2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Weekend Update
Climbing in the winter is dramatically different than in the usual seasons, obviously. More expeditions don’t summit than stand on top. There are many reasons for this ranging from experience, preparation, and team dynamics to weather, mountain conditions or just that after weeks on end at temperatures hovering under -20F/-29C and winds gusting over 100mph/160kph it takes a toll on the human body. In those conditions, you hole up in your tent passing the days waiting for better weather. And when a break it comes it is usually just a few days. At some point, you just give in. We are now well into February, so those wanting to summit in winter are becoming more mindful of the deadlines. By either definition of winter, there is still plenty of time but they need to jump on every opportunity. The standard definitions include the meteorological definition that begin on the first day of the months that include the equinoxes and solstices thus February 29, 2020, would end winter. The astronomical definition uses the dates of equinoxes and solstices thus winter would end when spring begins on the spring equinox. For the Pakistani peak that is 20 March at 08:49 and for Everest it’s 20 March at 09:34. source I went deeply into this last year on this post. Thus far this winter of 2019/20 there have been no summits on the 8000ers attempted: K2, Gasherbrum, and Broad Peak. Only the 6000er Ama Dablam has seen multiple summits. There is still a slight chance that Denis Urburko and Don Bowie attempt K2 after Broad Peak, but Don became ill on his last summit push thus making K2 even less probable. Nepal issued permits to 27 members from five teams on four peaks: Everest, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, and Mount Rokpai. The largest team was Alex Txikon’s Ama/Everest with 20 overall members but only three for Everest. Injuries Tamara Lunger and Simone Moro were attempting to link a crossing of Gasherbrum I and II when on Monday, January 20, 2020, Moro fell through a soft snow bridge and 12 meters into a crevasse. They were at the Icefields at the base of Gasherbrum. Lunger, roped to Moro, self arrested but was pulled within a meter of the open crack. He eventually climbed out but she injured her hand. They both were flown by Pakistani military helicopters to Skardu thus ending their expedition. On Everest Jonatan García with Alex Txikon’s team also punched through a snow bridge and into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall. He hurt his back and was flow back to Kathmandu ending his effort. Also on Everest, solo climber Jost Kobusch, hurt his foot resulting over a week delay while he recovered. He says it better now, but it must have taken a toll on his capacity. Abandonded Expeditions The only K2 team, lead by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, ended their effort this past week citing “personal reason”. I spoke with Mingma and he told me ” Yes, it was tough but I felt we are not prepared because winter in the Karakoram is completely different from Himalaya.” We will talk more once they are back in Islamabad or home. He also said one of their Sherpas was hit by falling ice just below ABC and needs medical treatment but it’s not too serious. Everyone else is safe. Novel Expeditions, in Antarctica Alex Txikon and teammates climbed on December 26, 2019, what they believe was a previously unsummited peak in Antarctica before going to Nepal for Everest. Jimmy Chin along with Conrad Anker and others wanted to ski the north face of Mt. Tyree, the second-highest peak on the Antarctica continent. The results are unclear, Jimmy was coy on if they succeeded or not writing “We did a little ass-kicking and also got our asses kicked.” But David Roskelley became what he believes is the first American to climb the highest volcano on each of the seven continents. He along with six teammates summited Mount Sidley, the highest volcano in Antarctica. Broad Peak Don Bowie developed some kind of lung issue forcing he and Denis to abandoned their summit push. They want to try again. Urubko posted on Facebook: “We are in BC; today weather is miracle for summit 🙂 but I was not able to leave Don alone. He was very bad. Now he needs rest” Now firmly in February, the winter clock is ticking louder. Injuries and weather are taking their toll on the climbers. No 8000er summits, yet. Only 3 teams remain on the 8000ers. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Hintsa is not on the summit push. Everest Txikon on Southeast Ridge – Back at EBC Alex Txikon and team are back at EBC after reaching 6500 meters near the base of the Lhotse Face. They wanted to reach Camp 3 but winds turned them back. Txikon’s posted this update on Facebook and Twitter We’re back in Base Camp! We set off toward C3 on the morning but the wind was too strong. We left a gear cache at 6500m and turned around. We’ll go up again aiming for Camp 4 as soon as we get two days of good weather. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. Jost on West Ridge – Back to EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, with his foot healing, appears to be back to base after inspecting the route to gain the Cho La Pass. He posted on IG: Took a closer look at the rock climbing passage today. Feeling really better – during the last few months I’ve had stomach problems. But they have improved by about 20 So I have 20 % more energy! Many of you keep asking me how I’m doing. I am incredibly happy and grateful to be here and to live this adventure! At the same time,
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Broad Peak Summit Push Stopped
The Karakorum continues to play tough. Yesterday the only team on K2 quickly flew out ending their effort and today the Broad Peak team halted their summit push but suggest they will try again in February to meet Denis Urubko’s definition of winter. Broad Peak – Illness Stops Summit Push Don Bowie developed some kind of lung issue forcing he and Denis to abandoned their summit push. I hope it wasn’t HAPE and he can recover. They still have 23 days to go until the end of February. Urubko posted on Facebook: We fixed tent and drink soup in ‘my’ crevase 🙂 at 7000m. Don is extremaly sick pulmons. Tomorow We will leave deposit and rapell down to the base camp. We have 2 weeks more. I feel well and will wait the moment. Way is ready to 7500m with fixed ropes. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Hintsa is not on the summit push. Everest – Windy Txikon on Southeast Ridge – Remaining at C2 due to winds Alex Txikon and team are at Camp 2 in the Western Cwm on their way to overnight at Camp 3. They are at 6457 meters/21,184 feet. They cite high winds as the reason to stay put instead of moving to C3. If you recall, the winds stopped Alex on his previous winter Everest efforts. Txikon’s posted this update on Facebook and Twitter Alex & Co. have remained in C2 today, acclimatising and enduring high winds. Should it drop somehow tomorrow, they’d set off and work on the route toward C3. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. Jost on West Ridge – Injury Better, Recco Climb to Lho La German alpinist Jost Kobusch, appears to be back inspecting the route to gain the Cho La Pass. He has been resting a foot injury for a week or so making a couple of short trips out of EBC. He’s now been there for about six weeks, in very stressful, cold conditions. I can only imagine the toll this is taking on his body. He posted on IG: Today I took a closer look at the rock climbing section. Feeling really better – during the last months I had some stomach problems but they have improved by about 20%. So I have 20% more energy! Many of you keep asking me how I am doing. I am incredibly happy and grateful to be here and to be able to live this adventure! At the same time I am also worried about the physical discomfort and the danger I am in at times. It is a mixture of love and hate that makes this adventure so exciting and creates an intensity that makes me appreciate so many small details in my daily life! I already remember so many experiences out here with so much clarity. Like climbing a 6b+ solo and being under so much adrenaline that you almost threw up. Or the freezing temperatures of my winter Everest route, which were so low that I had to climb in mountain boots, down suits and mittens. The mittens could be opened so I could climb with free fingers – which I had to warm with my breath every two minutes… And then there are times when I walk along the glaciers listening to the Tim Ferris Show or Mountain Meister. Then I am in flow and get so creative! Being here – it is a whole mix of physical and emotional sensations. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. Winter 2019/20 Everest At Camp 2 Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – At C2 in Cwm. K2 – Over Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – Over Broad Peak – Summit Push Stopped Denis Urubko – Summit Push stopped due to illness Batura Sar – Climbing at C1 Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb – Summitted Gasherbrum I/II – Over Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Update on Everest Hanging Serac
Last Autumn, several teams abandoned their Everest climbs fearing a teetering serac above the Khumbu Icefall. It was so massive that if it fell, it would shatter directly on top of their route killing anyone there instantly. Echos of a similar release in 2014 were loud. That incident killed 16 Sherpas. So the big question has been, is it still there? The serac hangs about 3,000 ft【914 m】up off of the Khumbu Icefall on the west shoulder of Mount Everest, midway above the Icefall’s Football Field spot. It was estimated to 200-300 feet tall. Jost Kobusch is taking the West Ridge thus has not made a comment, however, last Autumn, Garrett Madison of Madison Mountaineering, Kilian Jornet, and Andrzej Bargiel made ongoing comments about the status as they observed it from base camp or from a drone. Jornet sped through the icefall a few times taking the risk. Still There I reached out to Alex Txikon‘s home team for an update, and it looks like it’s still hanging up there. This is the direct answer from Angela Benavides, their Press Manager: I’ve asked Mingma, the ice doctor in Txikon’s expedition. He says that the serac is still there and still dangerous, but that they have come up with an alternative, safer route through the Icefall. Also, Alex mentioned that the wind is so strong, it has made many seracs crumble down, leaving instead lots of chaotic rubble, difficult to traverse but otherwise somehow safer. What are the implications for the spring season remains unclear. I anticipate a few teams will cancel their Nepal side expeditions altogether or switch to the Tibet side. I’ve already had one team tell me they will not climb from Nepal this year for a number of reasons. I’ll do a separate post on them later this week, its an interesting story and perhaps a harbinger of things to come for Nepal if nothing changes. Winter 2019/20 Everest At Camp 2 Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – At C1 in Cwm. K2 – Over Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – Over Broad Peak, then K2? – On BP Summit Push Denis Urubko – On Summit Push Batura Sar – Climbing at C1 Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb – Summitted Gasherbrum I/II – Over Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs:K2 Winter OVER, Broad Peak Summit Push Underway
Huge news that Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal has ended its K2 winter effort. The reasons remain vague. The team flew back to Askole by helicopter ending speculation some might stay and join with Urubko and Bowie after their Broad Peak attempt currently underway. But we never know for sure until everyone is back home. K2 – OVER!! Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team has ended their winter effort for “personal reasons” They had established their Camp 2 at the base of House’s Chimney at 6,600 meters, the lowest altitude reached by any of the eight winter attempts since the first in 1987/8. tracker. Snorri posted on February 5, 2020: Summiting K2 in winter is a formidable task that necessitates all team members being fully prepared, both mentally and physically, to face the challenge. Team members Mingma G of Nepal and Ga Li of China have both expressed that they don’t feel fully prepared to make the scheduled attempt of personal reason. Taking this into consideration and after much deliberation, it has been decided that the mission will not go forward. We thank you for your support throughout the months of preparation and will keep you posted on our future endeavors. Their logistics organizer, Apricot Tours made a post on Instagram that: Apricot Tours on the request of team #k2winter2020 organized a helicopter rescue mission of two helicopters airlifting five members of the expedition. All five members have reached Skardu safe and sound. Two Nepali Sherpas, One Pakistani guide (Sirbaz Khan) and Liason Office will walk back to Askole in order to reach Skardu It’s unclear if it was really a “rescue” mission or they just took a helicopter instead of walking the four days it takes to reach Askole. Mingma had made a curious past last week about the conditions: K2 in winter is not like what we expected. It is extremely cold and windy. Our sleeping bags are frozen, clothes are not dried. The weather has been difficult this winter, but that is no surprise. the team had stopped climbing due to temps hovering around -20F/-29C for days. Minga planned a no Os attempt, even more dangerous given the cold temps. Broad Peak – Threading a short Weather window for the Summit Looks like they will make one more attempt during a tiny weather window. Big winds are expected to return this weekend. Denis Urubko climbed to 7,650 meters before turning back due to crevasse danger. Urubko posted on Facebook: Don and I are in tent in C2. All OK. Light snow and wind. I’m cooking soup and have “delicatessens” from Mousyn our BC cook Don Bowie added a few days ago: Denis Urubko pauses just below 7000m on out first foray to Camp 3. We are back in base camp now but Denis later reached 7650m on an exploration of the upper slopes. Looks like the entire route is in for us now, all we need is a decent weather window for the final push. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Hintsa is not on the summit push. Everest Txikon on Southeast Ridge – At C2 Alex Txikon and team are now to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm on their way to overnight at Camp 3. They are at 6457 meters/21,184 feet. Txikon’s posted this update on Facebook and Twitter We’re in Camp 2 ar 6457! It was tough, the wind hit us hard hile we climbed with 23kg. load each. Mingma the Ice Doc. Turned around at Nuptse’s side while Pechhumbe, Norbu, Tenzen Lama, Oscar and I pushed, jumping crevasses, toward the Valley of Silence. It’s crazy, there’s only five of us – half than on my previous attempts on winter Everest! We struggle for every meter we gain. Yet, we don’t lose hope for a summit chance. For now though, let’s see if we are able to keep fixing the route to C3 tomorrow. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. Jost on West Ridge – Injury Better, Recco Climb to Lho La Base, Now Back at EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, is back climbing, albeit not a lot, due to a foot injury. Yesterday, February 4, 2020, he gave this update on Facebook: Good news!🎊 The foot is significantly better than the last days! Yesterday, I took a closer look at the collapsed route and thus covered the distance that caused the pain. Although stabilized with kinesio, it was quite a strain on the foot, especially the forefoot. In the evening I applied a blood flow stimulating warming ointment. It really kicked in and did its job (so much that it hurt)!🔥 In any case it helped very well! Today it feels much better and if it stays like this, I can put weight on the foot again! In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost has now been at EBC for about a month. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. Winter 2019/20 Everest At Camp 2 Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – At C1 in Cwm. K2 – Over Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – Over Broad Peak, then K2? – On BP Summit Push Denis Urubko – On Summit Push Batura Sar – Climbing at C1 Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb – Summitted Gasherbrum I/II – Over Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: It’s Cold Up there!!!
To state the obvious for the millionth time, climbing in the winter is cold, damn cold. Currently, the Karakorum climbers are seeing still air temps of -20F/-29C this week. Even with the best down suits, you have to be very active to stay warm and with most of the climbers doing the slow work of setting the fixed ropes or establishing camps, the chance of frostbite is large. Also, many of the folks are not using supplemental oxygen thus making them even more susceptible to the cold. Everest Txikon on Southeast Ridge – To C1 Alex Txikon and team are back to Camp 1 in the Western Cwm on their way to overnight at Camp 2. They are at 6,072 meters/19,921 feet a bit higher than the usual site at 5,943 meters/19,500 feet. He’s made zero mention of the hanging serac that stopped the Autumn 20-19 climbs. I am assuming it released and is no longer a factor. Txikon’s posted this update on Facebook and Twitter Off we go, toward the Icefall and Camp 1. Greetings from C1! We crossed the Icefall carrying 20kg each and through a partially new path: the strong wind destroyed huge blocks, leaving chaos behind but less danger. Tomorrow … the wind will decide His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. Jost on West Ridge – Injury Better, Recco Climb to Lho La Base, Now Back at EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, is back climbing, albeit not a lot, due to a foot injury. He gave this recent update on Facebook: Good news! Foot The foot is significantly better than the last days! Yesterday, I took a closer look at the collapsed route and thus covered the distance that caused the pain. Although stabilized with kinesio, it was quite a strain on the foot, especially the forefoot. In the evening I applied a blood flow stimulating warming ointment. It really kicked in and did its job (so much that it hurt)! 🔥 In any case it helped very well! Today it feels much better and if it stays like this, I can put weight on the foot again! In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost has now been at EBC for about a month. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. K2 – No Os – Route to C2 In, Cold Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team are working to establish high camps on their acclimatization rotations. They have established their Camp 2 at the base of House’s Chimney at 6,600 meters. Normally C2 is at the top of House’s Chimney around 22,110’/6700m. This is not all that unusual since climbing the Chimney takes a toll and if they were running out of light, water, energy, etc. it was a good choice to retreat. tracker. Snorri recently posted: I’m back in BC. We manage to fix lines up to 6.600 meters yesterday. According to the wether forecast the wether is bad in the mountain until the 8th of February. We have certain plan of course for our K2 winter expedition, but the force of nature will have the last saying. But still the mother nature decide to warm us up with the sun today after thouse cold days. The temperature forecast calls for highs around -20F/-29C this week so they are holding at base camp for warmer temps. Broad Peak – Back at BC, Wating for better weather. Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 After Denis Urubko climbed to 7,650 meters before turning back due to crevasse danger. They retreated on February 4 to the tiny trekking camp of Urdukas at 4050 meters to breathe some “thick” air. Also, it’s very cold ar their BC, similar to that at K2. There is talk of the last summit attempt February 12 to 20. It is looking less likely that K2 is an option, at least for winter. Urubko posted on Facebook: Go down to rest. Hope for a stable window of good weather Don Bowie added: Denis Urubko pauses just below 7000m on out first foray to Camp 3. We are back in base camp now but Denis later reached 7650m on an exploration of the upper slopes. Looks like the entire route is in for us now, all we need is a decent weather window for the final push. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Batura Sar – Climbing They have established their Camp 1 at 4800 meters. In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt, Piotr Tomala,Rafał Fronia, Wojciech Flaczyński, Filip Babicz, Mariusz Hatala, Kacper Kłoda, Marco Schwidergall and Oswald Rodrigo will try the first winter at Batura Sar, an impressive 7,795 meter peak, located in the western Karakoram Pakistan. The latest from their site: On Sunday, February 2nd, three climbers wiped three km of route in deep snow above the current Camp I located at 4800 m. a.s.l. A day later, another team consisting of Rafał Fronia, Mariusz Hatala and Kacper Kłoda left the Base in the morning. After a few hours, climbers managed to reach a height of 4800 meters. In the afternoon, the climbers carried all equipment over 300 meters higher and established the final Camp I there. “This will increase our comfort and safety while staying in CI, but above all it will reduce the distance to the pass (height 5,900 m), near which we are going to set up Camp II ”- emphasizes the expedition leader, Piotr Tomala. “If the weather is favorable, our activities in the coming days will focus on ascenting the next meters of the mountain and establishing another camp,” he adds. Truck On! Finally, with slow progress on the mountains, let’s take a look at a new 4×4 altitude record. Under the guise of “installing
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Incident in Khumbu Icefall
Winter alpine climbing and especially in the Khumbu Icefall are notorious for objective hazards, i.e., avalanches, serac releases, and falls into open crevasses or through soft snow bridges. Today we saw more evidence this winter. First to Simone Moro on Gasherbrum, now to Jonatan García on Everest. The problem with these snow bridge collapses is that they are tough to anticipate. In 2001, I fell through one just outside of Camp 1 in the Western Cwm on Everest. I was roped in between two teammates. In those days, there were no fixed ropes. I followed Harldur, noting his footsteps, and also, a dark depression in the snow. It crossed my mind that it might be a weak bridge since the area was heavily crevassed. Just as I prepared to take an extra-large step over what I considered to be a weakness, the entire area gave way. I was in free fall for a few meters coming to rest as the rope came taught. Harldur, in front, and Rob, behind, fell into self-arrest postures with crampons, and ice axes dug firmly into the snow to stop my fall. My feet were dangling in free air; my nose was inches from the icy wall, my pack brushed against the other side of the narrow crack. Rob came over to the edge, calling out, “Alan, are you OK?” I yelled back, “Yes, help me out of here.” I began to dig my front points into the vertical ice wall while Rob heaved on the rope. It didn’t take too long to get me out. As I sat on my pack next to the potential tomb, my emotions grew out of control. I quietly let the tears flow, knowing that if it hadn’t been for my teammates, I might have gone to the bottom of the seemingly bottomless pit. It was a day, and a lesson I’ve never forgotten. Everest Txikon on Southeast Ridge – Icefall Incident Alex Txikon and team are working to establish a safe route through the Icefall to the Western Cwm. But some days it does go as smoothly as wished. Txikon’s posted this update on Facebook: Today, Feb 2, started cheerfully, with a nice puja ceremony in BC. After lunch, Jonatan and I went to fix some ladders on a heavily crevassed spot in the Icefall. We were at work when there the ice bridge collapsed with a mighty crash … and Jonatan fell 12 meters in a crevasse. Luckily I carried my Petzl’s microtraxion in the harness and therefore I managed to get Jonatan back to the light. He is allright but with some injured ribs, so we have ordered an airlift tomorrow. Jonatan will be fine, but his departure is a great loss for the team. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. Jost on West Ridge – Injury Recovery and Company at EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, is happy to have company at EBC but his injury is not healing as quickly as had hoped. He gave this recent update on Facebook: The Basque alpinist Alex Txikon arrived at the base camp two days ago. Really a very nice guy with many exciting stories! He has already climbed 12 of the 14 highest mountains in the world and has completed impressive expeditions. Since 2011 he is dedicated to winter expeditions, for which he is quite famous today. (If you are curious: https://alextxikon.com/en)🧗🏽♂️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m afraid my foot isn’t really any better. At first, I thought it was an overuse of the muscle. Unfortunately, the foot still hurts at certain angles, so for the moment it is advisable to rest it. Fortunately, February still has a few days to go 😉. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost has now been at EBC for about a month. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. K2 – No Os – Route to C2, Poor Weather Expected Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team are working to establish high camps on their acclimatization rotations. They have tagged their Camp 2 at 20,796.75 ft【6.339 according to John Snorri’s tracker. Snorri posted today: I’m back in BC. We manage to fix lines up to 6.600 meters yesterday. According to the wether forecast the wether is bad in the mountain until the 8th of February. We have certain plan of course for our K2 winter expedition, but the force of nature will have the last saying. But still the mother nature decide to warm us up with the sun today after thouse cold days. Video from Broad peak From Montagna.TV, this nice video from the July 2019 Broad Peak/K2 project by Austrian Max Berger. This short video, “Climb to Fly”, describes his attempt to paraglide from the summits without supplemental oxygen. He summited Broad but the conditions were not safe to fly from the top so he descended and took flight from Camp 3 at 7,100 meters. On K2, he never summited but did fly from the shoulder of K2 near High Camp. Impressive. Winter 2019/20 Everest At 6000 meters Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – Reached C1 in Cwm. K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – C2 established Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – Turned back at 7650m Batura Sar – Climbing Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over. Due to injury Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Summit Push Called Off
Climbing 8,000 meters peaks are hard enough, but in winter all the odds are against making the summit. This winter is validating that axiom. The summit push was halted on Broad Peak due to strong winds and dangerous conditions, while an injury to Jost has temporarily stalled his solo effort. But Txikon did make through what he characterized as a very climbable icefall to reach the traditional site of Camp 1 in the Western Cwm. We are now in February, some call it the last month of winter. Everest Jost on West Ridge – Injury Recovery at EBC German alpinist Jost Kobusch, is back at EBC after a quick trip up the Lho La according to his tracker. Apparently, he injured his foot in the process but remains optimistic. His high thus far was 6146 meters / 20164 feet on the Lho La Pass where he established two camps. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. He gave this recent update on Facebook: Back in Basecamp! There were only shreds of rope left from what used to be my established route. In the darkness the wind was so strong that small ice particles were swirling around in the air. No chance to climb up like this. In retrospect as luck would have it the route collapsed and I had to descend again. Because yesterday morning I woke up with pain in my left foot. All the adrenalin must have covered the pain of the day before yesterday.🤪 But if I had climbed up to camp one, I might not have been able to descend again. Yesterday and today I stretched my foot, mobilized and dipped it into warm water – but I limp at the moment. Though now don’t jump to conclusions!🧘🏽♂️ There is already a solution for the collapsed route and when the foot has recovered, I will try to push up to 7000m – there are no problems, only challenges!🤘🏽 In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost has now been at EBC for about a month. Txikon on Southeast Ridge – To C1 Alex Txikon and some of the team are now at Everest for an attempt on the standard SE Ridge route. Txikon’s home team gave this update: Alex Txikon and his Everst climbing team are spending their second night in Base Camp. Earlier today, Alex ventured for the first time this winter in the Khumbu Icefall — all the way to Camp 1 and back — and sent some videos (in Spanish, English and Euskera) assessing the situation. I received this video from his home team: His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. You can follow him on his tracker. K2 – No Os – C1 Established!! Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team are working to establish high camps on their acclimatization rotations. They have tagged their Camp 2 at 20,796.75 ft【6.339 according to John Snorri’s tracker. A few days ago, Mingma posted this on Facebook: K2 in winter is not like what we expected. It is extremely cold and windy. Our sleeping bags are frozen, clothes are not dried. Tomorrow some of us will sleep in camp1 and try to set up route to camp2. Snorri added today: Update: K2 winter expedition. I just got message from John Snorra. Him and Tomaz are on ther way to C2 making the route. He said “I’m well, me and T alone” Broad Peak – Turned Back During Summit Push Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 In what has been reported as a”solo” attempt, Urubko left Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa at their camp at 6,600 meters and climbed to 7,650 meters before turning back due to crevasse danger. He slept in a crevasse to wait out a raging storm. Urubko posted on Facebook: We turnerd back to 7650. No ropes and a lot of crevases. Tired to break trail, too risky, not enough time, but good acclimatization. Now we are drinking tea in C3, Tomorow BC Don Bowie added: Our 4th day on the mountain now. Denis, Lotta, and I made a single push from base camp to Camp 2 on the 29th. I am so proud of Lotta because it was a tough day with 1500m climbing in poor conditions and heavy packs, and she handled it like a champ. On the 30th, Denis and I pushed the route to 6900m (essentially Camp 3) then returned to Camp 2 for the night. Yesterday (31st) Denis left early for Camp 3 and Lotta and I departed sometime after. (we hesitated because of the appearance of strong winds above us). After 2 hours of climbing, the wind and blowing snow increased dramatically. Denis reached a crevasse below 7000m and crawled inside to shelter. Lotta and I hastily found a small platform and pitched our tent. Today (Feb 1) the storm abated. Denis managed to camp in the crevasse. I am not totally clear on what Denis did after this, but he said over the radio that this morning he tried to climb higher but was stopped by crevasses. @lottahintsa and I decided to stay put because big winds are forecast for the night and tomorrow, so we will retreat to base camp in the morning. Still I’m happy with establishing Camp 3 on this trip up. It appears, Denis, at least, will continue to attempt the summit at some point but the weather continues to be fickle. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Batura Sar – Climbing They have established their Camp 1 at 4800 meters. In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt, Piotr Tomala,Rafał Fronia, Wojciech Flaczyński, Filip Babicz, Mariusz Hatala, Kacper Kłoda, Marco Schwidergall and Oswald Rodrigo will try the first winter at
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Injury and Summit Push
The weather on Everest is making for slow progress but it’s better in the Karakorum where the Broad Peak team is hoping to summit soon. Everest – Back at EBC Jost on West Ridge German alpinist Jost Kobusch, is back at EBC after a quick trip up the Lho La according to his tracker. His high thus far was 6146 meters / 20164 feet on the Lho La Pass where he established two camps. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. He gave this recent update on Facebook: Back in Basecamp! There were only shreds of rope left from what used to be my established route. In the darkness the wind was so strong that small ice particles were swirling around in the air. No chance to climb up like this. In retrospect as luck would have it the route collapsed and I had to descend again. Because yesterday morning I woke up with pain in my left foot. All the adrenalin must have covered the pain of the day before yesterday.🤪 But if I had climbed up to camp one, I might not have been able to descend again. Yesterday and today I stretched my foot, mobilized and dipped it into warm water – but I limp at the moment. Though now don’t jump to conclusions!🧘🏽♂️ There is already a solution for the collapsed route and when the foot has recovered, I will try to push up to 7000m – there are no problems, only challenges!🤘🏽 In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost had acclimatized on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters). Txikon on Southeast Ridge Alex Txikon and some of the team summited Ama Dablam but a few still need to make an attempt. They will now move to Everest for an attempt on the standard SE Ridge route. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. Txikon home team gave this update: Jonatan, Oscar, Eneko and Sergio are leaving tomorrow for Everest BC. Ignacio and Lur will set off towards Ama Dablam higher camps, together with the Nepalese climbers and some other team members. The plan is to reach Camp 2 on Friday, conditions and weather permitting and then – we’ll see. Alex and Ramón will watch from BC. K2 – No Os – C1 Established!! Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team arrived at Broad Peak Base Camp in deep snow and have started carrying loads as high as 19,187.01 ft【5.848 m】according to John Snorri’s tracker. Mingma posted on Facebook: K2 in winter is not like what we expected. It is extremely cold and windy. Our sleeping bags are frozen, clothes are not dried. Tomorrow some of us will sleep in camp1 and try to set up route to camp2. Snorri added: After 3 hours we will head to K2, for camp 1 (6.050 m / 20.000 ft) and sleep there over night. Next morning we will start making the route to camp 2 (6.700 m / 21,980 ft【6.700 m】 ). If we manage to fix the route to C2 we will sleep there over night to rest, and then head back to C1 to sleep for our acclimatization. The winter is cold , and we know it is important to have strong minds in this harsh environment. Broad Peak – Beginning the Summit Push Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 The team is on their summit push. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Montagna Magica gave this brief update Denis Urubko and Don Bowie reached 6950mt (yellow point), after C3, near final bergschrund – equipped with old fixed ropes – that lead to the plateau. The pair is now resting at C2. Tomorrow could be the decisive workday on the route; Saturday, Feb 1st could be the day of summit bid. Nice weather expected until Sunday, Feb 2nd. Don Bowie added: Smiles all around. Why? Because the weather seems to be opening a little- and we are heading up in the morning to work the route again and… and… and maybe see if the summit winds abate enough to take a shot at going all the way. Keep your fingers crossed. I’ll update you in a day or so. Batura Sar – Climbing In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt, Piotr Tomala,Rafał Fronia, Wojciech Flaczyński, Filip Babicz, Mariusz Hatala, Kacper Kłoda, Marco Schwidergall and Oswald Rodrigo will try the first winter at Batura Sar, an impressive 7,795 meter peak, located in the western Karakoram Pakistan. They are at Batura’s base camp now. The latest from their site: On January 29th, a team of five climbers of the Batura Sar expedition (7795 m a.s.l.) explored the route to Camp I. They reached 4650 m. a.s.l Climbers left the Base Camp (4100 m a.s.l.) in the morning with the intention of clearing the route towards the planned Camp I. The initial stage led in deep snow reaching armpits at times – it took climbers one and a half hours to cover one kilometer section. After four hours, they reached the altitude of 4,600 meters where they met first climbing difficulties. They managed to overcome them and set up a stand and a handrail rope for next teams. In total, the action lasted eight hours. In the evening everyone returned safely to the Base Camp. Today, (January 30th) is a rest day and time for preparation for the next wall exits. For now, weather conditions are favorable, although the biggest snowfall in 26 years is a problem. In places, the snow cover is 1.5 meters thick. The lowest temperature recorded in the Base is -27 degrees Celsius. Winter 2019/20 Everest At 6000 meters Jost Kobusch – at EBC
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Update: Jost on the Move on Everest, Urubko/Bowie on Broad Peak
No progress on Everest or Broad Peak due to poor weather but plans to reach Camp 2 on K2. Monday, Jan 28 Update: Jost back on the move to the Lho La and Denis Urubko with Don Bowie are starting their summit push. Everest – Climbing Jost on West Ridge German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, is stuck at base camp due to poor weather Monday, Jan 28 Update: on the move to the Lho La at 5681 m | 18638 ft according to his tracker. His high thus far was 6146 meters / 20164 feet on the Lho La Pass where he planned to establish his Camps 1 and 2. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. He gave this recent update on Facebook: Back at base camp! In the night from 20.01 to 21.01 the weather conditions in camp one on Lho la had deteriorated seriously. Although my tent was tied with six lines in each direction, it could hardly withstand the estimated wind speed of 100kmh. With split bamboo I tried to anchor the lines deep in the snow. Nevertheless, a hole in the flysheet was teared and since the weather conditions did not really improve, I started my way back to the base camp on 22.01. During the descent from the glacier to the cliff, I had to realize that the whole route section had collapsed. This did not necessarily make the descent any easier and made sure that I only felt really recovered today, 4 days after the descent. I am no longer so short of breath and my resting pulse rate has dropped back to normal levels. Will i go up again? I am just waiting for the next fair-weather window! In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost had acclimatized on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters). Txikon on Southeast Ridge Alex Txikon and the team summited Ama Dablam and now gave an update on how they powered their electronics. They will now move to Everest for an attempt on the standard SE Ridge route. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. Txikon posted on Instagram: Thanks to EVE we’ve been able to avoid using 100 litres of fossil fuel to cover Base Camp’s energy needs. We’ve installed three 100w solar pannels! We support solar energy. Welcome Ekian and kudos to our friends at Basque’s organization for Energy! They should be moving to EBC soon. K2 – No Os – Cold!! Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team arrived at Broad Peak Base Camp in deep snow and have started carrying loads as high as 19,187.01 ft【5.848 m】according to John Snorri’s tracker. Mingma posted on Facebook: K2 in winter is not like what we expected. It is extremely cold and windy. Our sleeping bags are frozen, clothes are not dried. Tomorrow some of us will sleep in camp1 and try to set up route to camp2. Snorri added: We are back in BC after long 16 hour day in the mountain. The mountain it self is covered in blue ice. It was difficult and the cold was our worst enemy. Our GPS froze and just turned of, but still we managed to port 250 kg of equipments to C1. We are exhausted and will use tomorrow to rest and gather strength. Now in BC it’s -24 celcius and everything is frozen but beautiful wether. Broad Peak – Beginning the Summit Push Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 The team wanted to overnight at 7,000 meters to complete their acclimatization before their summit push but now are forging the extra rotation aiming to summit on February 1, within Urubko’s definition of winter which ends on February 29, 2020. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2 within his “winter.” He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Denis gave this brief update on Monday: “I am preparing the equipment for the summit. I am ready to work and get to the top ” Batura Sar – At Base Camp In preparing for a 2020/21 K2 winter attempt, Piotr Tomala,Rafał Fronia, Wojciech Flaczyński, Filip Babicz, Mariusz Hatala, Kacper Kłoda, Marco Schwidergall and Oswald Rodrigo will try the first winter at Batura Sar, an impressive 7,795 meter peak, located in the western Karakoram Pakistan. They are at Batura’s base camp now. The latest from their site: The climbers covered a total of 30 kilometers for four days. On the fourth day, he was a little over a kilometer in a straight line. However, the route led through a very hard terrain, after a glacier buried up to the waist in the snow and densely dotted with crevasses. A local guide lost his way, and porters twice refused to continue working. The first time, they managed to persuade them to continue in exchange for financial gratification, the second they left the cargo and set off back. This forced the expedition to spend two nights on the glacier at an altitude of 4000 meters. Eventually, the participants of the expedition opened the road to the Base on their own on January 25 (4,100 m). The next day, after difficult negotiations, we managed to convince another group of local porters to bring most of the cargo to the Base. The expedition now has two organizational days, and then the mountain action – Batura Winter 2020. Winter 2019/20 Everest At 6000 meters Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – Ama Dablam summit, now Everest K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – At BC Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – Tagged 7000m, At BC Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over. Due to injury Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
2019/20 Winter Himalaya Climbs: Summit!
The first Himalayan summits of this winter season were on Ama Dablam while poor weather bogs down the other climbs. Ama Dablam – Summit! Alex Txikon and the team summited Ama Dablam. They will now move to Everest for an attempt on the standard SE Ridge route. His team includes Spaniard Oscar Cardo, Jonatan García and Nepalese Sherpas Chhiji Nurbu Sherpa, Pechhumbe Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa. Txikon posted on Instagram: It has been a day full of emotions. Thus we have lived the summit moment from the base camp. Because nothing would be possible without the work of the entire expedition team. Their home team gave this update: Alex Txikon has achieved the first summit this winter in the Himalayas. At 10:15am, local time, he stepped on top of Ama Dablam (6,858m) together with Jonatan García, Pasang Sherpa, Cheppal Sherpa and Kalden Sherpa. The climbers had set off from Camp 3 (6,300m) at 4:30am. “It’s been a tough ascent,” Alex said on the phone from the summit. “Wind hit us hard all they way up, but here we are, the five of us on top! Next, let’s start descending carefully.” We will report again on social media as soon as the climbers reach safely back some higher camp. News is also expected on the progress of other team members. Weather forecasts indicated good conditions today with weaker winds, but conditions may turn for the worse tomorrow. A few pictures from Racetraker and Alex Everest – At Base Camp Now that Alex Txikon has summited Ama Dablam, he will move to Everest for a standard route attempt, his third effort. It will be interesting to see if German alpinist Jost Kobusch, age 27, alters his plans and joins them (which I think would be excellent and then to return in a year or two for a solo attempt.) Jost is at Everest Base Camp according to his tracker. His GPS coordinates map to 5,272 meters/ 17,296 feet. His high thus far was 6146 meters / 20164 feet on the Lho La Pass where he planned to establish his Camps 1 and 2. You can track his location on this excellent map from 3D Reality Maps. In review, he plans on a winter, solo Everest climb without supplemental oxygen and no Sherpa support. This exact style has never been attempted or accomplished. Jost had acclimatized on other peaks including Amotsang (6,393m), Island Peak (6,186 meters) and Pachermo Peak (6,259 meters). K2 – No Os – Loads to ABC Mingma Gyalje Sherpa‘s Imagine Nepal team arrived at Broad Peak Base Camp in deep snow and have started carrying loads to the foot of the Abruzzi route at 17,835.33 ft【5.436 m】. John Snorri posted on IG : Today we manage to port 100-120kg of equipment up to 5600m on the Abruzzi Spur. The icefall was tricky and some places a bit dangerous, so we needed to fix lines to pass. We didn’t set up ABC camp because we believe the wind will be to strong for the tent’s there. We are still climatasing. Next days the weather will be bad, so we have to play along with the wether. The team is felling well and strong. Broad Peak – To 6800 meters, Back at BC Broad Peak First then Maybe K2 The team wanted to overnight at 7,000 meters to complete their acclimatization then potentially make a summit attempt last next week. They made it to Camp 2 before experiencing more tough weather on January 19 then went on to tag 6,650 meters. Denis Urubko’s goal is to complete, what he considers, the first true winter ascent of Broad Peak and then, perhaps, go to K2. He is teaming with Don Bowie and Lotta Hintsa. Bowie gave this brief update on Friday, January 24: Denis Urubko and I made a sprint yesterday, climbing from base camp at 4850m elevation to 6840m -then doing some work there- then climbing back down to base camp. It was a long day with 2000 meters vertical climbing (and then descending) but when you get a few hours of good weather in the forecast, sometimes you need to launch a marathon day to get a little work done. We pushed our existing high point up 100m vertical to just below Camp 3 before getting chased off the face by hurricane winds and low temps. Now back in base camp waiting the next weather window. Winter 2019/20 Everest At 6000 meters Jost Kobusch – at EBC Alex Txikon – Ama Dablam summit, now Everest K2 Mingma Gyalje Sherpa – At BC Broad Peak, then K2? Denis Urubko – Tagged 7000m, At BC Gasherbrum I/II Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger – Over. Due to injury Ama Dablam Zoltán Szlankó, Alex Goldfarb Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything