K2 2017 Season Coverage: How Mingma Gyalje Sherpa’s team Summited K2 when others Stopped
For the first time since 2014, K2 saw climbers on the summit. Lead by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa founder of the Nepali guide company Dreamers Destination, this 31 year-old Sherpa pushed the limits when other longtime, well respected guides said “no.” While the Khumbu seems to be the home of Sherpas who have summited Everest, the Rolwaling valley is quickly becoming the home of the K2 Sherpas with 9 summits between the Sherpas who live there. Not only did Mingma summit K2, his second summit of the world’s second highest peak, but he also summited four other 8000ers and nearly got another this year, and he is not finished yet in 2017! The obvious questions include: What did he know that others didn’t? Why did he take the risk with five members in tow? Did he push the envelope too far? Was he smart, lucky or both? I wanted to go deeper than the traditional “How did it feel” question and Minga, true to form, was not shy talking about his experience in this long interview. I met Mingma on K2 in 2014 when we both summited but on different teams. He impressed me then as a super confident, strong, smart young man with tons of ambition. I was to go to Dhaulagiri with him this year but a broken leg got in my way. I caught up with Mingma while he was still in Skardu, Pakistan. K2 2017 Summits For the record this is Minga’s post on who summited K2 in 2017. He cites 6 Nepalese, 1 Pakistani, 3 Chinese, 1 American and 1 Icelandic: 1.Mr. Mingma G Sherpa- climbed in 2014 without oxygen and 2017 with oxygen. 2 times K2 summit/highest summit record. 2.Mr. Dawa Gyalje Sherpa- In 2014, his sister, Ms Dawa Yangzum Sherpa climbed K2 being first Nepalese woman and now they are the world’s only brother and sister to climb K2. 3.Mr. Tsering Pemba Sherpa- His first Summit on K2. Now we are 9 K2 Summiters from Rolwaling valley, Nepal. 4. Mr. Nima Tshering Sherpa- His first K2 summit. 5. Mr. Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa-He became the first K2 Summiter from Juving-1,Nepal. 6. Mr Nima Nuru Sherpa-He is third Nepalese to Summit K2 without oxygen after Pemba Gyaljen Sherpa in 2008 and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa in 2014. 7. Mr. Fazal-only Pakistani to climb K2 twice and also without oxygen 8. Mr Zhang Liang, China climbed 13X8000m peaks including K2 9. Mr Liu Yong Zhong,China climbed 10X8000m peaks including K2 10. Ms Dong Hongjuan,China climbed 9X8000m peaks including K2 11. Ms. Vanessa O’brien from USA completed 5X8000m peaks and became first American Woman on K2. 12. Mr. John Snorri became first person from Iceland on K2 and he will be receiving Medal of Honor from his country’s President. Congratulations John. One note. Brothers Alberto and Felix Iñurrategi both climbed K2 in 1994. As you will read, K2 is not an easy mountain. Often it is the weather that stops teams. High winds, deep snow and avalanches stopped all summits in 2015 and 2016. The terrain is incredibly steep. Unlike Everest, there are no long flat sections i.e. the Western Cwm, and the objective dangers are constantly on the climber’s minds. While Everest is deserving of the utmost respect with regards to altitude, K2 is in different class. A bit of trivia, there are less than 200 people who have summited both Everest and K2. Climbing in Pakistan Pakistan is home to five of the 14 8000 meter peaks. With the unrest, some have been hesitant to climb in Pakistan, especially after the 2013 massacres of 11 climbers and support staff at the Diamir base camp of Nanga Parbat by about 16 militants, reportedly dressed in Gilgit Scouts uniforms. In my two trips there, 2006 and 2014, I felt safe and welcomed throughout Pakistan. The past few years, more and more expeditions are bringing Sherpas from Nepal to support climbs in the Karakorum, especially K2. This has created hard feeling and in one case, a climber was banned due to this issue. With the Karakorum gaining in popularity and more commercial teams now offering climbs, a lack of support staff with High Altitude Porters (HAPs) aka Mountain Workers is seen as a limitation by some or a threat by others. AA: Did you feel personally safe in Pakistan this year? How was the security? MGS: Yes. People believe Pakistan is not safe to travel but once we are in Pakistan we don’t have that feeling. They have armies, policemen, security, rules and regulations as we do. so it is very safe here. AA: How did the Pakistan Government feel about you bringing so many Sherpas? How many HAPs did you hire this year? MGS: I am not sure about how Pakistan Government felt because all our permit and other legal documents to enter Pakistan are taken cared by Pakistani local agency but yes, the local people and our other Pakistani colleagues, staffs were very happy meeting with more Nepalese Sherpa. Also if you see, more foreign people are going on big mountains in Pakistan because there are more Nepalese Sherpa and success rate is higher and that gave more job opportunities to more Pakistani engaged in this field. I feel sad when Pakistani climbers ask opportunity to work together with us. This is their country and we are supposed to ask opportunity with them to work together. But it is also changing now as more educated and responsible Pakistani climbers and organizer are emerging in market so we can expect better service in 4-5 years. Also working together with Nepalese Sherpa,the concept of Pakistani climbers are changing and they are learning together. But there are some example climbers in Pakistan like one I am working together, Ali Reza Sadpara. He is very responsible and stronger than Nepalese Sherpa and I really feel they didn’t get opportunities to show who they are. Also like Ali Mohammad who climbed Nanga Parbat in winter and often hired to work in Nepal too. We had 3 Pakistani HAPS. Harsh Conditions Mingma reported during the climb that an
Mingma Sherpa Continues 8000er Roll with Broad Peak
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa founder of Dreamers Destination continues his impressive 2017 with yet another summit of an 8000 meter mountain, Broad Peak. Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson also summited BP adding to his two 8000ers this year – K2 and Lhotse. British-American Vanessa O’Brien who summited K2 with Mingma was not with them but apparently, as reported by Mingma, Fredrik Sträng went along to nab Broad Peak thus not wasting his trip to the Karakorum after not being able to summit K2. Mingma posted on Facebook: Finished my 11x8000m peak. Broad peak is my 10th 8000m without oxygen. All safely arrived back to camp3. Congratulation to all my team member. John Snorri became first Icelandic, Ali Reza made twice(on 27july and 4aug), Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Tsering pemba sherpa completed 11x8000m, Mingma nuru sherpa, Ngima norbu sherpa( both k2 and broad peak without oxygen) Liu yong zhong completed 11x8000m and Dong hongjuan completed her 10th 8000m. Fedrick from Sweden also made it but he is not part of our expedition. Summit videos will be posted tomorrow. Thanks for following us. This is the 31 year-old Mingma’s fourth 8000er summit in 2017: Dhaulagiri on 30 April, Makalu on 14 May, K2 on 29 July and Broad Peak on 5 August. He came very close on Nanga Parbat but said he believes he mistakenly stood on a sub summit and will have to go back. He has summited 11 of the 14 8000 meter mountains. Mingma Gyalje Sherpa on K2 in 2017 Sherpa Success on 8000ers The world’s highest peaks used to be the domain of climbers from Italy, Spain, and the like but in recent years, Sherpas from the Makalu and Rolwaling have taken on the big peaks and are knocking them off in quick fashion. Nationalities of climbers who have completed all 14 of the 8000 meter mountains. Italian – 7 Spanish – 6 Kazakhstani – 3 Korean – 5 Polish – 3 Nepali – 2 Australian – 1 Austrian – 1 Czech – 1 Ecuadorian – 1 Finish – 1 German – 1 Iranian – 1 Slovenian/Italian – 1 Japanese – 1 Mexican – 1 Portuguese – 1 Slovak -1 Swiss – 1 American – 1 Funded by low climbing permit fees in Nepal along with guiding western members, they have been able to summit multiple 8000ers each year when it used to take many years, if not decades, to accomplish this coveted mark in mountaineering. Reinhold Messner took 16 years, 1970-1986, to summit all 14 whereas Irian Azim Gheychisaz took nine years from 2008 to 2017. Leveraging Success Chhang Dawa Sherpa and Mingma Sherpa set the Sherpa standard when they summited all 14 and started the guiding company Seven Summits Treks aka 7S. Today 7S has emerged as one of the largest Nepali guide companies with close to 100 members each season on Everest alone. Dawa set the age record as the youngest climber to summit all 14. His last 8000er was Dhaulagiri in 2014 at age 32. He and his brother were born in the Makalu region, not the Khumbu, thus putting their region on the climbing map. Today many Sherpas on Everest are from Makalu and Rolwaling. Well Earned Praise Sincere congratulations to Mingma, John and Ngima Norbu Sherpa for summiting both K2 and Broad Peak with the rare double summit Also to Pakistani Ali Reza on topping out on Broad Peak twice this season and Tsering Pemba Sherpa and Mingma Nuru Sherpa for summiting K2 and Broad without supplemental oxygen – impressive. Finally, I want to point out that Mingma Gyalje Sherpa did use supplemental oxygen on K2. I am very impressed with his decision as he is clearly capable of summiting without but choose to use Os given he was guiding members. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: More K2 Summit Attempts – Update 2
After hosting 12 people on the summit of K2 on 28 July 2017, another few independent climbers are going to give it a go. UPDATE 2: IT’S OVER Andrzej Bargiel : Time to go home UPDATE 1: It seems it’s over for all. Both Fredrik Sträng’s and Andrzej Bargiel have posted on their social media that conditions feel too dangerous. Plus the Polish team training for a winter attempt turned back. Yesterday’s joy today’s frustration. I was very happy to work and climb together with the polish team and climb for summit attempt. Every member in the polish team turned around and it was only me and Ali left on the mountain. With no fixed ropes between camp 3 and camp 4, I decided to turn around the point was that we together should fix the ropes to camp 4. We are now back in BC and I am disappointed and we don’t know what to do next. The last attempt to climb the mountain has to be made in the next days if we want to make it safe. /Fredrik and from Andrzej: Hi guys! We’re back in the base camp… It wasn’t our day. Early on Janusz Gołąb had to turn around and get back to the camp. He was struggling with an infection for a couple of days and as it turned around he didn’t fully recover. Along with Kuba Poburka we kept on going. It was pretty warm today what quickly increased the avalanche danger. Boulders and stone were falling down on our head. Kuba got hit by a small one, but he’s all right. We’ve decided there is no sense to risk it. Safety first.Unfortunatelly it looks like I won’t ski down from K2 this year… well sometimes you gotta lose the battle to win the war. It’s very likely we’ll come back. New Attempts Fredrik Sträng’s home team posted: The forthcoming plan is to get ready for another summit attempt within a couple of days. It’s all depending on the weather. This time the route of ascent will probably be the Cescen route due to bad conditions on the Abruzzi. Andrzej Bargiel who wants to ski down from the summit of K2 posted: Meanwhile we’re getting ready to leave the base camp. The forecast shows a good weather window after the weekend. Tomorrow early in the morning together with Kuba Poburka i Janusz Gołąb we’ll start the hike. We want to reach camp III where we’ll spend a night. Then we’ll move to camp IV and if the weather holds good we plan the summit attack for Tuesday. Climbers Descend The summit team lead by Mingma G. of Dreamers Destination were supposed to be descending from Camp 4 at 25,080’/7600m on 29 July. Two climbers have their GPS trackers going: Vanessa O’Brien at GPS tracker and Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson at GPS tracker Vanessa’s tracker still shows her at Camp 4 and John’s shows he is at K2 base Camp. There are numerous explanations for Vanessa’s position including her device ran out of battery power, it was not turned on, or she left it with another climber for some reason or finally she lost it. I know I dropped my SPOT device while descending House Chimney sending panic through all my followers. We will see what the real story is . Update: looks like both Vanessa and John at now at Base Camp. Best of luck to all the new attempts and congrats again to the summiters. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: K2 Summits!!
Perseverance and courage has paid off for Mingma Gyalje Sherpa’s Dreamer Destinations’ team. They put 12 people on the summit of K2 – the first summits since 2014. There was another summit of Broad Peak and Russell Brice, announces he’s ending his guiding career. K2 Summits! I have written a lot this season about risk tolerances, differences of opinions and the willingness to continue when others turn back. So in that environment, Minga deserves tremendous credit for showing the leadership skills to push his members to the summit in what other highly experienced operators determined unacceptable conditions. As I outlined in the previous post the Sherpa on this push were highly experienced with over 35 summits of Everest between them. There was several feet of fresh snow so the Sherpa’s strength to break trail was required for anyone to summit this season. They were the engine behind this summit train. They started with 9 Sherpas but only 7 summited. Mingma G. posted on Facebook around 5:00 am 28 July 2017: Finally we are at the summit of Mt.K2 Mr. Mingma G sherpa Mr. Dawa gyalje sherpa Mr. Tsering pemba sherpa Mr. Nima tshering sherpa Mr. lakpa nuru sherpa Mr. Nima nuru sherpa Mr. Ang Tsering sherpa Mr. Azong Mr. Zhang liang Miss. Jing xue Mr.vanessa Mr.john snorri A sincere congratulations to all these climbers. They spent over 16 hours to reach the summit, an extraordinarily long time. In 2014 we took 8. They summited at 4:00 pm local time and descend to Camp 4 for the night. They hope to get to base camp on the 28th. Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson becomes the first from his country to climb, and summit, K2. British-American Vanessa O’Brien will begin to claim that she is the first American Female to summit. Well done to both! The Descent To say the obvious, they now must descend. If the weather remains good, this will take a day or more. To be clear, they are not safe yet, by any measure. The descent from the summit is difficult, arduous, tiring and dangerous, It involves rappelling many sections where you must rig everything 100% perfectly. A mistake will cost the climber their life. Two climbers have their GPS trackers going: Vanessa O’Brien at GPS tracker and Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson at GPS tracker It appears they are back at Camp 4 at 25,080’/7600m. The summit is 28,251”/8611m. Broad Peak Summits And there were more Broad Peak summits on this good weather day. This time by Chinese climber Mrs. Lou Jing with two Sherpas: Nurbu Sherpa and Sanu Sherpa. Russell Brice Ends Career – Updated In a heartbreaking newsletter long time high altitude guide Russell Bruce announced he is ending his guiding career. I hope this is a moment of regret and will not hold. Russ’ Himex team was on K2 in 2015, the Česen route, without a summit. Last year he subcontracted his K2 team to another operator who also didn’t summit. In 2012, he made a gutsy and controversial decision to end his Everest expedition one month early when the hanging serac above the Khumbu Icefall threatened to collapse. It didn’t that year and hundreds went on to summit but two years later later it did taking 18 Sherpa lives in the collapse. Russ is a logistic expert and an leader in advocating safety for members and moreover, his staff. He was instrumental in getting the Nepal government’s approval to use helicopters to ferry loads to the Western Cwm on Everest this eliminating hundreds of Sherpa trips thru the Icefall. He is always willing to use his resources to help a climber in trouble, even if that climber was independent or on another team. He tried in vain to save David Sharp who died on the north side of Everest in 2006. Ironically he was widely, and unfairly in my opinion, criticized. Russ prides himself in reading weather forecast and giving his member the best, safest opportunity to summit and get back safely. It was this study of the facts that lead him to cancel this year’s K2 attempt. In his newsletter, he describes in solid detail the process he went through this season concluding the conditions were too dangerous to summit complicated by their exit logistics. He sums up his newsletter with these startling statements: So once again it would appear that I have made a bad judgment call, and should really be still on the hill. I came here at the request of my members because they put their trust in me. I took this on as an honor but also as a great challenge to deal with this mountain. I have failed, it is time for me to give up this game. I have enjoyed the experiences along the way, it has not made me rich or have a stable home life, but I have managed to see many parts of the world and meet many interesting people along the way. It’s time to hang up the guiding boots and put my own personal boots on. Russ I have know Russ for over 10 years. He is the best of the best. I want to thank him for his tremendous contributions to defining a commercial guiding culture of safety and integrity. I wish him success in his future, including, hopefully, guiding on Everest in 2018! Congratulations to all those who summit this season and best wishes on a safe descent Best of luck to all Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: High Camp Chaos – Update 2
The scene at K2 high camp is disjointed. Some climbers feel it is too dangerous, while others are going for the summit. The route is covered in deep snow and the weather window is tiny so those choosing to stay will have climb fast and efficient and have a lot of luck on their side to avoid a serious disaster. UPDATE 2 The team of 14 (9 Sherpas, 5 westerners) are moving steadily. no word on mountain conditions or weather but the window was forecasted to be short meaning if they summit, they will most likely descend in harsh wind and snow – but this could be wrong which is what they are betting on, I assume) The summit is 28,251”/8611m. John Snorri Sigurjónsson ‘s GPS show him at 27, 020’/8236m at 8:16 am local time Vanessa O’Brien’ GPS shows her at 27,112’/ 8263m at 9:30 am local time They have been moving for over 9 hours. Climbers Leaving, Some Pushing There are at least 5 westerners and 9 Sherpas at Camp 4 on K2: Mingma G Sherpa, owner of Dreamers Destination (DD) – a Nepali based guide service posted: We’ll depart from our camp4 at 11pm local time. We are now 14 climbers ready for summit push. More news will be given tomorrow after 10am.only my team is pushing for K2 summit. Kami Sherpa and his Singapore member are not part of this team with the member choosing not to try to summit. They are at base camp. British-American Vanessa O’Brien’ is climbing with Mingma, follow her GPS tracker Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson with Tsering Sherpa have their GPS tracker going and showed them at 7834m. John is identified with Ascent Himalayas but also on the DD permit. C4 is at 25,080’/7600m. The summit is 28,251”/8611m. Here is my best assumption of who is on this summit push: Sherpas: Mr. Mingma G Sherpa, climbed Everest-5, K2, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu,Annapurna and Gasherbrum-I. Mr. Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, climbed Everest- 7 times, Lhotse, Manaslu, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II and Sishapangma. Mr. Tsering Pemba Sherpa, Climbed Everest-7 times, Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Manaslu Mr. Nima Tshering Sherpa, Climbed Everst-3times, Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Manaslu Mr Nima Nuru Sherpa, climbed Everest-9 times, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Sishapangma Mr. Ngatashi Sherpa, Climbed Everest, K2, Kanchenjugna, Lhotse, Makalu, Dhaulagiri and Manaslu. Mr. Ali Reza, Climbed Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-I, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum-II. (If success-He will be among Pakistani who climbed all 5x8000m in Pakistan. Till now, only 3 have achieved it) Mr. Fazal, climbed K2 and Gasherbrum-II. (If success-only Pakistani to climb K2 twice) Mr Aminlluah, climbed K2, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum-I and Gasherbrum-II. This year going to Broad Peak. (If success-He also will be among Pakistani who climbed all 5x8000m in Pakistan. Till now, only 3 have achieved it) Members: Vanessa O’Brien (British-American) John Snorri Sigurjónsson (Icelander) Mr. Zhang Liang (China) Mr Liu Yong Zhong(China) Ms. Dong Hongjuan(China) Another Day … Fredrik Sträng and the Polish team have returned to base camp. Fredrik is suggesting he will wait for a better window later – a big gamble that it will emerge but a smart decision not to push during this small one. His home team posted: Fredrik just called from BC. They aborted the ascent at aprox. 7400 meters due to bad weather and dangerous conditions with little visibility, waist-deep snow and avalanches. Fredrik and his climbing partner will now wait and think about what to do depending on the next days’ weather. The Polish team is also back in BC and all climbers here are well and fit for another ascent if the weather and conditions improve. The sat-phone connection has been very poor and therefore the lack of updates Andrzej Bargiel who wants to ski down from the summit of K2 posted 10 hours ago. I assume he is not pushing for the summit. After a couple days with bad weather, snowfalls and no visibility, the sun has finally came out today. There’s a little “window” but according to various forecasts, the weather will change again in the evening. There is simply not enough time to think about a summit attack. We have to patiently wait for conditions to improve… Broad Peak Summits!! As I previously noted, there were summits on Broad Peak today. On Broad Peak, Tunç Fındık posted they summited along with Oscar Cadiach, Yusuf and Ali!. This completes all 14 of the 800ers for Oscar and is Tunic’s 11th. Oscar told the media: Tarragona, after fourteen hours of climbing, made a peak a few minutes after 8.41. Oscar Cadiach has succeeded. The mountaineer from Tarragona has managed to make the summit of Broad Peak, going through history as the first Catalan in history that has made the fourteen eight thousand of the planet without the need for artificial oxygen and the twentieth to do it in all Planet After starting the climb at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, Cadiach reached the point of 8,051 meters few minutes after 8:30 hours, confirming the summit in a direct call to the program El Puente de Mahoma de Tarragona Ràdio: «I love you , We made the summit, always up Catalonia! I am at the top of the Broad Peak summit, it has been very windy, it has been very hard, we have not been able to communicate before, “explained Cadiach. Congratulations to all these climbers! Best of luck to all Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: Broad Peak Summits, K2 Push Soon
Broad Peak received more summits this summer of 2017. Climbers on K2 are now positioned at high camp in mixed weather, however they are experiencing deep snow. The next 24 hours will determine summit results and next several days for their safe return to base camp. Broad Peak Summits!! On Broad Peak, Tunç Fındık posted they summited along with Oscar Cadiach, Yusuf and Ali!. Tunc is referred to as Bronze Nuts 🙂 Bronze Nuts Nuts’s’s’s’s………….. It was at saat:10:40 this morning. Bronze @ 7800 M. And He’s on his way down. Team-Oscar Cadiach, Yusuf, Ali Sadpara. Bronze is 7300 m today. He’s going to go to camp 3., and he’s going to stay for 3. Camps tonight. It is reported the Americans have turned back. K2 Starts at 10 pm 27 July There are at least 5 westerners and 9 Sherpas at Camp 4 on K2: Mingma G Sherpa, British-American Vanessa O’Brien’ , Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson with Tsering Sherpa , Fredrik Sträng and Polish climber and skier Andrzej Bargiel. John Snorri Sigurjónsson via his InReach on K2 posted they are leaving C4 at 10 pm 27 July Pakistan time. This would have them summiting around 6:00 am 28 July local time: In C4 snow depth 50 up to 100cm it cost all energy took 12h c3 to c4 summit push start in 14h. thank you all who are following But Andrzej Bargiel who wants to ski down from the summit of K2 posted: After a couple days with bad weather, snowfalls and no visibility, the sun has finally came out today. There’s a little “window” but according to various forecasts, the weather will change again in the evening. There is simply not enough time to think about a summit attack. We have to patiently wait for conditions to improve… Best of luck to all Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: Climbers At High Camps – Updated
Climbers on both Broad Peak and K2 are now positioned at high camps in the good weather that was forecasted, however they are experiencing deep snow. The next 24 hours will determine summit results and next several days for their safe return to base camp. UPDATE: John Snorri Sigurjónsson via his InReach on K2 posted. This would have them leaving C4 around midnight on 27 July: In C4 snow depth 50 up to 100cm it cost all energy took 12h c3 to c4 summit push start in 14h. thank you all who are following On Broad Peak, Tunç Fındık has been posting their progress and is currently at 7946 meters. Oscar Cadiach is reported to be with Tunc. It is reported the Americans have turned back. K2 Camp 4 has about 14 Climbers Almost two months ago well over 60 people dreamed of summiting K2 this year but today 9 Sherpas with 5 westerners, primarily with Destination Dreamers and Ascent Himalaya, have pushed to Camp 4 on both the Abruzzi and the Česen routes after the commercial groups of Furtenbach and Himex turned back saying the risk was too high. These two routes merge at Camp 4. The climb from C3 to C4 on the Abruzzi is straightforward and should take only a few hours but with the snow conditions, it took 12 hours according to reports. On their summit bid, they will need to fix ropes at the traverse. There are few options not to but K2 has been climbed without ropes in place. This can take hours, as many as two to four, so the weather needs to be steady during this period. Traditionally K2 climbers reach C4 and move quickly on their summit attempt since it is at 25,080’/7600m. The summit is 28,251”/8611m. Their next big test will be to push through the Bottleneck, make the traverse and climbed the last several hundred meters to the summit, and of course return. Reports of waste deep snow have resulted from the recent snows increasing the avalanche danger. If you are interested in more details, please visit my FAQ page on my 2014 summit. Sherpa Lead? Mingma G Sherpa of Destination Dreamers is most likely leading the entire effort. He has success this season on Dhaulagiri and near the summit of Nanga Parbat where he suffered frostbite. Minga is a strong young Sherpa determined to make his name in guiding by summiting all the 800ers. He summited K2 in 2014 in a week of good weather. British-American Vanessa O’Brien’s InReach GPS device sent the message that she was at Camp 4 along with Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson with Tsering Sherpa of Ascent Himalaya. John’s home team posted (translated from Icelandic by Google): Was coming to [camp] 4. He is very tired, after almost 12 hours of travel. A very long day and the snow reached the waist of some places. They are 14 that are going to peak, 5 people and 9 [Sherpa]. The tomb was 1.5m down to the tent and in his tent they were four in a double tent. The plan is to eat and meet the future. Then it turns out whether there will be an attempt to peak tomorrow or the other. He gives a warm greeting to all and was so happy when I told him that there were very many people watching him and encouraging him. Fredrik Sträng is also there as is Polish climber and skier Andrzej Bargiel. That identifies 4 of the 5 westerners but there may be a few more, for example the Mexican couple of Badia Bonilla and her husband Mauricio. I have no word on the Polish team training for their winter attempt. Cancel Update Lucas Furtenbach gave this update on their reasons to cancel: Summit attempt stopped at C2 due to lot of snow and high winds. Sadly weather on K2 played it’s own game again. Avalanche danger became dramatically high very quick so team decided to stop and descend to basecamp. We do not want to send our sherpas up in that danger. All arrived well at basecamp now. It seems like season on K2 is over, we will not wait for an other possible window in august. Our team will leave basecamp tomorrow. Happy about our success on Broad Peak in a very difficult Karakoram season and thankful that all members and staff are healthy. The Himex team plus many others, perhaps over 50, are now on the trek out via the Baltoro Glacier. Broad Peak: Climbing from Camp 3 – Update I have a inside information that climbers are at Camp 3 on Broad Peak in good weather but deep snow. Those include two Americans, plus Tunc Findik and Oscar Cadiach with Pakistani Muhammad Ali. Nine climbers in total were reported to be on this summit push. It is unclear how many are actually there now. Tunc is a strong climber with 10 of the 14 8000ers completed and Oscar has 13. Ali is also incredibly strong. These climbers should lead the way to the summit if it is possible at all in the deep snow. Previous attempts have traditionally been stopped by deep snow above C3. UPDATE: Tunic ‘s team posted on facebook Tunç @ camp3 and summit attempt has just started now. Risk Profile As I covered yesterday, the commercial teams have turned back believing the avalanche danger was too high and the weather window too short to ensure both a summit and safe return. So seeing these climbers trying to thread the needle is a live demonstration of risk tolerances. I wish them a safe return to base camp no matter their summit results. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
K2 2017 Season Coverage: Pushing the Limits
With fresh snow and high winds, K2 and Broad Peak are challenging climber’s judgement. Teams on K2 are threading a narrow window hoping to summit in the next couple of days. Some climbers feel the risk is too great and have already turned back. Over on Broad Peak a similar story is playing out. K2 Gamble Climbers are all over K2 from base camp to at least Camp 3 on both the Abruzzi and the Česen routes. The large commercial teams of Furtenbach and Himex have turned back saying the risk is too much but the Nepali lead teams, Destination Dreamers and Ascent Himalaya still have a climber or two on the mountain. Abruzzi Route Climbing on the Abruzzi, Rupert Hauer, lead guide for Austrian Furtenbach Adventures posted: it did not want to be. We decided to descend to the [Camp] 2 due to the bad weather. For us, the risk was simply too great. The K 2 is risky enough even in good circumstances. We are currently far from good conditions. Therefore, the unanimous decision to abort. LG Rupert and team Mingma of Destination Dreamers said some of his team had already turned back: K2 is all about weather. We had 3 days bad weather though weather report showed good. Some team on k2 are closed already and some in my team are going down too. But remaining, We still want to check jul 27. One of those who turned back was American climber Hari Mix who is now back in base camp after reaching Camp 3 on the Abruzzi. He was climbing without supplemental oxygen and made the courageous and smart decision to turn back: Going down. Despite improving physically, lots of weather and logistics issues are making this too much threading the needle for what I’m willing to take on. Then today: Back in base camp after high stakes descent in storm. Waiting to decide what to do next but in all likelihood K2 is over for me this season Abruzzi Holdouts But British-American Vanessa O’Brien’s InReach GPS device showed her at Camp 3 today. She is climbing under Destination Dreamers leadership. Vanessa once held the fastest female speed record to climb the 7 Summits plus reach both Poles. With her dual citizenship, she is driven to claim the title of first American female to summit K2. She is reported to be climbing with multiple Sherpas in support. This is her third year in a row on K2. Weather and avalanche danger stopped her in 2015 and 2016. Also at C3 is Icelander John Snorri Sigurjónsson with Tsering Sherpa of Ascent Himalaya. John is keen to claim the first Icelandic K2 summit. Česen Route aka Basque Route Over on the Česen route Russell Brice’s Himex operation has ended their attempt. Adam Parore, one of the strongest climbers on K2 this year, posted: In the end heavy overnight snow brought our expedition to an end. With 20cm falling from above C3 our chances to advance we’re now non existent and the danger of avalanche suddenly very real, and life threatening. Despite splitting the Sherps into 3 groups to descend they were still avalanched above C2, and when visibility improved mid morning it was clear that the upper snow slopes were now loaded and the wind was actively ‘transferring’ from C2 and above. The mountain was now not only difficult but dangerous as well. BC will be in mourning for a few days as we adjust to the end of our dream- for this season at least. In the days to come we will venture back to C2 to collect our gear and ‘clean the mountain.’ It will be a fitting way to say goodbye and to pay our respects to a ‘golden summer’ on K2. One final chance to climb her with courage, skill, and a touch of flair. True to form, I hope to lead it in a t-shirt. Česen Holdout However, like O’Brien on the Abruzzi, there are holdouts on the Česen. Polish climber and skier Andrzej Bargiel posted on Instagram: Despite the fact that the weather is a bit depressing right now as we sit in the clouds, I stay positive and I believe the forecast will be accurate. It should get better from Wednesday on… We’ve made a decision to go to camp III tomorrow in the afternoon. Janusz Gołąb and Kuba Poburka will come with me. The plan is the following: we move camp III to 7800 m where we’ll take a rest. Then early in the morning on Thursday I’ll go for the summit! We’re ready so now all we need is good weather. Keep your fingers crossed!!! Then updated with: Waiting for the weather to clear up. Hopefully I can get some of this soon Broad Peak Stalled at Camp 2 Catalina media reports the summit team is stuck at Camp 2 waiting for better weather. This is a difficult spot as it is located on a rather aggressive angle with zero protection from wind and elements. Tunc Findik with 10 of the 8000ers summited, posted on 24 July: If the weather allows tonight, it’s camp3 tomorrow. Oscar Cadiach is with Tunc along with Pakistani Muhammad Ali. Nine climbers in total were reported to be on this summit push. Gasherbrum II Rescue Spanish media El Pais reported that the three Spanish climbers Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo Llanos and Mikel Zabalza who were hoping to traverse from GII to GI rescued 59 year-old Italian Valerio Annovazzi at 7100 meters. Annovazzi and 13 other people using the Pakistani agency Lela Peak expedition, with another Italian, Gianpaolo Corona, had summited days before, on 22 July. The media outlet Montagne reports that Annovazzi was abandoned by his teammates at Camp 3. He had summited and descended to Camp 3 but then was unable to move any lower. He is reported to have spent four days without food or water and suffered frostbite on his limbs. The three Spanish climbers hearing of his fate, climbed 12 hours back to C3 for the rescue. “We found Valerio like a little bird. I do not think I would have
K2 2017 Season Coverage: Climbing! Update 1
After weeks of waiting, climbers are finally moving up on K2 and Broad Peak hoping to summit in mid week; some hope to ski down. Their plans are a bit of a gamble but with time running out they had few choices. From early reports the weather is still a factor. UPDATE Monday 24 July: Reports from climbers and Sherpas say persistently high winds are keeping climbers at C2 on both Abruzzi and Česen routes on K2 summit push. Some are questioning if they can make summit on this window if the winds don’t let up. This is probably the last push for 2017. They hope to summit on Thursday 27 July. Let’s start with the latest from Hari Mix on the Abruzzi route posted on his Garmin InReach from Camp 2 on Sunday 23 July: In camp two after nine hours of serious effort. The last few hours were in violent wind/ground blizzard. Most recent forecast had 27th best so I may take rest Climb and Hope on K2 The weather closed in around K2 for the last 10 days or so preventing anyone from climbing. An avalanche was spotted on the Abruzzi route on Friday 14 July. Mingma G Sherpa speculated that Camp 3 was swept away including their tents, oxygen bottles and other supplies. On the Česen route, Russell Brice’s team has made a several trips to Camp 3 but not higher. All this means that the all important Camp 4, where both routes merge, has not been established. There are no fixed ropes to C4 or the summit. There is no cache of oxygen bottles for those using it high on the mountain and of course, the mountain conditions are unknown. During the last week, it has rained at base camp and snowed up high. Teams use telescopes to inspect the upper mountain from base camp but until someone is actually there, the depth of new snow, the consolidation (or lack thereof) is unknown and, most critically, the ever present avalanche danger has not been evaluated. Climbing Conditions? Climbers can anticipate a few different scenarios: Good climbing conditions with reasonable snow depths and low winds – ideal for summiting Deep snow requiring extreme trail breaking – all teams must work together but that means crowds up high and inevitable delays High winds – risky climbing at those altitude – most teams will turn back without a summit In almost all the scenarios, there will be a lot of people on the mountain, perhaps 50 or more. But they are spread over two routes: Abruzzi and Česen. The routes merge at Camp 4 at 24,000′. The fixed ropes will have to be placed while people climb, slowing everyone down. Teams will have to consider carefully when they risk the bottleneck and the traverse above C4 as these are not places to sit and wait with the huge serac looming just overhead. In 2014, it took four Sherpas hours to fix the traverse while 30 climbers waited. Some may choose to forgo the rope but that is Russian roulette with several bullets in the chamber instead of one. Climbing K2 Abruzzi Route On the Abruzzi, teams are moving. Furtenbach Adventures put a few people on the summit of Broad Peak a couple of weeks ago then moved to K2 for the wait. They are moving up now: K2 summit push on the way! After some bad weather days with waiting at basecamp team started today to C1 on K2 with a possible summit day around thursday. But there is still a lot of uncertainty such as weather and conditions. It is not yet clear how much the route suffered from last weeks avalanche and how much snow is high up on the mountain. Team is highly motivated and strong and all forces are joined together for this summit push. Fingers crossed???? Chris Bailey declared his intentions but also acknowledge the uncertainty. He is with Lucas Furtenbach: Well it’s come to this – heading up today for the summit push. Still a lot of variables out of our control-mainly the unknown route condition above Camp 3, and that the weather looks like we’ll have only a brief window… but that doesn’t mean much here. But on the plus side – I’m healthy, mentally in a good place, and body seems to be doing everything asked of it so far. Our tactics are still a bit up in the air, like if we’ll skip camps and which ones, but that gives us some flexibility should things change, and planning to spend as little time as possible around the Bottleneck and Camp 3 areas for safety reasons. I think this will be our one and only summit shot – all or nothing! So I guess you’ll hear from me in about a week. Or you won’t. Mingma of Destination Dreamers said they were a go. Kami Sherpa, whom I summited K2 with in 2014, is with this team. British-American Vanessa O’Brien is also on that team and at Camp 1 today. Mingma posted yesterday: Ready for K2 summit push. Today first members of the team left from BC. They will join other team members tomorrow at camp1. American climber Hari Mix is also with Mingma and climbing K2 without supplemental oxygen. He gives us a great update and insight into the schedule this this post. Checkout his site with some outstanding pictures from this year on K2. As I opened with on this post, Hari is at Camp 2 today: Tomorrow it starts. I am attempting K2 without supplemental oxygen. We have an intricate and excruciatingly hard plan…not out of choice, but necessity. The hope for perfect conditions and a beautiful, long weather window has predictably come and gone. K2 isn’t so much inviting us up as it is allowing us a glimpse of what we need…48 or so hours of 30 km/hr or less wind on the summit before it goes back to nuking. We are betting on the 26th (historically K2’s most popular summit
K2 2017 Season Coverage: Summit Plans
A plan has been hatched to attempt the K2 summit this season. Climbers were beginning to worry if 2017 will be a redux of 2015 and 2016 on K2. The weather seems to have stalled leaving base camp covered in a soupy mix of cloud, rain, hot, and cold. As Russell Brice says, four seasons each day. Gasherbrum Retreat Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabalza, are reported to have turned back on their latest attempt to traverse from GII to GI. They have experienced deep snow but this time it was high winds. Their sponsor posted: The ridge was too risky due to the intense wind. They are going down now. More news in the following hours. They are ok. K2 Doldrums and Summit Plans! Russell Brice’s post today said it all. They are stuck in a weather pattern with the only choice to wait, but time is now running out: There is nothing to report, we still sit at BC waiting for the correct weather to arrive. It is bleak and quite frustrating to have clear patches at times, but only to see that it is still blowing at altitude. But what is encouraging we can see that it is not snowing up high on the mountain. This means that we might be able to more early without too much avalanche danger. Chris Bailey, also on K2 but with Furtenbach Adventures, posted they are now being entertained by fake news, including the death of an entire team!: Base Camp is a weird place; all the teams (including ours) are hearing wonderful rumours about themselves from back home. Everything from fights, to infidelity, Sherpa strikes, evacuations, avalanches destroying the mountains… one team even heard they were dead (quite a shock to them). Pretty much all I’ve heard are complete lies, half-truths or exaggerations but it does make for great entertainment! Today is 6 weeks since we’ve started, time flies when you’re having fun! But in a note of optimism, Adam Parore, with the Himex team, said they leave for the summit on 24 July: Confirmation this morning we will leave BC for the summit on the 24th. We will spend a day at C2, potentially 2 days at C3, depending on how quickly and easily the route to C4 is fixed. Above C3 we will be on O’s with a day at C4 to rest before we leave for the summit at somewhere around midnight on the 27th. All things being equal July 28th will be our summit day. The weather appears to be playing ball at this stage- I can feel the change, we have a different pressure system on us now. Russ is relaxed and confident- the excitement is building.???? I’m trying to be cool, there is almost a sense of disbelief that this is really going to happen. Familiar territory for me. So, the plan is to leave base camp on the assumption the forecast is accurate and the winds will drop as they reach Camp 4. They are on the Česen route. Over on the Abruzzi, Mingma G says they are ready for their summit push as well. Broad Peak Summit Plans Over on Broad Peak, they are also making sumit plans based on the same forecast. Tunc Findik posted: Continuing waiting for the good weather condition, they expect the summit attempt in 2 days according to the weather condition. Oscar Cadiach is with him hoping to finish his 14th 8000er with a summit of Broad Peak. Let’s hope the weather forecast is correct. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything