A small number of alpine-style teams in Pakistan are currently acclimatizing. The Spantik team has already moved above Base Camp, while Denis Urubko and Maria Cardell are doing their rounds in the lesser ranges near Skardu before attempting a new route on 8,126m Nanga Parbat.
As a pure alpine-style ascent, it makes sense that they acclimatize on different peaks rather than on their targeted route. Urubko also believes that rotations at high altitude cause a climber to lose fitness.
“The climber gains altitude step by step but becomes weaker,” he said in an interview with Mountain.ru. “On the contrary, intense hikes or ascents with a large altitude gain [in lesser ranges] allow you to keep your muscles in good shape.”
Mid-altitude hikes and climbs
Skardu’s new international airport is the gateway for all expeditions to the Karakoram and the Nanga Parbat region. The town lies at 2,228m and features plenty of straightforward peaks of 4,000m to 5,000m nearby. Some are close enough to summit on day trips.
After arriving last weekend, Urubko and Cardell hiked to 3,101m. The following day, they climbed a 4,560m peak.
Denis Urubko sets up base camp in the mountains near Skardu. Photo: Maria Cardell
Urubko’s personal project
In a previous email shared by Mountain.ru, Urubko noted the acclimatization phase would take them a couple of weeks. Then they’ll move to the northern, Diamir side of Nanga Parbat to attempt a new route the ace Russian climber has been planning for a while.
This is the first time Urubko has returned to the higher mountains after he suffered frostbite after falling in a crevasse on a winter attempt to Gasherbrum I two years ago. Urubko has made it clear that while his wife will start with him, he is also ready to climb it on his own.
“If Masha [Maria Cardell] can’t keep up, I’ll try it solo,” Urubko wrote in his email.
Family issues prevented Cardell from joining until last week, but she is at least partly acclimatized, as she worked all winter as a ski patroller at a resort located between 2,200m and 3,300m in Spain’s lofty Sierra Nevada. But a new line on Nanga Parbat is a major endeavor, and the Diamir face is huge, from 4,900m of the base of the wall to the summit at 8,126m. In some sections, the avalanche risk is considerable.
Spantik
Further north, in the Shigar area, a French-Pakistani team led by Mathieu Maynadier is ready to start climbing 7,027m Spantik.
Mathieu Maynadier. Photo: Loury lag
They set off from base camp at 4,200m last weekend, after a rather rough approach trek over a glacier, which included some difficult passages among crevasses. It was hard to find a safe passage for the entire convoy, which included the climbers, two cooks, 42 porters, 8 chickens, 1 goat, 17kg of rice, and all the camping and climbing equipment.
Maynadier is teaming up with local climber Muizz Ud Din, as well as fellow Frenchman Loury Lag, and videographer Nathanael Sapey-Triomphe. Drone operator Ozair Khan will film the climbers from base camp.
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Hellias Millerioux of France has also posted some photos from his below-the-radar expedition. He is currently on an approach trek but has not shared details about the peak.
