Lukasz Supergan of Poland remained at Camp 3 after everyone else retreated yesterday and tried to summit Broad Peak on his own today. It didn’t work. This ends the Broad Peak season.
It has been characterized by secrecy around plans by uncoordinated climbers — a single individual, in this case — who try to climb higher, taking significant risks and ultimately achieving poor results.
Last man trying
Yesterday, Sugergan remained in Camp 3 as a Karakorum Expeditions group retreated in worsening weather and deep snow. Supergan reported via InReach that he would continue on his own but admitted his expectations were low, as the trip to Camp 3 had been exhausting. Today, he checked in again to communicate his retreat and the unforeseen obstacle that prompted him to abandon the climb:
I reached an area at around 7,200m where the snow was steep and unstable. However, I was stopped by a large crevasse which would have required a risky ‘free solo’ climb to cross. There are quite a few crevasses higher up into which previous teams have fallen. There are also a lot of snowdrifts. This unfortunately means retreating. All teams descended the mountain, probably ending their operations on Broad Peak.
Laura Mares and Justin Ionescu have also called off their attempt on Broad Peak and started the trek back to Skardu today. Sources at the Pakistan Alpine Club told ExplorersWeb that the only people remaining on the mountain are two climbers with Lela Peak Expeditions, who are on their way to retrieve their gear from Camp 3.
“Then, the mountain will be empty,” they said.
Unless someone makes a last-minute attempt in the next few days, this will be a season with no summits on Broad Peak.
The same may happen on Gasherbrum II, where Imagine Nepal called off their attempt yesterday. Other climbers in Base Camp will make the final decision tonight.
Little — but some — hope for K2
On neighboring K2, options are likewise close to nil, especially for climbers without supplementary oxygen. Csaba Varga of Hungary has announced the end of his attempt due to a lack of acclimatization. Others, such as Israfil Ashurli of Azerbaijan, who managed to reach 7,000m on an acclimatization round some days ago, are still waiting for a potential summit window at the beginning of August.
