We are still waiting for news about Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima. In the meantime, dozens of climbers summited 8,611m K2 this morning. There are also more summits on Broad Peak and Gasherbrum I.
Given all the delays, speed climber Benjamin Vedrines lowered his expectations by suggesting that he might summit K2 in two days instead of one. However, he reached the top today. We are waiting for confirmation about his time and whether or not he paraglided down.
According to Chhang Dawa Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, a group of SST sherpas and clients summited at around 9 am this morning.
According to Dawa, several teams collaborated with the rope fixing. From Base Camp to Camp 1, the Italian expedition did the work. From Camp 1 to 150m below Camp 3, Seven Summit Treks rope fixers took over. Imagine Nepal continued from there to Camp 3. Then Seven Summit Treks again fixed to lower Camp 4. From lower Camp 4 to the Bottleneck, Madison Mountaineering, 8K Expeditions, Imagine Nepal, Glacier Himalayan, and Seven Summit Treks combined forces.
Finally, from the Bottleneck to the summit, a mixed team led by Mingtemba Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks fixed the ropes. Mingtemba made his fourth successful ascent of K2. Sirbaz Khan of Pakistan also assisted in the fixing work.
Looking toward the summit of K2. Photo: Mingma G
Dozens of summits
Today’s summiters included eight clients and 10 sherpas from Imagine Nepal, nine clients and sherpas from 8K Expeditions, Da Dendi Sherpa from Mashabrum Expeditions, and others.
In a glimmer of good news for Japan in what has otherwise been a terrible year for climbers from that country, Naoko Watanabe summited K2 for the third time, thus becoming the first woman to do so three times.
Jean Yves Fredriksen is climbing no-O2 via the Cesen route. It seems he is the only one on that route. According to his tracker, he was at 8,000m this morning, above where the Cesen and Abruzzi routes converge.
Naoko Watanabe. Photo: Seven Summit Treks
Broad Peak
More teams have topped out on Broad Peak. Yesterday, a team that included Abid Baig of Pakistan and climbers from Italy, Peru, Canada, and Romania summited. Today, Jean Descat from France, along with two sherpas and Ricardo Segreste of Mexico, successfully summited at 10:11 am.
Gasherbrum I and II
Dorota Rasinska Sanocko of Poland has summited Gasherbrum I. We are waiting for outfitters to release the names of other climbers who also reached the top.
Lukasz Supergan and Pawel Wikowski from Poland aimed to climb Gasherbrum II without bottled oxygen but had to turn around. They are now back in Base Camp.
The Poles spent the first weeks of the expedition searching for a route through the icefall, which drained a lot of energy at the start. For the past few days, they have hunkered down at Camp 1 near 6,000m, waiting for a weather window.
“Each day, the forecast promised a sunny day, and each day, we woke up covered with 20 to 30 cm of snow.”
They finally climbed the ridge to Camp 2 but that was as far as they managed. The weather is poor again, and no other window is forecast for the near future, so Supergan and Witkowsi called it quits.
On Gasherbrum. Photo: Lukasz Supergan
