Most of the roughly 25 climbers who summited Nanga Parbat this morning have made it back to Base Camp. But not all. Viridiana Alvarez, Sophie Lavaud’s group, plus no-O2 climbers Sajid Sadpara and Hugo Ayaviri are still in Camp 3. In a few hours, they will have to undertake the long, technical descent in worsening weather.
Viridiana Alvarez’s tracker, after her summit of Nanga Parbat.
Sajid Sadpara climbed with his good friend Hugo Ayaviri of Bolivia. Ayaviri helped the young Pakistani on K2 last year when Sajid stopped on the way down from the summit to bury his father Ali. Ali Sadpara had perished above Camp 4 the previous winter.
The climbers have kept in touch since then. After Sajid returned from climbing Annapurna, Everest, and Lhotse in Nepal this spring, the two joined forces for Nanga Parbat.
Hugo Ayaviri. Photo: Hugo Ayaviri/Instagram
A long time in thin air
Sadpara and Ayaviri are spending the night in Camp 3 and will need all their skill and strength to return to Base Camp tomorrow. The weather has turned for the worse, and the pair have been at altitude since the weekend.
“On June 25, we decided to remain in Camp 3 with some climbers from the Seven Summit Treks group,” Ayaviri reported. “Many preferred to go back down. The conditions were too uncertain, [rope fixing was not complete], and bad weather was coming.”
Ayaviri and Sajid Sadpara started their summit push straight from Camp 3 (6,800m) at 10 pm on Sunday.
“From 7,600m, the route was no longer equipped with a fixed rope,” he noted. Therefore, there was no Camp 4 either.
“We arrived at the summit around 8:00 am on Monday, June 26,” Avaviri said. “The strong winds left us no respite. We went down very quickly to safety at Camp 3.”
File image of Sajid Sadpara. Photo: Sajid Sadpara/Twitter
Meanwhile, Viridiana Alvarez came to Nanga Parbat only recently, but with the acclimatization she’d acquired on Shishapangma and Cho Oyu in the spring. Her tracker shows she summited, then returned to Camp 3. She climbed with Lakpa Temba Sherpa, as part of Seven Summit Treks’ group.
Viridiana Alvarez and Lakpa Temba Sherpa some days ago on Nanga Parbat. Photo: Viridiana Alvarez/Instagram
First French 14×8,000m climber
Sophie Lavaud is also in Camp 3 with Sangay Sherpa, Francois Damilano, and Ulysse Lefebvre (and possibly other sherpas), AlpineMag reports. Lavaud has just finished her 14×8,000m quest and thus becomes the first French climber, male or female, to climb all 14 8,000m peaks.
This is notable, considering that French climbers were the first ever to summit an 8,000m peak (Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal climbed Annapurna in 1950.) As Lavaud also holds Swiss and Canadian nationalities, she has several national “firsts” to celebrate.
We are waiting for confirmation of the whereabouts of two further summiters, who planned to go all the way without oxygen: Tunc Findik of Turkey and Shah Daulat of Pakistan.
Kristin Harila and her powerful Sherpa team made it back to Base Camp at dawn. Seven Summit Trek’s expedition leader Chhang Dawa Sherpa confirmed the speedy Norwegian’s success on social media:
Kristin Harila’s team arrives back in Base Camp after summiting Nanga Parbat. From left to right, Pasang Nurbu, Ming Temba, Kristin Harila, Chhang Dawa (expedition leader), Nima Rinji, and Tenjen ‘Lama’ Sherpa. Photo: Chhang Dawa Sherpa/Instagram
With them was Nima Rinji Sherpa, the 17 year-old-son of Seven Summit Trek’s CEO Tashi Lakpa Sherpa. Rinji summited Everest and now is the latest who wants to become the youngest 14×8,000’er summiter ever.
Pemba Sherpa of the 8K Expeditions’ office in Kathmandu, told ExplorersWeb that 8K team members (Pasdawa Sherpa, Nawang Sherpa, and Gina Marie Han-lee) were safe and “getting back to BC.”
Other climbers from Seven Summit Treks and Imagine Nepal are currently waiting in Base Camp for a second summit window.
