Bad weather stalled progress in the Karakoram last weekend, but the skies have now cleared, and climbers are in motion.
Relatively little news may create the false perception that this is a dull climbing season, but the relatively low numbers of climbers are enjoying a wild and quiet Karakoram. For the first time in decades, most are climbing without supplementary oxygen or personal Sherpa support.
Gasherbrum I
Roman Romancini of Brazil is the first to confirm that he has started his summit attempt on Gasherbrum I. He and some others left Base Camp early this morning and have reached Camp 1 in sunny and very hot weather. Others may update soon, since Martin Ramos of Spain told local Nepal media that he and Jorge Egocheaga are also ready to head to the summit of Gasherbrum I.
Climbers at Base Camp in the Gasherbrums on Monday. Left to right, two Liaison Officers, Nadia Azad of Pakistan, Roman Romancini of Brazil, Paula Strengell, Estefi (no surname provided), Martin Ramos, Noelia Ortiz, and Jorge Egocheaga of Spain, Horia Colibasanu of Romania, Uxue Murolas and Ignacio Barrio of Spain, Stephan (no surname provided) of Canada, A-go (Taiwan), and a third Liaison Officer.
Meanwhile, Horia Colibasanu of Romania climbed to Camp 2 on Gasherbrum II last week and left a tent and some cooking fuel. He then hurried down just before the snow hit. He also reported extraordinarily high temperatures on the mountain. The sun is beating down so strongly that he has attached a small sun umbrella to his backpack:
With that earlier trip, he considers his acclimatization complete and will attempt the summit in the next few days.
K2
Prolonged bad weather has thwarted progress on K2, where the ropes reach only slightly above Camp 2, but that will change soon. The skies finally cleared today, and climbers are preparing to leave. “We are at Advanced Base Camp, and in two days, we set off for Camp 3,” Sergei Kondrashkin told Mountain Club.
Kondrashkin of Russia is partnering with Gian-Luca Cavalli of Italy, who recently summited Nanga Parbat. Together, they will attempt a no-O2, independent climb. Dr. Donatella Barbera is also on the team. Alpymon reports that Mattia Comte of Italy (who previously attempted K2 in winter) and Ricardo Segreste of Mexico may also try to climb without supplemental oxygen but with Sherpa support.
Unlike previous years, no big Sherpa or Pakistani teams are breaking trail to the summit. Alpymon estimates that just six expeditions totaling about 50 people are on the mountain. As usual, the no-oxygen climbers need to acclimatize thoroughly. Unlike those on bottled oxygen, they can’t just climb to Camp 3 and then summit from there. They need to return to Base Camp. Kondrashkin says he expects to reach the top by early August.
Broad Peak Base Camp yesterday. Photo: Summit Karakoram
Broad Peak
The rope-fixing team on Broad Peak will leave Base Camp tomorrow and plan to summit on July 18. They are still thinking of opening the new variation route to the Rocky Summit.
Regular expeditions on Broad Peak typically set three altitude camps. The uppermost one lies near the wide Broad Peak Col. From there, they follow the long ridge to the summit. Read more about the route on Broad Peak here.
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat may be the most popular of Pakistan’s 8,000’ers this year. Summit Karakoram, one of the main local outfitters, told ExplorersWeb yesterday that while their teams on K2 and Gasherbrums are rather small, their recent expedition to Nanga Parbat team had 18 climbers, including 2 high-altitude porters.
Although no official figures are listed, summit rates on Nanga Parbat over the last decade have been among the best of any 8,000’er, with most teams reporting 100% success.
This year, Nanga Parbat had overall good conditions, with several summit windows. This contrasts with previous years, when relentless bad weather allowed only a single last-minute summit push. There were no reported fatalities, and Andrzej Bargiel did a complete ski descent. In the video below, Dawa Ongju Sherpa celebrates his 48th 8,000m climb:
Marek Holecek keeps cool at 5,000m near Nanga Parbat. Photo: Tomas Petrecek
Rupal Face
The Diamir side of Nanga Parbat is now deserted, but Marek Holecek and Tomas Petrecek of the Czech Republic are on the South Side, preparing to attempt a new route up the Rupal Face. The pair reached Base Camp last week. In the last few days, they reached 5,100m during a three-day acclimatization trip.
Petrecek summarized their excursion as “two long nights in the tent, with the body slowly getting used to the altitude and the brain constantly overthinking.” They did not specify whether they climbed on their planned route, or elsewhere on the Rupal Face, or on a nearby peak.
Recently, the team observed a gigantic avalanche falling down from the col between Rupal and Rakhiot Peaks. “I was barely two kilometers from the place where the avalanche hit,” Holecek said. “Still, the force [tore] down tents, [and] snow and ice flew through the air.”
