Climbing continues on K2 and for a few on Broad Peak but once again the weather, specifically high winds, are slowing progress.
K2
The result of Friday’s avalanche on the Abruzzi route on K2 is still a question. Minga Gyalje Sherpa provided this short update today:
Avalanche on Abruzzi route on 14July is still unknown. Yesterday our 7 climbers reached camp2 and they were supposed to go camp4 today but it couldn’t happen because of high wind. They are on their way back to Base camp now. So tomorrow I will go myself with 2 other Sherpa to check way to camp4. We are hoping Summit window coming closer but we need to be sure about our deposited oxygen and ropes up to camp4.
The K2 base camp has more residents as Furtenbach Adventures has now moved over from Broad Peak and almost all the climbers are down at base camp awaiting the next weather window.
Depending the route conditions, we might see a few summit attempts starting this next week. Almost all the climbers on K2 have completed their acclimatization rotations. For those climbing with supplemental oxygen, they usually only spend a couple of nights at Camp 2 but those not using Os try to get to C3. This generally applies on both the Abruzzi and the Česen routes.
Remember that most K2 summits occur near the end of July or early August so climbers schedule return flights around the second week of August. However, after their summit attempt, they still have to take three days for the 80 mile trek and then the two day drive to get back to Askole, the nearest airport, or worse take another two days to drive the Karakorum Highway back to Islamabad.
Bottom line, there is still plenty of time but the clock is ticking.
Chris Bailey shared he how he is passing time at K2 base camp waiting for good weather:
Been flat out at K2 base camp. Throwing rocks at other rocks has filled a lot of my time. My tent space has a river running through it so I’ve been building a bridge/road, I’m about to put a toll on it. Manfred has been making a dam in the river to make a drink cooler out the front of his tent. Yesterday there was an avalanche at Camp 3, teams going up today to check damage to camp/ropes, hopefully not too bad. Now I have a tea date with our Pakistan Air Force Liaison Officer, got a lot on!
Hari Mix posted an update on his site along with some nice pictures:
I’m back down after a three-night all-inclusive vacation to about 7200m (~23,600 ft) on K2. It’s pretty hard! But I handled it quite well and am busy eating fried eggs and paratha, guzzling Coke and Mountain Dew, and slathering aloe vera on my face here in base camp. Maybe tomorrow will be my laundry day. Now we wait for the next stretch of good weather to go back up into the ethereal world of complete detachment that comes with extreme altitude. Here are some photos from the acclimatization trip:
Broad Peak
A few climbers are left on Broad Peak but one I’m keeping my eye on is Òscar Cadiach who is trying to finish all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks with a summit of Broad Peak. He tried last weekend and turned back due to deep snow, apparently this weekend high winds stopped him. His team reported :
the bad weather, especially the wind with very heavy flurries, they go back to Oscar Cadiach and the team at #broadpeak, now have arrived at camp 1
Turkish climber Tunc Findik is climbing with Oscar.
Gasherbrum I/II
Over on the Gasherbrum, the trio of climbers, Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabalza, made one attempt to traverse from GII to GI but were stopped by snow. They are sponsored by the Walk on Project Foundation, who raises awareness and funding for research projects in search of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
The last update had their regrouping at base camp:
The team was found with a lot of snow in its initial attempt to link G I and G II and decided to go down to base field, waiting for a new window of good time to face their challenge. Here are some shocking images and statements from the climbers.
This is a nice video of their expedition thus far:
When they try agian, their tracks will on their SPOT tracker.
Best wishes to all.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
