Too dry to climb has become a theme among climbers in the Karakoram this summer. The latest casualty: Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer’s attempt on Gasherbrum IV’s Shining Wall — so-called because the golden light of sunset reflects off the West Face.
The French pair had hoped to complete Jordi Corominas’s attempted 2006 line. In addition to its sustained difficulty, Gasherbrum IV is an almost-8,000’er, so altitude adds to the challenge. On these high peaks, the rock is usually fragile, so climbers need enough ice, which is more stable, to progress over mixed terrain. Unfortunately, usable ice has been scarce this season.
Dubouloz and Welfringer on the Baltoro. Photo: Charles Dubouloz
Gasherbrum II instead
So the two climbers are heading instead to 8,035m Gasherbrum II, where they will climb the normal route.
“[It’s] not quite what Symon and I had in mind, but it’s the right move,” Dubouloz admitted on social media.
At least, GII is far from crowded this year. Karakoram Tours Pakistan reported just 32 climbers on the mountain, aiming for GI, GII, or both. There is also a team from Nepal-based 8K Expeditions, led by Saila Mingma and outfitted by Summit Karakoram.
So far, the ropes have been fixed up to Camp 2.
No first ascent
The dry conditions have also spoiled the attempt of a Madison Mountaineering group to make a first ascent of a smaller peak near K2 while acclimatizing for the big mountain. Garrett Madison developed that strategy three years ago with a fit group of Ama Dablam clients. Instead of acclimatizing on an oft-climbed peak, clients had the added excitement of doing a first ascent in the Khumbu as prep for Ama Dablam.
This time, the team hoped to reach an untouched summit one day from Base Camp, while acclimatizing for K2. After climbing most of the night, the climbers reached the summit ridge at dawn but had to turn back when confronted with gendarmes of unstable rock.
The group did not mention the altitude or location of their chosen peak, other than noting that it was across the Godwin Austen Glacier from K2 and Broad Peak’s Base Camps.
Broad Peak Base Camp tents on the Godwin Austen glacier, K2 in the background. Photo: Wikipedia
Waiting for Urubko
We are still waiting for news from Denis Urubko and Maria Cardell. The husband-and-wife pair set off last Friday for an alpine-style attempt at a new route on the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. They estimated five days on the face, so they should be returning to flat ground at any time.
