Summit Pushes on Broad Peak and Nanga Parbat

part of a tent on a steeep snowfield and the valley lower down, covered by a huge glacier. — A higher camp on Broad Peak. Photo: Furtenbach Adventures

A second wave of climbers is between Camp 2 and Camp 3, moving to the summit of Nanga Parbat. Meanwhile, on Broad Peak, Furtenbach Adventures has chosen an early-bird strategy. Their team, guided by Argentina’s Ulises Corbalan, reached the mountain before everyone else. They fixed the ropes themselves and now are ready to go for the top once the weather allows.

Hard terrain on Nanga Parbat

Nanga Parbat climbers are reporting sections of hard ice and a sustainably steep climb. A rock struck skier Ali Olszanski yesterday. He retreated to Base Camp but still hopes to launch a fresh attempt soon, the Alpymon blog reported.

A significant number of climbers are in Camp 3, ready to set off for the top tonight. This year, there is no Camp 4, but a higher percentage of clients are using supplementary O2 and so are able to tackle a longer summit day. As on all “lower” 8,000’ers, the widespread use of supplementary oxygen on 8,126m Nanga Parbat is quite recent.

Imagine Nepal and EliteExped teams are once again climbing at the same pace, with their members in Camp 2.

Harila with O2 masc and headlamp, on the snow-covered route in the night.

The first summit push earlier this week, with Kristin Harila in the foreground. Photo: Kristin Harila/Facebook

Broad Peak for just one team

On Broad Peak, the Furtenbach Adventures team has set their camps and fixed ropes up to the col at 7,800m. Climbers are preparing to set off toward higher camps and attempt to summit from Camp 3 sometime next week, once the weather cooperates.

The guides and high-altitude porters will fix ropes on the ridge sections as they proceed to the top. Crowding will not be a problem. They are currently the only team positioned for a summit push. Many other climbers are currently on the way, and some of them, such as a Czech expedition, plan to reach Base Camp tomorrow. They are not acclimatized enough to consider summiting yet.