A team of three Sherpas has reached Waldemar Kowalewski of Poland, stranded at 6,500m with a broken leg.
The Nepalese rescue team hopes to reach Camp 1 later today and Base Camp tomorrow, Anwar Syed from outfitter Lela Peak Expedition told ExplorersWeb. However, rescuers will have to deal with difficult conditions during their descent, including crossing avalanche-prone areas.
Kowalewski has waited in a tent — supported by his climbing partner Jarek (Jaroslaw) Lukaszewski — since an avalanche hit him on Thursday. Kowalewski had ascended to Camp 3 with at least two other climbers on an acclimatization round despite forecasts warning of incoming bad weather.
Polish climber Lukasz Supergan, reporting from Base Camp, says that the group spent three nights in Camp 3 in stormy conditions before finally starting to descend on Thursday. It was during this descent, as they entered a section of fresh, unstable snow, that the climbers broke a snow slab and triggered the avalanche.
Jarek Lukaszewski of Poland reached Pakistan on June 14, hoping to climb Broad Peak and K2. Photo: Jarek Lukaszewski
The Nepalese climbers, whose names have not been shared, were previously working on neighboring K2. They had remained in Base Camp because of the bad weather hitting the Karakoram. Kowalewski’s outfitter, Lela Peak Expedition, hired the Nepalese climbers after failing to find anyone in Broad Peak’s Base Camp willing to perform a rescue on foot in the risky conditions.
Evacuation, insurance, and liability
The Pakistani Army told outfitter Lela Peak Expedition that an aerial pick-up via a long-line operation was not an option. The military pilots will evacuate Kowalewski, but only from Base Camp.
Kowalewski has an insurance policy with Global Rescue that will cover the helicopter costs, but not the ground rescue team. That means that the Polish climber and his home team will have to foot the bill for the Nepalese rescuers.
