Summit pushes on K2 and Broad Peak have cautiously begun, although the winds are still high, and the weather window looks short.
Smaller teams
There are several smaller teams on K2 this year, rather than massive groups, and they are working together on the mountain.
Mingma G estimates that his team will summit on Sunday, July 28. Garrett Madison confirms he has teams going for the summits of both K2 and Broad Peak. Summit Karakoram, working in Pakistan with Nepal’s 8K Expeditions, is also on its way up, led by Dawa Ongchu Sherpa.
Overall, there is little information coming from K2. Climbers no longer openly share their experiences on social media. It is unclear whether this is due to the lack of Wi-Fi at Base Camp or whether recent controversies involving abandoned climbers and crowds have made outfitters request/demand secrecy, at least until the expeditions end.
Broad Peak
“This is a summit attack out of despair,” Tom Kitta told his home team before setting off toward the top of Broad Peak. The current summit window is unstable, uncertain, and likely short, but people have run out of time and patience. In yesterday’s update from the rope-fixing team, they planned to move today from Camp 2 to Camp 3 despite high winds. They hope tomorrow will be calmer.
