in favor of the less climbed Česen Route aka Basque Route. Their Sherpas began today to establish the route with fixed ropes. They ran a bit short of their Camp 1 goal but will return tomorrow. The Česen route is a bit more direct thus steeper than the Abruzi but is extremely avalanche prone. In 2014, one small team attempted it but never made it to the summit. Fabrizio Zangrilli, perhaps the most experienced person on K2 has made six attempts on K2, most on the Česen with no summits as he told in this excellent Rock and Ice interview and on ExplorersWeb. He experienced heavy snow, avalanches and rescues that thwarted his attempts. The Česen or also called the South-Southeast Spur or the Basque Spur avoids the Black Pyramid and Houses Chimney, two of the most challenging, and fun, parts of climbing K2 by the Abruzzi. That Himex has chosen this route is not a surprise as there are an estimated 125 people on the mountains this year, all using the same route, the Abruzi Spur. As I pointed out in previous posts, tent space at Camps 1 and 2 are very limited thus with so many people, there is a high risk of competition and over crowding. Brice has a strong team of Sherpas, and Pakistani High Altitude Porters, so they stand a good chance of making the route work, if the avalanche danger is not too high. This is one of the significant changes to how K2 is being climbed this year: overpowering the mountain with manpower and then letting the members follow the fixed route. In any event, wishes to all regardless of route for a long weather window and good conditions. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: When Airplanes Don’t Fly
If one word can sum up high altitude mountaineering, it might be “flexibility”. The remaining teams trying to reach K2, Broad Peak and other Karakorum base camps were hoping to fly from Islamabad to Skardu but the weather Gods, or more specifically the airlines had other ideas. Most teams try to fly directly to Skardu via a daily Pakistan International Airline flight, but due to regular bad weather in Skardu, it is canceled 20% of the time and very delayed another 25%. Thus some teams are forced to take the 30 hour, 2 day drive along the very dangerous Karakorum Highway. The Slow Way It looks like Madison Mountaineering and Seven Summits Treks joined up to take four buses, with armed escorts, up the Karakorum Highway to the “end of the ‘paved’ road” in Skardu. From there they will take 4-wheel drive Toyota Land Cruisers on the bone rocking dirt road to the literal end of the road in Askole where the march begins to their base camps. Phillip Gatta sums it up: The 28th we left the hotel at 5:30am with military protection, there were 2 jeeps with armed men before and after us plus one man with a Kalashnikov in the bus with us. That said, I didn’t feel insecure like in 2009. The road improved a lot too, many more paved sections and lot’s of work going on (building bridges, paving, etc) but the road is still dangerous because its location at the bottom of big gorges and many sections are exposed to rock fall, side drops, etc. The “road” between Besham and Chilas is the worst. Joe Ashkar noted: Along the way we were ed to some cloud covered views of Nanga Parbat the ninth highest mountain in the world at 8,126 metres (26,660 ft) and nicknamed “killer mountain”. Shortly afterwards, we stopped at the confluence of the Indus and Gilgit rivers where the three mightiest Mountain Ranges in the World meet: The Karakoram, the Hindukush and the Himalayas. I have traveled this route twice, once in 2006 to get to Skardu and last year, returning from Skardu to Islamabad. While it is a long, sometimes hot and boring journey, I found it a rare opportunity to see the countryside from the road and not the air. I found the stops interesting with talking to the locals, looking in their eyes and getting a feel for what makes the world go round. Personally I never felt threatened but was aware that our position on a road surrounded by high mountains made us sitting targets. It is good that the Pakistan government is providing protection. Thus after two days of driving, it looks like they are all now at Skardu, where they will rest for a day or two then continue to Askole. Tough Early Weather The teams already at the base camps report difficult conditions already with lots of snow, and cold temps. But as always, the weather changes frequently, perhaps too frequently in the Karakorum thus the uncertainty of climbing conditions. Some climbers will begin to make their first efforts to establish the low camps on their respective mountains as soon as the weather allows. As I started this post, flexibility is the key concept. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Teams arrive at K2 Base Camp
After their long trek up the Baltoro Glacier, many teams arrived at the Broad Peak and K2 Base Camps this weekend. Using terms like arduous difficult and long – all appropriate descriptions for the trek in and an understatement for the trek out – the climbers telegraphed relief this section is over. Relief and Apprehension at the End Its around 80 miles of walking on uneven ground, sometimes covered in ice, but mostly over light snow on loose tiny rock, aka scree. It can be unbearably hot, uncomfortably cold, walking in torrential rain or blowing snow, but the views are amongst the in the world. The Trango Towers, Masherbrums and other seemingly unclimbable peaks line both sides almost daring the trekkers to dream of becoming climbers – and that is their goal, to climb some of the highest peaks on earth: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II. As they turn the corner at Concordia, a simple spot at the end of the Baltoro Glacier and the beginning of the Godwin-Austen Glacier, on a clear day they see K2 standing high dominating the view – its a moment of excitement, pause, reflection and flat out fear. The final miles to K2 Base Camp is made in silence, or quiet talk of the task ahead. Minds are filled with memories, family and dreams. Mike Horn and team, already there for several days report overcast skies with snow but today they enjoyed a clear day. He Tweeted this image: Billi Bierling, with Himex and climbing Broad Peak, Tweeted: Arrived at Concordia in the snow. Broad peak beautifully towering above us with K2 in the background. More to Come Other teams are just now leaving Islamabad to begin their treks to base camps. With well over 125 climbers on K2 and a large number on the other peaks, those early to arrive should enjoy their solitude, it won’t last long! Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Large Teams Snowed in on the Trek
With the heat wave in Pakistan now responsible for over 1, 000 deaths, it may be surprising that heavy snow has stalled progress in the Northern Territories. Himex is reporting that they have stopped their trek towards K2 Base Camp due to slippery conditions on the Baltoro Glacier. There is no “path” per se, but only a faint line on the loose rocks that covers the ice. The Balti Porters wear thin Chinese canvas shoes or even simple sandles thus need solid footing. Brook Mancinelli Tweeted: Rain2snow last nt. Cant move. Its nasty. The delay is not a big deal as there are a lot of weather days built into the schedule. But it does go to the point of what the weather might hold for this years climbers. Large teams One of the story lines for K2 this 2015 season are the unusually large teams. As I posted a few days ago, and update now, here are three teams of considerable size: Himalayan Experience (Himex): 12 members, 2 guides, 11 Sherpas, ~ 11 Pakistan HAPs Madison Mountaineering : 7 members, 2 guides, 6 Sherpas and 9 Pakistan HAPs Seven Summits Treks: 10 members, 1 leader, 11 Sherpas and ~ 7 Pakistan HAPs plus 15 for Broad Peak (7 members, 7 Sherpas) Adding this up totals 89 people who will be climbing just K2 just from these three teams, and there are more teams, perhaps 5 or more adding an additional 50 climbers on K2. Thus in total K2 may see over 125 people attempting the summit – twice the record set in 2014. Last year when I was there we had about 75 total people at K2 Base Camp and that included cooks, Liaison Officers, climbers, Sherpas and Pakistan High Altitude Porters. With a week of unusually good weather, about 49 people summited K2. In 2012, there were 30 summits but none from Pakistan in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and 2013. A Look Behind the Numbers So, what’s behind the large numbers for K2 in 2015? Part of the reason is the new model that was driven by Seven Summits Treks in 2012. They brought a team of highly skilled Sherpas to the Karakorum who fixed lines, broke trail and ferried gear to the high camps. In other words the same model that has been used on Everest for decades. Madison Mountaineering, the team I was on last year, did a similar model in 2014 and is again this year. Russell Brice’s Himex group is following suit with 12 members, 1:1 SHerpa support plus the matching HAPs. Adding to the numbers, The Pakistan Government, fearing that Sherpas will displace their own local climbers, insisted that commercial teams on K2 hire local Pakistan High Altitude Porters (HAPs) to match the imported Sherpas. Obviously this creates more people on the mountain. The primary challenge for everyone is that there are few HAPs that have the skills and experience to independently guide on K2. Plus there are four other 8000 meter mountains requiring some level of support: Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II and Nanga Parbat (note: there are no climbers on NP this season). A New K2? The impact on climbing K2 is two fold: First, K2 is a very, very steep mountain with limited space at Camps 1 and 2. At C1, last year there were 10 2 person tents squeezed so closely together that they were literally sharing guy lines. I have no idea where all the people will sleep this year and in practice, the teams will have to cooperate in an unprecedented way to make it work. This means perhaps sharing tents and coordinating schedules which will become problematic if the weather turns bad or there is a short summit weather window. By the way, this same situation has been going on for years on Broad Peak which is also steep with limited space for tents – fights have broken out over the real estate! The second issue is that with such a high level of support, some people may think that K2 has been tamed thus attracting individuals with insufficient experience. I’ve written about this before, but to reiterate, K2 is not Everest. It is steep, dangerous and technically difficult. No matter how many Sherpas you have, the climber must move themselves up, and down, under their own power. Climbing House’s Chimney, the Back Pyramid and through the Bottleneck to the Traverse offer climbing challenges rarely seen on other 8000 meter mountains and is not for the novice. Guides like Garrett Madison and Russell Birce are old hands at leading complicated expeditions and know what they are doing. Brice hand selected his team and views 2015 as somewhat of an experiment. Garrett had great success last year and has personally lead more people to the summit of Everest than any other guide. But it’s clear things are changing K2 and in the Karakorum overall. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage: Trekking the Baltoro
Teams continue to make steady progress toward their respective base camps. They report conditions as hot which is no surprise as Pakistan is experiencing an extreme heat wave. But Mike Horn who is already at K2 Base Camp reports: Arrived at K2 base camp at 5000 meters. It is snowing and cold but everyone is doing well! Russell Brice’s team is about half way there with a reported 397 porters! Actually this is not unusual as all the provisions for base camp and the climb must be transported by humans, not helicopters. We had a similar number of porters last year. David Tait, who is a prolific blogger, posted about his trek: The under foot surface was a challenge at times, with deep sand; almost beach like conditions – quite a struggle. However, 5 1/2 hours later I arrived at a patch of ground called Jolah. There is literally nothing here, but somehow this patch of ground has a name – thankfully for my story! Now as I write, our tents have been set and the patch now transformed by an army of workers. I am tempted to set up a time-elapse camera to record the effort, which will all be repeated again tomorrow night. But not everyone is having a smooth trip. Nick Rice posted that he is till having difficulties getting his clearance for travel: … the clearance was still not received. I can only hope that the officer is present tomorrow and that the clearance is received in the morning. I hope the season will be safe with all the disparate weather conditions – hot and cold … bit this is what make K2 so difficult. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2015 Coverage
After my successful summit of K2 in 2014, I will be covering the 2015 K2 climbing season from my home in Colorado this year for the first time. I’ll try to do it the same style as my annual Everest coverage but information is much more difficult to obtain from Northern Pakistan than Nepal. I’ll do my to throw in occasional coverage for climbers on Broad peak and Gasherbrum I and II. As always, I use my Blog to gain awareness for Alzheimer’s and if you appreciate my coverage, please consider a donation. Teams I will not be keeping a location table like I do for Everest given the lack of detailed information but these are a few of the teams on K2 this year. 2015 marks a milestone in K2 history with multiple true “commercial” teams on the mountain. One of the major changes for 2015 is that commercial teams must match their Sherpas with local Pakistan High Altitude Porters (HAPs) so as not to take jobs away from the locals. This is good that it trains HAPs but it drives up the costs significantly. I don’t think we will see K2 become Everest with 30 commercial teams but clearly 2015 marks a shift is who attempts and guides on K2. Himalayan Experience (Himex): 12 members, 2 guides, 11 Sherpas, ~ 11 Pakistan HAPs Madison Mountaineering : 7 members, 2 guides, 6 Sherpas and 9 Pakistan HAPs Seven Summits Treks: 10 members, 1 leader, 11 Sherpas and ~ 7 Pakistan HAPs Adventure Tours Pakistan Karakorum Tours Pakistan If you have a team and want coverage, please contact me. Individuals with Blogs include: David Tait (Himex) Bo Parfit (Himex) Alex Turner (Himex) Nick Rice on Gasherbrum I Vanessa O’Brien (Madison Mountaineering) Joe Ashkar (Madison Mountaineering) Jason Black Mirza Ali and Samina Baig Philippe Gatta Mike Horn, Fred Roux and Köbi Reichen Chris Jensen Burke (Broad Peak) Al Hancock (Broad Peak) Raheel Adnan has a great site for all things Karakorum with a full list of teams. The Easy Part of Climbing K2 Every K2 from Pakistan starts in Islamabad. This year, it appears over 50, perhaps 100, foreigners streamed into Islamabad to begin their journey to K2 Base Camp. Reports from the climbers were very consistent: Islamabad was boring for a tourist, hot and they were excited to start their climb. Most teams try to fly directly to Skardu via a daily Pakistan International Airline flight, but due to regular bad weather in Skardu, it is canceled 20% of the time and very delayed another 25%. Thus some teams are forced to take the 30 hour, 2 day drive along the very dangerous Karakorum Highway. Nick Rice reported on his initial journey: I was relieved when we took off from Islamabad, but knew that the flight could be turned around at any point before landing due to weather conditions in Skardu. Thankfully, the flight arrived to Skardu. We disembarked onto the runway, took a bus to the terminal, registered with the police, and headed to our respective hotels. I’m very grateful for Manzoor’s foresight in purchasing me the flight ticket for the same day I arrived to Islamabad. Not only did it save me from having to bear with the 40 degree Celsius heat in Islamabad, but it also saved me having to endure the two day drive up the Karakorum Highway, which passes by areas of the country that are quite dangerous to Westerners. Many of the teams successfully reached Skardu and stayed at the time honored Concordia Motel, enjoying Internet (slow) and evening cookouts (fantastic) with great views of the Indus River. It is here that you begin to feel like you might be a climber and not a tourist as most every climber in the Karakorum stays there, chatting, sharing dreams and talking mountains. Mike Horn and his team have already started their trek to K2 Base Camp, reporting that they are at 4400 meters or 14,400 feet on the Baltoro Glacier. He also commented on the weather during the trek: Amazing weather, Hot as hell, another 3 more days walk to K2 Base Camp. The whole team is doing well. OK, more as information becomes available. But remember, Internet connectivity is spotty at in Pakistan and most teams will not be posting updates on their 8 days hike up the Baltoro Glacier to base camps. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything