Once again, EliteExped and Imagine Nepal teams worked together to open a route to the summit of an 8,000m peak while others chose to wait or go home.
Imagine Nepal climbers reached the top at 10:34 am Pakistan time today. Summiters were Phur Galjen Sherpa, Aangdu Sherpa, and Lakpa Nuru Sherpa, leading Wang Zhong of China, Sim Phei Sunn of Singapore, and Ukrainian Valentyn Sypavin. Next, the team will head for Gasherbrum I.
Imagine Nepal has posted headshots of the summiters but no recent photos yet. Photo: Imagine Nepal
Colibasanu quits
The Kathmandu-based company noted the EliteExped team had also participated in the push, but they have not yet reported their summit success.
Around the same time, Horia Colibasanu of Romania, who aimed to reach the summit without personal Sherpa support or oxygen, decided to call off his expedition. He has not explained why, but posted a picture (the feature image in this story) of Camp 3, looking loaded with fresh snow on a bluebird day.
We are now waiting for further reports, both from the summiters and other climbers in Camp 1 or Base Camp about conditions on the mountain.
Broad Peak: all safe
On Broad Peak, David Klein returned safely to Base Camp yesterday. He will post details soon. We are also waiting for news from Juan Pablo Toro of Argentina and the Pakistani team, which reached the summit on Sunday via a new variation route on the upper section of the mountain. They are also back in Base Camp.
Karakorum Expeditions has posted an Instagram story with a rough topo of their new route.
Mirza Ali of Karakorum Expeditions has posted details about their new variation route:
[It] follows a line on snow, mixed terrain and steep rocky sections leading directly to the main summit. The route was opened after three consecutive days of work above Camp 3 in extremely demanding conditions. On the second day, the team pushed through waist-deep snow and reached approximately 7,200m. On the third day, they launched their final summit push.
The summit team departed at 2 am on 19 July and reached the main summit at 9:55 pm. The round trip took more than 24 hours.
The expedition fixed more than 1,600m of rope, installing multiple protected pitches with permanent rock pitons to create a secure and sustainable route. The fixed ropes continued to just below the main summit.
Overall, Mirza considers the new variation a safer, shorter, and more efficient route. He compares it to Manaslu’s variation opened by Mingma G.
“With the new variation,” he says, “climbers can reach the summit from Camp 3 in seven to eight hours, while the descent back to Camp 3 can be completed in two to three hours under normal conditions.”
Nanga Parbat – Rupal Face
On Nanga Parbat, the commercial teams abandoned the normal route two weeks ago, but Czechs Marek Holecek and Tomas Petrecek are now on the Rupal side, attempting to open a route, alpine style.
Last Thursday, the team launched a second acclimatization trip up Rakhiot Peak, hoping to spend some nights at 6,400m. They did, and experienced a thunderstorm during their last night at altitude. After a quick descent on technical terrain that they described as “not safe,” they returned to Base Camp on Monday.
The Czech team during the second acclimatization round before tackling the Rupal Face of Nanga Parbat. Photo: Tomas Petrecek
