Posted: Jun 09, 2010 03:07 pm EDT
It sure is the mountaineers' mountain: ESA member Italian Giuseppe Pompili skipped a chance to take part in a simulated mission to Mars for K2.

Kinga Baranowska hopes to turn K2 into her 8th 8000er and Ludo Challeant reached a snow-packed Concordia yesterday.

K2

“The first full-lenght simulated mission to Mars started four days ago in Star City, near Moscow,” Giuseppe Pompili reported.

“A crew of six men, including an Italian-Argentine engineer, will live in isolation for 520 days in a 1:1 scale model of a 'spaceship' firmly anchored to the ground, studying the psychophysical implications of a future trip to Mars."

"I participated in the international Mars500 mission crew selections as an ESA member, and could have been in place of my Argentine colleague had I not given it up for another departure: my personal expedition to K2.”

“From my point of view, being on a flight to Islamabad instead of one to Moscow, only changes the perspective: I went from a psychological journey to a vertical travel, from a contribution to science in preparation for the most fascinating adventure of our time, to the exploration of my limits, during a challenging climb of K2.”

“I will miss Mars500... I will miss the magic of thinking that I would have been there,” Giuseppe reflected.

“In a thousand years from now, do you think that the first half of this twenty-first century will be remembered for our miseries or for the conquest of Mars? What do you remember of 1492? Is it the year in which the great Florentine statesman Lorenzo de 'Medici disappeared or the year of the discovery of America? However, I have no regrets because I could have been a man in a jail*, and I like to breathe the air (albeit thin) of freedom.”

*Ed note: Giuseppe probably refers to Columbus being jailed due to allegations by fellow explorer Amerigo Verpucci who got the continent named after himself.
As for a simulated mission to Mars: American Reid Stove recently finished a 1000 days voyage dubbed "Mars Ocean Odyssey" in which he spent a record 3 years isolated out at sea without making landfall to simulate the mental challenge of a human mission to the red planet.

Fresh from summiting Annapurna, Kinga Baranowska is preparing to hit the hills again. With 7 8000ers under her belt she will be a member in a larger K2 team of fellow Poles.

Broad Peak

“There is a change in the leadership of Slovakia Marmota Broad Peak 2010 Expedition,” home team member Vladimir Benadik told ExWeb. “Martin Gablik won’t be able to make it to Pakistan, so Juraj Rebro (born in 1970) will take his place as team leader. Other members are Jan Dolezal (1956), Tomas Rigoci (1969) and Branislav Pastor (1980).They will climb Broad Peak via the standard Austrian route, without supplementary O2.

The Basque BAT team departed Skardu yesterday on their trek to Broad Peak BC, which they expect to reach next week.

Gasherbrums

Meanwhile Ludovic Challeant is approaching GII BC. Yesterday his team reached Concordia. “Unfortunately, thick clouds veiled K2 views,” he wrote. “We tried to make the porters go for two more hours, but they refused,” Ludo said. “Let’s hope they will be ready to walk for 8 hours in fresh snow tomorrow – there is loads of snow on the route this year and we’re the ones to break the trail – no other teams have entered the Baltoro yet.”

Links to 2010 Pakistan teams:

K2

Fredrik Ericsson

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner

Field Touring Alpine

Mike Horn's Pangaea expedition

Fabrizio Zangrilli

Giuseppe Pompilli

Kinga Baranowska

Mike Horn's Pangaea expedition

News on Leila Esfandyari - IMZ

Broad Peak

BAT Basque traverse team
Slovakia Marmota expedition

Nanga Parbat

Artur Hajzer's Polish Winter Himalayism

Kari Kobler - blog

Gasherbrums

Waldemar Niclevicz: BP+GI

Don Bowie: GIII+GIV

Altitude Junkies

Arian Lemal

Ludovic Challeat

Amical

Lesser Peaks

David Falt: Latok I

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