It’s always exciting to get the first reports from K2. Despite commercialization, the allure of Savage Mountain has remained. But news is hard to come by this year.
French loner in Camp 1
As on other Pakistan 8,000’ers, the first reports this season have come from independent climbers. Serge Hardy of France is climbing on his own and has already been to Camp 1. The mountain is empty, but it was still hard for him to find a spot at Camp 1 (6,060m) for his tent.
“It took me three hours to build this pathetic terrace,” he admitted. “There is a battle of sorts to get a decent spot to pitch tents at Camp 1, which is not exactly flat and exposed to falling rocks.”
He says that “the big Nepalese agencies, the ones with wealthy clients,” have snapped up all the available room. In the end, Hardy pitched his tent in a rather uncomfortable location on tilted scree.
The 8K Expeditions team reached Base Camp on June 27 and should have fixed at least part of the route by now. The Elite Exped and 14 Peaks teams are on their way to Base Camp.
Serge Hardy arrives in Base Camp. Photo: Serge Hardy
Hardy, 58, is a climber and a local politician from Brest, in northern France. He summited Gasherbrum II in 2021. It is not yet confirmed whether he will climb with someone else or use supplementary oxygen.
‘No one reports anything’
“Nobody reports anything, but the big Nepalese agencies are already fixing the route and waiting for their clients to arrive,” the Alpymon blog confirmed. It describes 2025 as “the silent season.” Everyone trying to follow the events on Pakistan’s 8,000’ers has noted the lack of even basic details about the teams’ progress.
Hopefully, as the mountain gets busier, some teams will be more prone to share news. U.S.-based Mountain Professionals is expected to arrive in Base Camp today. Recently, they took advantage of the Wi-Fi antenna installed at Concordia to send some photos:
Some climbers are currently acclimatizing on Broad Peak, before heading to the harder, higher K2.
