A large group of climbers summited Gasherbrum II today and more are on the way, including Andrzej Bargiel. The Polish mountaineer is ready to set off from Camp 2 and ski down from the summit.
Camp 2 on Gasherbrum II, seen from a drone. Photo: @maciej_sulima
On Broad Peak, many will hurry toward the summit tonight, as forecasts show the weather worsening by July 20. Some will try to go all the way from Camp 2. That is a long way even for climbers on oxygen.
Gasherbrum II
Bargiel set off at 10 pm Pakistan time. Accompanied by Janusz Golab and a film crew, the climber didn’t specify whether he was going immediately to the summit or would pitch a Camp 3 on the way.
The team did an acclimatization trip to Camp 3 last weekend, and Bargiel skied down from there:
Meanwhile, EliteExped’s 19-member team summited two days ago. And today, Hi Jing of China summited GII without oxygen, supported by Araman Tamang. It is Hi’s 13th 8,000’er, according to Seven Summit Treks.
Gasherbrum I
Kristin Harila and the Seven Summit Treks team might not have been the first on top of Gasherbrum I today. American Chris Warner, together with regular partner Chhiring Sherpa and Pemba Tasi Sherpa, summited at 5 am, shortly before the Seven Summit Treks group.
Warner, who had previously climbed Nanga Parbat and then Gasherbrum II some days ago, has followed his original plan, as he outlined to ExplorersWeb: Wait for the right moment, summit quickly, then get off the mountain before the crowds come.
Chris Warner on Nanga Parbat two weeks ago. Photo: Warner’s Instagram
Despite the large number of people on the Gasherbrums this season, there are no reports of crowding. Teams are well distributed between the two mountains.
Seven Summit Treks has added some climbers to its summit list, including Afsaneh Hesami of Iran, Sona Sherpa of Nepal (a winter K2 summiter), and recent Nanga Parbat summiter Anja Blacha of Germany.
Broad Peak
Climbers hoping for good weather tomorrow are leaving for the summit from Camp 3 or even lower down. Naila Kiani of Pakistan, with Imagine Nepal, wanted to summit on Thursday, but changing forecasts have forced her to try to hurry up from Camp 2 tonight.
Sajid Sadpara of Pakistan has also left Camp 3 for the summit. He is guiding Alina Pekova of Russia on behalf of Seven Summit Treks. Broad Peak is the only Pakistani mountain that Sadpara has not yet summited.
Sajid Sadpara. Photo: Instagram
K2 will have to wait
Summit pushes will come later on K2, with the normal Abruzzi Spur route still not set. Ropes still need fixing above Camps 3 and 4. This will not be the first time that the sherpas fix the Bottleneck and higher, with dozens of clients right behind them. Last year, the front-line team was Harila and her sherpas.
We can expect a massive summit push once the rope fixing ends. Most climbers on oxygen have had time to acclimatize up to Camp 2, which is high enough for those on oxygen. Some teams have been on the mountain for a month already.
