Lead Climbers Reach Camp 4 on K2

Nirmal Purja, Lakpadendi Sherpa, Gesman Tamang, Changba Sherpa and Lakpa Temba Sherpa have reached Camp 4 on K2’s Abruzzi Spur. They will set off toward the summit at 9pm Pakistan time (5pm in London, noon in New York). During the night, they will climb the Bottleneck and traverse under the Great Serac. At 8,300m, they’ll pass the highest point reached by frontline climbers last week.

Further updates are expected from Purja’s team, and from Adrian Ballinger and Carla Perez, following closely behind. Stay tuned for updates.

Nirmal Purja positioned at K2’s Camp 4 earlier today.

Meanwhile, on Gasherbrum II, all the summiters are now back in Base Camp. Among them, Romanian Alex Gavan, on his seventh 8,000’er without supplementary O2, reached the top at noon on July 18, aproximately at the same time as Denis Urubko.

Alex Gavan’s Gasherbrum II summit selfie. Photo: Alex Gavan

Related story:

Purja Launches K2 Summit Push, But How Risky Is It?