Summer 2018 Karakorum News

07/29

The north ridge route of Latok I. There have been over 24 attempts on the ridge since 1978. Photo: Alexander Gukov

07/26

  • After summiting Broad Peak, Fredrik Strang and David Roeske were turned back on K2 due to high winds and heavy snow on July 24.
  • With the monsoon season arriving earlier than usual, the weather window on K2 looks to have closed for the season.

Viridiana Alvarez became the first Latin American woman to summit K2. Photo: Viridiana Alvarez

07/23

  • Andrzej Bargiel becomes the first person to ski down from the summit of K2.
  • Japanese climber Kojiro Watanabe fell to his death on K2 yesterday.
  • Multiple teams summit K2 over the past two days, with more teams looking to make a push before the weather window closes later this week.
  • Badamgarav Gangaamaa becomes the first Mongolian to summit K2.

Polish ski mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel has become the first person in history to ski down from the summit of the second highest mountain in the world. Photo: Marek Ogien

07/21

  • Over 30 summits on K2 today. This may mark the most climbers to have reached the top of K2 on a single day. The previous high is believed to be 28 on July 31, 2012.
  • Luis Stitzinger completed his eighth 8,000m peak, summiting Gasherbrum I on Wednesday without bottled oxygen.

Baltoro Glacier from near the summit of Broad Peak. Photo: Abbas Shah

07/20

  • Heavy snow has slowed progress at the top of K2, but the Seven Summits group aims to top out today.
  • Numerous teams holed up at Camp 3 await their chance to summit.
  • David Klein and Suhajda Szilard are turned back on Gasherbrum I, returning to Base Camp in difficult conditions.

Midweek snowfall has stopped the Madison team at Camp 2, after a snowy climb through House’s Chimney. Photo: Madison Mountaineering

07/18

  • Adam Bielecki and Felix Berg summit Gasherbrum II; Jacek Czech turns back at 7,500m.
  • K2 teams are working together to fix the final sections of the route. Weather reports remain positive for a summit push around July 20.

David Klein and Suhajda Szilard have climbed the Japanese Couloir on Gasherbrum I and are now summit-bound. Photo: Kali Fa Himalayan Expedition

07/16

  • The Furtenbach team has reported that they topped out on Broad Peak early this morning.
  • Bielecki and Czech set out for the summit of Gasherbrum II at 3am today.
  • Seven Summit Treks are now aiming to summit K2 on July 20.

The Seven Summits team leaving Base Camp on K2. Photo: Seven Summit Treks

07/15

  • June brought persistent strong winds and heavy snow across the Karakorum. This slowed progress at first, but since early July, conditions have improved dramatically.
  • Expeditions on Broad Peak may attempt summit pushes this weekend. The Furtenbach commercial team reports that they started their latest attempt from Base Camp yesterday.
  • Teams continue to rotate up to Camp 3 on K2. Weather permitting, the weekend of July 21 could see the first summits of the season.
  • The good weather may also allow summit attempts as soon as this weekend on Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum IV.
  • You can catch up on the biggest stories so far with our Mid-Season Update and Season Opener articles at the bottom of the page.

    David Klein and Suhajda Szilard are attempting Gasherbrum I without oxygen or the support of HAPs. Photo: David Klein

https://explorersweb.com/2018/07/13/karakorum-2018-mid-season-update/

https://explorersweb.com/2018/06/27/summer-2018-k2-and-the-karakorum/