Jordi Tosas and Stephan Keck have survived the avalanche that killed Rick Allen near Camp 1 today. A helicopter has airlifted both of them back to Base Camp via long line.
Stephan Keck has flown to a hospital in Skardu. According to the latest news, Tosas has chosen to remain in Base Camp.
The three climbers were attempting a new route on K2’s Southeast Face (or the East Face, according to other sources) in pure alpine style.
Rick Allen before setting off on his last summit push. Photo: Mirza Ali
Teams continue their summit push on K2. Pioneer Adventure’s rope-fixing team has reached Camp 4. They had to re-fix some sections between C3 and C4, where ropes were unmanageable after the recent fresh snow.
Mingma Dorchi and Lakpa Sherpa, along with some of Pioneer’s clients, have reached Camp 3. Also in Camp 3 are Sajid Sadpara, Elia Saikaly, Pasang Kaji Sherpa, and Niels Jespers. Young “Broad Boy” Shehroze Kashif was also on his way to Camp 3.
Others, such as Raimon Montoliu of Spain and guide Kenton Cool of the UK are in Camp 2.
On Broad Peak, several climbers have reached Camp 3. Vitaly Lazo finally boarded a helicopter to search for Kim HongBin, but the aircraft was unable to reach the place Kim might have fallen. Below, the video Lazo took during the flight, showing Broad Peak’s sheer Chinese side.
Lazo has since left for the higher camps on Broad Peak. He intends to join his Deathzone Freedride partners on a second summit bid.
Video of Deathzone Freeride’s Instagram stories. Shared by @KrisAnnapurna
