Ryuseki Hiraoka and Atsushi Taguchi of Japan have been missing on Pakistan’s 7,027m Spantik since Monday. Today, a search helicopter spotted “traces” of them at 5,500m between Camp 2 and Camp 3.
“We have identified the possible location of the climbers,” local official Waliullah Falahi told HUM News English. “However, we can’t confirm exactly if they are there. The climbers’ health status remains uncertain.”
The climbers launched a summit push from Camp 2 without porters or ropes on Monday. The following day, a second Japanese team of seven climbers arrived at Camp 2 and noticed that Hiraoka and Taguchi had not returned and were nowhere to be found, Dawn reports. This second team aborted their own climb and returned to Base Camp, where they alerted authorities.
Camp 2 on Spantik. Photo: David Hamilton/Jagged Globe
Climbers searched the area yesterday but found no trace of the missing pair. Tomorrow, a ground team will search the place where the helicopter spotted signs of them. There is no further detail on what these signs were.
A popular peak
Location of Spantik, compared to other peaks in Pakistan. Google maps
Ryuseki Hiraoka is an experienced mountain guide, and Atsushi Taguchi has previously summited K2, Manaslu, and others.
Spantik, located in Gilgit-Baltistan, is considered the most straightforward 7,000’er in Pakistan. It is a relatively popular climb, sometimes as a final goal and sometimes as acclimatization before tackling Pakistan’s 8,000’ers. Camp 2 is at 5,600-5,700m. Check all the details of the climb on the video below by David Hamilton of Jagged Globe Expeditions.
