On Saturday, Mingma G decided to call his Nanga Parbat expedition off because of the high risk of further avalanches and rockfall. As Tsering Sherpa demonstrated on Instagram, it’s clear he was not exaggerating.
At least three major avalanches swept the team’s planned route. One of them nearly caught Tsering and Mingma G. The Imagine Nepal pair had gone ahead to check the state of the ropes and the camps. Needless to say, they found no trace of either.
Tsering Sherpa reaches the summit of K2 during his speed climb. He reached the top with oxygen in 12 hours 20 minutes 23 seconds. Photo: @tsering2909
Before the avalanches, everything was primed for a summit push. “The rope was fixed, we had dropped oxygen at Camp II, we had planned for the summit push on September 2,” Tsering told Everest Chronicle.
But clouds had enveloped Nanga Parbat lately, and frequent rain had destabilized the entire Kinshoffer Face. Constant avalanches fell from the Mazeno Ridge, and rocks plummeted right across the route.
IFMGA guide Tsering (sometimes spelled Chhiring) Sherpa made headlines some weeks ago after summiting K2 in 12 hours and 20 minutes (with supplementary O2). He is one of Imagine Nepal’s head guides.
Pakistan’s climate dystopia
Meanwhile, the death toll from flooding across Pakistan continues to rise. The official tally is now 1,061 victims. The rain and flooding are the worst in the last 30 years, Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said today.
“This is very far from a normal monsoon — it is climate dystopia at our doorstep,” Climate Minister Sherry Rehman told AFP.
The damage could get even worse as the Indus river, the largest in the country, is threatening to burst its banks.
Despite conditions, at least one team is determined to climb in Pakistan within the next few days. Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima of Japan are traveling to Gilgit today to begin their approach trek to Karun Koh.
