After a long night of vomiting, and now with a kidney ailment, Carlos Garranzo has given up on K2 and will be evacuated from Base Camp asap. “He is someone who’s always there, and with whom I’d embark on any project, no matter how crazy,” said a disappointed Sergi Mingote. At least, the deposit that Mingote and JP Mohr left at Camp 2 remains intact, so they themselves have the gear to continue the expedition.
The on-again, off-again wind has put a crimp into climbers’ immediate plans. Winds are blowing harder than expected today, so Tamara Lunger and Alex Gavan delayed leaving for Camp 1 until tomorrow.
Atanas Skatov. Photo: Atanas Skatov
Bulgaria’s Atanas Skatov, another victim of intestinal problems, has recovered after five days on antibiotics. He will head for Camp 1 tomorrow on his second rotation.
Despite the wind, Seven Summit Treks’ Sherpas and Nirmal Purja’s group will still try to fix the route to Camp 4, according to Mingma G. On their way, they will check on the state of the gear left by Mingma’s team at their Camp 2 at 7,000m. That cache is essential for the all-Sherpa team to continue upward.
Magdalena Gorzkowska is hesitant about moving up. “The weather has improved, ascents are now possible, but not yet to the summit,” she wrote. Pondering the pros and cons of joining the current round of acclimatizations, she reasons that three days this week will feature good weather, but not three days in a row. “One would be merely surviving up there,” she said. “Going up only makes sense if you want to…sleep above 7,000m.” Conservatively, she has opted instead to give herself more time in Base Camp.
Meanwhile, the ever-positive Tamara Lunger writes on Instagram: “I‘m so happy here, despite my cough that exhausts me — I’ve started taking antibiotics — and the nosebleeds, and the cold and wind! In the morning when I step out of my frost-filled sleeping bag, I am grateful for life, the silence, the energy, the wind that represents life, and all the beauty that surrounds me.”
