Despite initial concerns about a potentially empty mountain because of the earlier India-Pakistan conflict, Nanga Parbat had at least some climbers on the normal Kinshofer route. They enjoyed a mountain without crowds, a Base Camp full of flowers, and very mild weather. But these same high temperatures also created difficult conditions that eventually proved lethal for one woman.
Klara Kolouchova of the Czech Republic fell to her death while descending at night. Two local climbers also needed help to make it down safely.
As the climbers return to Islamabad in Pakistan’s scorching heat, here is a summary of the season’s summits, rescues, injuries, and losses.
Base Camp at Nanga Parbat. Photo: Horia Colibasanu
First summits and frostbite
Most climbers were with Seven Summit Treks, whose Sherpa guides immediately set about fixing the ropes. However, there was at least another small group, operated by Blue Sky Treks & Tours, at a different Base Camp.
With the rope fixing done only to above Camp 3, as most climbers rested in Base Camp after their acclimatization rounds to Camps 2 and 3, Marek Novotny and Ondra Hlasny of the Czech Republic set off for the summit ahead of the rest. They were the first to reach the top this season but suffered frostbite for their boldness.
“They spent too long in a bivouac, and one of them didn’t take off his boots for days,” Horia Colibasanu told ExplorersWeb. This climber frostbit several toes, while his partner suffered minor injuries.
The Czech climbers who summited Nanga Parbat on June 26. Photo: Blue Sky Treks & Tours/Instagram
Single massive summit push
Virtually everyone else in Base Camp launched their summit push last weekend. But they climbed in different styles, at different paces, with different skills.
This year, the hardest section lay between Base Camp and Camp 3 because of long sections of unstable rock, frequent rockfall, and old black ice where even the front points of crampons hardly bit in.
July 3
The first group summited on July 3, with their Sherpas fixing the ropes as they went. It was mild but windy. Dorota Rasisnzka-Samocko said the wind reached up to 60kph. It was also a very long day, as the climbers on oxygen began from Camp 3. Seven Summit Treks reported four international climbers and four guides from Nepal and Pakistan.
Others, like Horia Colibasanu (without oxygen or Sherpa support) and Allie Pepper of Australia, with Mikel Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa, invested an extra day and pitched a Camp 4 at around 7,000m to ensure a shorter, safer summit day. They reached the top the following morning.
July 4
On the second day, three climbers summited without bottled oxygen: Horia Colibasanu of Romania, on his 11th 8,000’er, and two Pakistani climbers: Sohail Sakhi from Hunza and Ashraf Sadpara, from the village of that name.
Sohail Sakhi from Hunza summited Nanga Parbat on his own, without oxygen, on July 4. Photo: Instagram
Accidents and rescues
Tragedy struck during the night of July 3. Klara Kolouchova of the Czech Republic felt too tired and decided to abort her summit push at Camp 3. Instead of spending the night there, she asked her Sherpa to go down to Base Camp right away, in the dark. Her fall took place slightly above the Kinshoffer wall, between Camps 2 and 3. The Sherpa couldn’t see exactly what happened or where Kolouchova fell. Other climbers noted that there are several crevasses in the area.
File image of Klara Kolouchova. Photo: Facebook
On July 6, helicopter pilots scouted the Kinshofer route and the surrounding area but couldn’t find the fallen climber.
While descending from the summit, Colibasanu described how he found Saad Mohammed stuck on a ledge, in the middle of the Kinshofer wall. He had not properly secured his rappelling device and had lost it. Colibasanu showed him how to rappel with a Munter hitch knot and a carabiner.
After an hour, he checked that Mohammed was doing well and continued down. Later, Colibasanu learnt that two high-altitude porters had left Base Camp to assist Mohammed down. His climbing partner, Tasheen, also needed some help on his own descent.
Asma Al Thani, climbing with Elite Exped, slipped and fell during the descent and needed stitches at Base Camp, but the Qatari princess — who has been climbing with Elite Exped for several years — was otherwise okay.
