Several oxygen-assisted climbers summited Gasherbrum II yesterday and today. Others turned back and are heading home.
Young speedster Vadim Druelle of France bagged his second no-O2 8,000m peak in just 12 days, after Nanga Parbat. He will give more details when he is back in Base Camp.
Sashko Kedev of Slovenia and Tracee Metcalf of the U.S. summited with Imagine Nepal’s Sherpas Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Kilu Pemba Sherpa, and Angdu Sherpa. The climbers spent three windy nights in Camp 2, waiting for an opportunity to summit.
This is Tracee Metcalf’s 10th 8,000’er. After the deaths of Anna Gutu and Gina Rzudidlo on Shisha Pangma last year, the medical doctor is now closest to becoming the first American woman to complete the 14×8,000’ers. However, she has clearly stated that she is in no hurry.
Seven Summit Treks, whose team bagged the first summits yesterday, noted today that Nhadira Al Harthi and Pasang Sherpa also reached the top.
Success and failure
Lukasz Supergan and Pawel Witkowski of Poland reached Camp 3 yesterday and then retreated as planned. They didn’t intend to summit on this go since they still needed a last rotation before attempting a no-O2 ascent. They are prepared to wait patiently in Base Camp until it is safe to try again.
Supergan noted that Seven Summit Treks’ oxygen-aided ascents yesterday took 17 hours and that several climbers retreated during the marathon push.
“Georges Abou Rjeili reached 7,400m and started to go back down,” Supergan wrote. “Laszlo Csomor descended to C2, very tired. He said he had searched for a route on the summit dome [to the very top] without success.
Among those who retreated were Horia Colibasanu and Silviu Balan. Climbing without oxygen and therefore more vulnerable to frostbite, they turned around in bitter cold. Colibasanu noted that some sections carried a moderate risk of avalanches. This marks the end of their expedition; they are currently running down the Baltoro to catch a flight home.
A last try on Broad Peak
At the meeting that took place among all the climbers left at Broad Peak Base Camp last night, they eventually decided to make another attempt, according to Shehroze Kashif of Pakistan.
“The rope-fixing team will depart in a day, followed by the climbers,” he wrote.
Now 22, Kashif summited Broad Peak at 17, earning him the nickname Broad Boy. He now has only Shisha Pangma left to complete the 14×8,000m. He has also started his own outfitting company and has a small team of Pakistani clients and porters who will join the upcoming last-minute attempt.
