Broad Peak saw more summits, including some mind-boggling fast times. The ropes are nearing the summit on K2, and progress continues on Gasherbrum II. The spike in the winds came and went, and conditions are good for now. Look for K2 summits anytime now, first by the rope team.
Big Picture – The Summit Push
So far, so good despite the rope teams on K2 fighting off the predicted spike in the winds. There are reports of over 100 people spread across the various camps on K2. Also, they are using the so-called “Japanese” camps, which are a bit lower than traditional camps. This is a low snow year on K2, and the rock fall has been significant, so teams are seeking safer locations for the high camps.
K2 – Ropes to C4
8K Expeditions said their client, Kristin Harila, who is focused on setting a record for climbing all of the 8000ers, will climb with the rope team hoping to summit any time now. They listed the teams staffing the eight-person team from
The weather looks great for the next 2 days (21st & 22nd) up high on K2, clear and very low winds. Our Sherpas who have been fixing ropes reached camp 4 today and reported breaking trail through some snow, but overall reasonable conditions. Their plan is to continue fixing lines tomorrow (21st) and hopefully climb through the bottleneck and traverse to the upper mountain. Hopefully the bottleneck has been scoured by recent winds and is easily climbable, rather than full of unconsolidated snow as sometimes it can be. There are a lot of climbers at camp 3 currently, all aiming for summits on the 21 or 22 I presume.
Jenn Drummond, attempting to become the first female to complete the Second Seven Summits, reports in from Camp 3 on her summit push. She is with the Imagine Nepal team:
We are at lower camp3. It was a big day mainly due to a lack of acclimatization. I passed the spot where I got the phone call last year that ended my expedition. The location brought a flood of memories back. I wish we were higher up the mountain to camp3, but it is avalanche-prone, so Mingma G didn’t want to press our luck, and I agree with his decision. We will stay one day here to allow the Sherpa to move O2 up the mountain. They are so strong it is humbling. This camp is at such an angle that we can’t leave our tents without harnesses. The weather got a little windy today, and it’s incredible how fast the temperature changes when the wind starts. Ropes are now set to camp3. Tomorrow hopefully, camp4 and then the summit. We initially thought lines would be set on the 20th, so most would summit push the 21st, and we would wait out the rush and go before the 22nd, but that could all be backed up a day. The tents are stuffed with people and things! Hoping the rest day lower on the mountain helps! When I just lay in my tent looking up, I can see stars and twinkles, which means I am low on o2. I can go on the o2 tank at any time but hoping this helps my body.
The following teams are on their push:
- 8K Expeditions (Nepal)
- Elite Expeditions (Nepal)
- Furtenbach Adventures (Austria)
- Madison Mountaineering (US)
- Mingma G’s Imagine Nepal (Nepal)
- Pioneer Adventure (Nepal)
- Seven Summits Treks (Nepal)
With these teams either waiting or not providing updates as to their current position or plans:
- Adventure Tours Pakistan (Pakistan)
- Alpine Adventure Guide (Pakistan)
- Lela Peak Expedition (Pakistan)
- Summit Karakoram (Pakistan)
- Karakorum Expeditions (Pakistan)
Broad Peak – Fast Summit
There are at least 23 more summits on BP with some notable accomplishments. Denis Urubko and French alpinist Benjamin Vedrines made speed climbs on Broad Peak, 14 hours and a shocking seven, respectively. Neither used supplemental oxygen. Amazing. Vedrines paraglided from the summit, according to Desnivle. Polish legend Krzysztof Wielicki held the record of 15:40 set in July 1984.
Faizan Khan of Hunza Guides tells me that Rafał Maciej Fronia and Bartiomiej Edward Nowak both summited on July 19. Additioanlly, the Polish Beskid Team topped out nBP on JUly 20 consisting of Bartłomiej Ziemski , Mariusz Hatala , Radosław Woźniak , Piotr Krzyżowski and Kamil Kozłowski. Wspinanie.pl reports that Dorota Rasińska-Samoćko “completed” her eighth eight -thousander.
And Seven Summits Treks‘ Broad Peak team saw success, including Adriana Brownlee with her eight 8000ers while on track to become the youngest person to do all fourteen.
Huge congratulations to our Broad Peak Expedition team members and Sherpas for the successful ascent of the world’s 12th highest mountain. Total 9 climbers from SST stood on the top of the 12th highest peak.
Summiteer List on (19 July 2022):1. Marco Camandona2. Pietro Picco3. Thomas Krapfl4. Raffaele Barbolini
Summiteer List on (20 July 2022):1. Adriana Brownlee2. Gelje Sherpa3. Dorota Lidia Samocko4. Dawa Nurbu Sherpa5. Moses Fiamoncini
Today on 20th july between 8:30-9 AM (Nepal time) our Imagine Nepal team successfully stood on the the summit of Mt.Broad Peak 8051m. Huge congratulations to all the summiters.
Summiters list:1. Ms.Dawa Yangzum Sherpa (First Nepali Women to climb Mt.Broad Peak)2. Pemba Sherpa (Nepal)3. Ngima Nuru Sherpa (summit without oxygen)4. Jit Bahadur Sherpa (Nepal)5. Ms.Savannah Palma (USA)6. Mr.Chrles Antonie (Canada)
Gasherbrum I – On the Summit Push
The teams are on their summit push today, going carefully and steadily higher in challenging conditions. Jagged Globe notes a team of eight people is at Camp 3:
Everything is proceeding according to plan. Two of our local staff climbed to Camp 3 (c7000m) early this morning and dropped tents, stoves and gas. The whole team will climb to Camp 3 tomorrow morning ready for our summit attempt on Friday 22 July. Several teams are hoping to make the first G2 summit of the season on 21 July, and we are hoping to be able to follow a good trail the following day. The weather forecast remains good for the next few days.
No Summit Certificate after Showing Ukraine Flag
In a rather odd twist of events, the Nepal Tourism Ministry has revoked the Everest summit certificate for Russian climber Katya Lipka. She unfurled the flag to protest the war in Ukraine but apparently broke the rule of not receiving permission from authorities.
“We have sought clarification from her, Liaison Officer and her expedition agency for unfurling the flag without our approval. This is an extremely sensitive geopolitical issue which cannot be taken lightly,” said Surya Parasad Upadhyaya, director of Nepal’s tourism department, the body responsible for issuing climbing certificates.
Nepal has a broad set of rules that are unknown t most climbers. We’ve seen this situation before, invoking film permits and permission for ski descents. Authorities maintain it’s the visitor’s responsibility to inform their Nepali booking agency of their plans, and it’s the agency’s responsibility to know all the rules.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
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