The summit push on GII was aborted due to bad conditions, and the expectations for Broad Peak and K2 are equally discouraging.

However, a few stubborn climbers are willing to wait for a possible weather window at the end of July.

No one wants to surrender first

"The expeditions will officially end on August 2, but our teams on K2 and Broad Peak are [already nearly finished], as the situation seems not so good," Lakpa Sherpa of 8K told ExplorersWeb.

Nepal-based blog Everest Chronicle stated that Elite Exped has called off its expedition, and leader Mingma David Sherpa will have to wait another year to break his own record by summiting the mountain for the seventh time. As Lukas Supergan wrote on Saturday, no outfitter wants to be the first to call the expedition off.

"Several Sherpas have sustained climbing-related injuries, but their agencies are not discussing this publicly," the Polish climber added.

K2 climbers need at least acceptable conditions for the Sherpa guides to fix ropes and set higher camps, but the weather is not cooperating. Conditions have been bad all season. Already, one Pakistani climber has died.

Heavy monsoon rains are hitting northern Pakistan, wreaking havoc at several places in Gilgit-Baltistan. As we posted last week, a hanging bridge at Shigar collapsed, cutting off the route back to Skardu. Even if climbers leave, they may have difficulty getting out.

K2

"It's 3 degrees at Base Camp at 8:30 am," no-oxygen Everest summiter Lenka Polackova of Slovakia reported.

She adds that water continues to drip at 6,200m, and she has experienced rockfall even near 7,000, the highest she's reached.  

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However, most climbers believe that better weather is coming at the end of the month, after the current snowy spell. But will conditions on K2 be stable enough, and will the climbers -- stuck in Base Camp for so long -- be prepared?

Good weather and colder temperatures could stabilize K2. Then, perhaps, some very strong climbers could launch a last-minute summit push if they manage to pitch a couple of tents on Camp 3 and head up right behind the rope fixers. But it's a long way from Camp 3 at 7,000m to the 8,611m summit. Climbers planning to proceed without oxygen have a nearly impossible mission ahead, especially if they are not acclimatized enough.

Gasherbrum II

On Gasherbrum II, Imagine Nepal launched a summit push from Camp 2 on Saturday night, but eventually retreated because of deep snow. They safely returned to Base Camp today, and leader Mingma G bluntly stated: "Gasherbrum II will remain unclimbed in 2025."

Nirmal Purja of Elite Exped is also on Gasherbrum, but the company has not yet spoken of its plans.

Meanwhile, Selena Khawaja of Pakistan, just 16 years old, is aiming to climb Gasherbrums I and II with her father. The young Khawaja has been attempting 8,000'ers -- and raising concerns because of her young age -- since she showed up on Broad Peak in 2021 at age 13.

Last year, the Khawajas attempted Nanga Parbat. This year, before heading for the Gasherbrums, Selena and her father climbed Khosar Gang, a 6,004m peak near Skardu. They arrived at Base Camp on Friday after dealing with tough conditions due to heavy rains during the trek up the Baltoro.

Broad Peak

On Broad Peak, Madison Mountaineering's sole client and its Sherpa team are still in Base Camp waiting for a weather window. They will need better conditions and a more collaborative atmosphere amid growing tensions between climbers and outfitters on the mountain.

"Opening a route to the summit requires crossing deep snow above Camp 3," Lukas Supergan wrote on Saturday. "This could be achieved by a large, combined team from agencies and independent climbers working together, but such cooperation is not there. Leaders keep their plans secret; groups set out despite obviously bad forecasts and return exhausted and resigned. Each agency wants to be the one at the top, but by acting alone, it reduces its chances. Joint action has been replaced by a lack of communication."

Wrote Vibeke Andrea Sefland: "It is getting warmer and it is melting more day by day. On top of this, we have had several days with heavy snowfall up high, and rain below 6,000m, giving us hip-deep snow to break trail through."

The Norwegian climber and her group said they are going to wait a little longer, but the situation is complex. "I will do my best, but in these conditions, the only way to manage is [for] all of us to get together in a good team effort."

Time is running out for climbers on the Karakoram 8,000'ers because of stubbornly bad conditions. Yet a few equally stubborn individuals are fighting to summit before the season ends.

GII push

Summit Karakoram, the local company outfitting 8K Expeditions and Imagine Nepal teams, reports that their climbers on Gasherbrum II have started for the top. "We are planning to reach the summit on July 27, contingent on favorable weather," they noted. Other teams could follow.

Broad Peak problems

In contrast to K2, where all teams seem to be coordinating their efforts, the situation on Broad Peaks looks chaotic. Climbers have gone up and down at their own pace, sometimes in bad weather or despite contradictory forecasts. Today, nearly everyone is in Base Camp, checking weather forecasts but fully expecting to leave shortly.

But not everyone. Charles Page of Canada went up yesterday to 7,600m -- about the altitude of the Broad Peak col -- before turning around, according to his tracker. In previous reports, Page wrote that his goal was K2.

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Litter, and no progress

Yet the weather is not the only source of tension in Base Camp. Vibeke Andrea Sefland of Norway, back from a rotation to the top of the fixed ropes, describes Camp 3 at 7,000m as a "tent graveyard" with large amounts of trash. Climbers every season share similar comments about this spot.

On July 21, after a night in Camp 3, Sefland and other climbers descended back to Base Camp. That day, they crossed paths with another small group on their way to the summit despite bad weather forecasts.

"[On the way down,] we had to wait at least an hour in C1 to let climbers come up due to the risk of kicking rocks at them...We were wondering why they are [on a] summit push. The weather forecast is bad, and there are no fixed ropes and not enough manpower to break trail."

The Norwegian climber also noted how alarmingly fast the snow was melting. They had problems crossing a swollen glacier river and rappelled down "in waterfalls which should have been icefalls."

The management of the ropes is also a source of conflict in Base Camp.

As posted on social media, Karakorum Expeditions is in charge of fixing the ropes on the mountain. Climbers complained to ExplorersWeb about KE's leader Mirza Ali's lack of transparency about how and when the ropes will be fixed to the summit. These climbers say they have offered extra money and to help carry the loads. The uncertainty remains. The frustrated climbers have asked to remain anonymous until the expedition finishes and they are safely out of the country.

Karakorum Expeditions last reported on July 20 about the rope fixing:

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Season's end

Whatever teams do, they must do it soon, as the season officially ends at the end of July. The problem in Pakistan is not the pending expiration of permits but the weather.

"Permits usually last for 60 days, so teams could remain for longer in Base Camp if they wished," sources from Pakistan Alpine Club told ExplorersWeb.

However, the weather typically becomes more unstable by the end of July, and the monsoon's influence makes climbing too hazardous in August. That is why high-altitude Karakoram expeditions take place in July.

However, changing weather patterns have not helped. As we reported yesterday, the monsoon has already caused serious flooding in northern Pakistan. It is likely that future expeditions will have to adapt to climate change by starting earlier.

Bad weather has thwarted all attempts to reach the summit of Broad Peak and diminished hopes for K2 climbers, especially since the worst of the storm is yet to come.

Further down the valley, the consequences of the heavy rains are catastrophic. The Baltoro has been isolated since floods swept away a suspension bridge in Shigar.

K2 summits in peril

"A major storm is approaching K2, bringing heavy snow, strong winds, and freezing temperatures," Mingma David Sherpa of Elite Exped wrote today. He and his team remain in Base Camp, ready to ride out the storm and wait for the mountain to improve afterward before making a decision.

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If the situation is dire for guided climbers, it is worse for those without oxygen. Santiago Quintero of Ecuador, who was climbing with Sajid Sadpara of Pakistan (also no-O2), has cancelled his attempt. Quintero and Sadpara had done two rotations. Both times, but especially on the latest trip up to Camp 2, they had several close calls with falling rocks.

"The peak cannot be climbed at present, [in these] highly dangerous conditions," Quitero noted. "It's a deadly gamble, and without a proper Camp 3 and a complete acclimatization, it makes no sense to try."

Quitero admitted the only option would be to buy four bottles of O2 and a porter to carry them up, but he does not have that extra $6- $7,000. "In addition, I don't want to risk an accident," he noted.

He managed to return to Skardu, although some trails are blocked or flooded at the moment.

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Same on Gasherbrum II, Broad Peak

A small group of climbers summited Gasherbrum I last week, and Nirmal Purja followed with regular client and Qatari royal Asma Al Thani and a strong support team. However, no one has summited GII this season. The mountain has no fixed ropes, and some teams are reportedly giving up.

Charles Dubouloz of France has done two rotations in the Gasherbrums with climbing partner Symon Welfringer. Over the last few days, they have endured everything from scorching heat to near-constant snowfall. Yet he still hopes to launch an alpine-style push on one of the peaks in the region. They have not confirmed their specific plans, but a previous post by Welfringer suggests they could be willing to return to their original goal of the west face of Gasherbrum IV, if conditions improve.

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On Broad Peak, bad weather thwarted the few climbers who launched a summit attempt. Madison Mountaineering reported that their small group (a client with two Sherpa guides) and three other similarly sized groups tried to break trail in fresh snow but turned around before reaching the Broad Peak col because of a storm and whiteout conditions.

Altitude thieves

To make things worse, climbers are reporting thefts in the higher camps again this season. Climbers and staff use others' tents -- that's normal and okay as long as they ask permission -- but the camp crashers also reportedly stole gear, fuel, and food.

"Losing even a small item can mean that a year of preparation, thousands of dollars, and a 1.5-month expedition will be wasted because the equipment needed on summit day has disappeared," Lukasz Supergan reported.

He also mentioned a specific case: "Two weeks ago, my friend's crampons disappeared from his tent. It transpired that a Nepalese guide had taken them and used them for 10 days. After a brief investigation, I found them in his agency's tent," Supergan said.

He added that some people who had recently gone up to the summit "despite the obviously bad forecast," used their tents in Camp 3.

Finally, he also reported problems with a different type of thief: Crows pecked holes in one of his tents and ate all the food.

Several teams summited Gasherbrum I on Sunday from 11 am local time. Some climbers reached the top without supplementary oxygen, as this peak has traditionally been climbed, while others used bottled gas.

According to reports, 8K Expeditions placed Pavlo Sydorenko of Ukraine and Magdalena Arcimowicz of Poland on top, supported by Migma Dorchi Sherpa and Pem Lakpa Sherpa. The Nepalese climbers did not use supplementary oxygen.

Seven Summit Treks reported that Marco Confortola of Italy summited without supplementary oxygen, but was supported by Pasang Ngima Sherpa and Lakpa Tashi.

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Two climbers outfitted by Active Adventure Holidays summited without supplementary oxygen: Marie Saame of Estonia and Abid Baig from Hunza, Pakistan. Baig summited Nanga Parbat and Broad Peak last year.

Imagine Nepal also reported summits, including Sashko Kedev, who has become the first Macedonian climber to complete the 14x8,000'ers. Wang Zhong of China and Nepalese climbers Dawa Gyalje Sherpa and Ngima Nuru Sherpa also topped out.

Gasherbrum I (8,080m), also known as Hidden Peak, is the first Karakoram 8,000'er summited this year. The teams in place may attempt Gasherbrum II next.

K2's somber face

On K2 and Broad Peak, bad conditions have stopped any progress by the rope-fixing teams. Expedition leaders are starting to show some concern about the lack of remaining time and possible weather windows.

Last Friday, an avalanche hit a team of four climbers who were descending from Camp 2, killing one of them. Rescue teams could not save Iftekhair Hussain Sadpara, an experienced local climber who had previously summited K2 twice, Broad Peak, and Gasherbrum II. He leaves a wife, two daughters, and a son, Ali Saltoro of Alpine Adventure Guides Pakistan told ExplorersWeb.

Trango Towers

Conditions this year may be better at lower altitudes, such as on the rocky spires of the Karakoram. An Indonesian team will try their luck on Trango's Nameless Tower (6,239m). The six-member team, led by Iqbal Kamal Fasya, will climb the Eternal Flame route to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. They will reach Base Camp today.

With the rope-fixing work stalled on K2 and Broad Peak, the next summit news might come from the Gasherbrums. Climbers have been in Camp 1, ready to go, all week. Finally, they have a summit plan.

Gasherbrum I weekend summits?

"Forecasts are not optimistic until at least July 19, but the wind is expected to drop to 20-25kmph (which is okay for a summit push) on July 18-19," Sakhawat Hussain, Managing Director of Summit Karakoram, told ExplorersWeb. "Therefore, we have scheduled the summit push on Gasherbrum I for between July 19 and July 20, if everything goes well. Then we will go for Gasherbrum II."

Hussain described weather conditions today as "manageable, but they might change at any moment."

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At the beginning of this week, the expedition leaders hoped to attempt one of the Gasherbrums on July 17-18, but the weather halted that plan.

Summit Karakoram, a Pakistani agency, is outfitting a team from Nepal-based company 8K Expeditions, led by Saila Sherpa. However, apparently, all the commercial teams are moving at the same pace. Nirmal Purja is there, aiming to bag his 51st and 52nd 8,000'er summits.

Specific tactics

Both Gasherbrum I and II provide a slightly shorter climb than other 8,000'ers in Pakistan. The key is to take positions on the top of the tricky Gasherbrum glacier, which has become the most exposed section of the climb to both peaks. Warm conditions cause slushy snow with hard ice underneath and many open crevasses. This is why teams leave Base Camp and settle at Camp 1 to wait for the right time to launch summit pushes.

A lack of ropes on the upper sections can be solved with the same tactic used on Nanga Parbat some weeks ago: Sherpa guides will lay ropes as they go, with the commercial climbers following.

French and Italians

There are also some small groups aiming for the summit without Sherpa support. Among them are French climbers Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer, who abandoned their plans to climb the highly difficult West Face of Gasherbrum IV because of a lack of ice on the wall. Mathieu Ruffray has also joined the team as a filmmaker.

"The dryness of these immense fortresses caught us off guard and pushed us to reconsider the location of our base camp for the coming month," Dubouloz reported yesterday.

The team headed for the common Base Camp for Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II, but has not made their next goal clear. They have, however, been able to acclimatize by climbing up to 6,414m and spending two nights at 5,700m and then 6,000m. They still need a second rotation before heading for a summit.

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There is at least one other French team eyeing an alpine-style ascent, and an Italian expedition whose original goal was also Gasherbrum IV, which they hoped to climb from its north side.

Broad Peak

The situation is similar on Broad Peak. An optimistic forecast motivated some climbers to go up at the beginning of this week, but the prediction proved wrong. The weather is still bad, with snowfall on the upper part of the mountain and -- even worse -- rain in Base Camp and on the lower sections.

"Our mountain is melting before our eyes," Lukasz Supergan of Poland wrote.

On July 11, 1985, Pierre Gevaux made the first paragliding descent from the summit of an 8,000m peak, soaring down from 8,034m Gasherbrum II. This groundbreaking feat opened a new chapter in mountaineering history.

Gevaux was part of a French expedition to Pakistan led by Claude Jaccoux. It included clients, three guides, and two high-altitude porters. They shared Base Camp with another French team led by well-known mountaineer and extreme adventurer Jean-Marc Boivin.

The expedition began in early July, with climbers establishing camps along the standard route. On July 11, Gevaux and the other team members topped out. The summit day featured clear weather, offering a rare window for his paragliding descent.

Paragliding technology was in its infancy, and Gevaux’s paraglider was likely a basic or parachute-like canopy. It required significant skill to control, especially in the thin air and unpredictable winds at such an extreme altitude.

According to Xavier Murillo, Gevaux's first two attempts to fly from the summit failed. Each time he had to climb back up, catch his breath, gather his thoughts, and tell himself that he would be able to do it. The third time was the charm.

The descent covered a vertical drop of several thousand meters to Camp 1 at 6,000m. He reached it in 5 minutes and 45 seconds. It had taken him five months of preparation, two months on the expedition, and four days of climbing.

Gevaux’s feat impressed other mountaineers who were on Gasherbrum II that day, including Jean-Marc Boivin.

Boivin paraglides down Everest

Boivin was an adventurer known for his first ascents, ski descents, and pioneering hang gliding and paragliding. He was reportedly inspired by Gevaux’s paragliding descent from Gasherbrum II. On that expedition, Boivin broke a hang glider altitude record when he successfully launched from the summit. Previously, in 1979, Boivin had set a hang glider altitude record when he flew from nearly 8,000m after climbing K2.

Three years after Gevaux’s flight, on Sept. 26, 1988, Boivin achieved the first paragliding descent from just below the summit of Everest. The thin air at 8,848m made launching difficult, and gusty winds required precise timing to ensure a safe takeoff. Boivin’s success cemented his reputation as a pioneer of extreme sports, though he tragically died two years later while BASE jumping off Angel Falls in Venezuela.

You can read more about Everest’s paragliding and hang gliding history here.

Paragliding descents from other 8,000’ers

Gevaux’s 1985 flight and Boivin’s 1988 flight pointed the way for others.

In 1994, Australian Ken Hutt paraglided down from 7,200m on Cho Oyu.

In July 2019, Austrian climber Max Berger paraglided from the shoulder of 8,051m Broad Peak, landing in Base Camp 17 minutes later. Though not from the summit, this descent was a significant high-altitude feat.

On July 19, 2022, French climber Benjamin Vedrines paraglided from Broad Peak’s summit ridge after a speed ascent without supplemental oxygen, landing at Base Camp in about an hour.

On July 28, 2024, French climbers Benjamin Vedrines, Jean-Yves Fredriksen, Zeb Roche, and Liv Sansoz paraglided from the summit of K2 despite a Pakistani paragliding ban. All four had summited without bottled oxygen.

Vedrines -- after claiming a climbing speed record of 10 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds -- launched first, landing at Base Camp in 30 minutes. Fredriksen landed at 6,600m after struggling for 90 minutes to take off, and Roche and Sansoz achieved the first tandem paragliding descent from an 8,000m summit.

Most recently, on June 24 of this year, David Goettler paraglided from 7,700m after summiting Nanga Parbat via the Schell Route on the Rupal Face without bottled oxygen.

In the video below, you can watch Gevaux's pioneering paragliding descent from Gasherbrum II in 1985:

Too dry to climb has become a theme among climbers in the Karakoram this summer. The latest casualty: Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer's attempt on Gasherbrum IV's Shining Wall -- so-called because the golden light of sunset reflects off the West Face.

The French pair had hoped to complete Jordi Corominas's attempted 2006 line. In addition to its sustained difficulty, Gasherbrum IV is an almost-8,000'er, so altitude adds to the challenge. On these high peaks, the rock is usually fragile, so climbers need enough ice, which is more stable, to progress over mixed terrain. Unfortunately, usable ice has been scarce this season.

Gasherbrum II instead

So the two climbers are heading instead to 8,035m Gasherbrum II, where they will climb the normal route.

"[It's] not quite what Symon and I had in mind, but it’s the right move," Dubouloz admitted on social media.

At least, GII is far from crowded this year. Karakoram Tours Pakistan reported just 32 climbers on the mountain, aiming for GI, GII, or both. There is also a team from Nepal-based 8K Expeditions, led by Saila Mingma and outfitted by Summit Karakoram.

So far, the ropes have been fixed up to Camp 2.

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No first ascent

The dry conditions have also spoiled the attempt of a Madison Mountaineering group to make a first ascent of a smaller peak near K2 while acclimatizing for the big mountain. Garrett Madison developed that strategy three years ago with a fit group of Ama Dablam clients. Instead of acclimatizing on an oft-climbed peak, clients had the added excitement of doing a first ascent in the Khumbu as prep for Ama Dablam.

This time, the team hoped to reach an untouched summit one day from Base Camp, while acclimatizing for K2. After climbing most of the night, the climbers reached the summit ridge at dawn but had to turn back when confronted with gendarmes of unstable rock.

The group did not mention the altitude or location of their chosen peak, other than noting that it was across the Godwin Austen Glacier from K2 and Broad Peak's Base Camps.

Waiting for Urubko

We are still waiting for news from Denis Urubko and Maria Cardell. The husband-and-wife pair set off last Friday for an alpine-style attempt at a new route on the Diamir face of Nanga Parbat. They estimated five days on the face, so they should be returning to flat ground at any time.

An Italian team is attempting an alpine-style climb of 7,932m Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan’s Karakoram.

Federico Secchi, Leonardo Gheza, and Gabriele Carrara aim to repeat the iconic Northeast Ridge route first climbed by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri in 1958 during the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV.

Photographer Ettore Zorzini will accompany the climbers to 6,200m and take drone footage of the ascent from there. The expedition is backed by the Italian Alpine Club.

An Italian team led by Riccardo Cassin first climbed Gasherbrum IV via the Northeast Ridge and the North Summit in 1958. On Aug. 6, members Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri summited from Camp VI at 7,544m. The initial 107m on the Northeast Ridge, the easiest section they encountered, took three hours, with increasingly difficult climbing from there.

The summit ridge featured five rock towers, with the third deemed the highest. They navigated Class 4 and 5 climbing on unstable rock, then traversed from the North Summit to the main summit, where they topped out at 12:30 pm.

Traversing the pinnacled ridge to the main summit was considered the crux of the climb. After enduring a snowstorm at Camp VI, they descended the next day via a dangerous route to Camp V at 7,193m, where Toni Gobbi and Giuseppi de Francesch awaited. De Francesch narrowly escaped a fatal fall during the support effort. Other team members included Giuseppe Oberto and Dr. Fosco Maraini.

Never repeated

The 1958 route to the summit hasn’t been repeated since that first ascent, despite some attempts over the years.

One of those attempts ended in tragedy. In 2018, an Italian military team aimed to climb the Bonatti-Mauri route to mark its 60th anniversary. Climber Maurizio Giordano was killed by a falling serac, and the expedition failed to complete the Northeast Ridge route.

As we reported last week, another party also aims to climb Gasherbrum IV. French climbers Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer will attempt the Southwest Ridge via the West Face (Shining Wall) and then continue along the ridge to the summit.

French climbers Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer are teaming up again to attempt one of the most epic peaks in the Karakoram: Gasherbrum IV.

"Our primary objective is the southwest ridge, starting by climbing the Shining Wall [the West Face] and then continuing along the ridge to the summit," Dubouloz told ExplorersWeb. He noted that this is the route twice attempted by Piolet d'Or winner Jordi Corominas in 2006.

The West Face of Gasherbrum IV is called the Shining Wall because the setting sun lights it up spectacularly. It offers a formidable sight to climbers and trekkers as they reach the glacier crossroads known as Concordia, on their way to K2 Base Camp. The 2,500m-high face is one of the most aesthetic and difficult in the world. It was the scene of some epic chapters in the history of mountaineering.

Given the changeable conditions in the Karakoram and the magnitude of the challenge, Dubouloz, 36, and Welfringer, 31, are hedging their bets. Once at the foot of the wall, they may consider other routes or, if it proves impossible, opt for an alternative goal.

"Other possibilities would be climbing Gasherbrum V [G5] or attempting a G5/G6 traverse," Dubouloz said. "Additionally, if the weather turns bad, we’re open to exploring the lesser-known 6,000m peaks around base camp."

These peaks could also serve as preparatory climbs.

Staying flexible

Adapting to conditions is one of the pair's assets. The last time they climbed together in the Himalaya was in the spring of 2024. On that occasion, they went to Nepal with 7,952m Gyachung Kang in mind. Then Welfringer got sick, and as they were running out of time, they ended up opening an excellent new alpine-style route up the vertiginous west face of neighboring 7,029m Hungchi.

“When you go on an expedition to the end of the world, things rarely happen as expected,” Dubouloz explained at the time.

The climbers plan to keep the same flexibility this year.

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A change of venue

The Gasherbrum massif will be a significant change for Welfringer after last summer, when he teamed up with Matteo Della Bordella, Silvan Schupbach, and Alex Gammeter on remote big walls in Eastern Greenland. The team achieved the first ascent of a 1,980m face.

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Dubouloz is also restless after a busy winter climbing, skiing, and flying at home in the Chamonix area and across Europe and northern Africa. Year after year, his name appears linked to some of the best expeditions in the Himalaya and the Karakoram. He is a regular partner of fellow hard-core visionaries Benjamin Vedrines and Tom Livingstone -- and, of course, Symon Welfringer.

Sergey Mironov and Mikhail Mironov are finally at a hospital in Skardu. Good weather allowed helicopters to pick up all the climbers from 6,100m on Gasherbrum IV. This included the Pakistani rescuers -- Yousuf Ali, Muhammad Ali, Ghulam Abass, and Muhammad Younus -- as well as Russian team member Evgeny Yablokov, who escaped the initial serac fall and returned to lend a hand.

Unfortunately, all attempts to find Sergey Nilov were in vain. A layer of fresh snow has covered the mountain, and pilots and rescuers searching the area found no trace of the Russian climber. The Russian Federation of Alpinism has confirmed that search efforts have been called off. Finally, Nilov's body will rest on the same mountain that took the life of his climbing partner, Dmitry Golovchenko, last year.

This whole tragic expedition, cut short by a deadly serac fall last Saturday, was an attempt to retrieve Golochenko's body.

Rescuers reached Sergey Mironov and Mikhail Mironov this morning on Gasherbrum IV and have helped them down to Advanced Base Camp at 6,100m. From here, it is possible to airlift them out. The injured Russian pair have been stranded since the serac collapse that killed their climbing partner, Sergey Nilov.

Evgeny Yablokov -- another survivor of the serac fall, who escaped injury -- and two Pakistani climbers reached the two Russians earlier today, despite constant snowfall and low visibility. Everyone then proceeded slowly down and reached Advanced Base Camp at around 3 pm Pakistan time today. Four other Pakistani rescuers airlifted to the mountain were waiting in Advanced Base Camp.

Feeling better

"Both climbers have come out of shock and feel better," Irina Morozova of the Russian Federation of Alpinism told ExplorersWeb. "Mikhail is walking on his own and in good condition. Sergey was administered painkillers. He can also move on his own with the support of the rescuers."

From ABC, they may be evacuated by helicopter. "The helicopter is ready to fly out for them," Morozova said. "They are currently monitoring the weather. If they can't fly out today, they will fly out tomorrow morning."

The rescuers couldn't find Sergey Nilov, who was directly hit by the falling serac and is presumed dead. Helicopter pilots reportedly saw his body during a reconnaissance flight on Sunday, but there are no photos or a confirmed location. In today's blizzard, rescuers couldn't find a trace of him.

On Gasherbrum IV, two injured climbers are struggling to descend on their own while a small team of Pakistani climbers, airlifted to the mountain during a short break in the weather, try to reach them on foot from Advanced Base Camp.

On Saturday, tragedy struck the Russian team that was trying to recover the remains of Dmitry Golovchenko, who died there in 2023. A serac fell as they proceeded up the highly dangerous icefall on the lower part of the mountain. It buried Sergey Nilov and hit Sergey Mironov and Mikhail Mironov. Nilov is presumed dead, and the two injured climbers are now stranded between 6,200m and 6,300m, fighting for their lives and trying to descend.

The two other climbers, Evgeni Yablokov and Alexey Bautin, were unharmed. They were airlifted and taken to Skardu. Since then, they have been trying to launch a rescue operation. The Russian Federation of Alpinism has stepped in to support the efforts and coordinate actions.

A lucky break

After the serac fall in which Nilov was buried, Mikhail and Sergey Mironov could not move. (Note that the two climbers share the same surname but are unrelated: Sergey Mironov is from Novosibirsk; Mikhail Mironov is from Moscow.) One of them is reportedly seriously injured, and they had lost most of their gear. Night was falling, and they had no resources.

But then, amid the disaster, they had a glimmer of good luck. In the ice rubble, they found Nilov's backpack and one of their own. They now had sleeping bags, ice axes, a stove to melt water, food, and most importantly, a first aid kit with painkillers. This gave them the chance to deal with their injuries enough to drag themselves 100 meters down. Here, they prepared to survive the night.

Monday: rescuers at 6,100m

This afternoon, during a short break in the unstable weather, two helicopters dropped off six Pakistani climbers at Advanced Base Camp (6,100m). Evgeni Yablokov, one of the icefall survivors, might be with them. The other survivor, Alexey Bautin, remains in Skardu, coordinating the rescue with the climbers' home team and the Russian Federation of Alpinism.

Shortly after the rescuers reached the mountain, it started snowing. They will try to get to the stranded climbers tomorrow morning.

Dire situation

The rescuers might be just some 200 vertical meters below the injured pair, but the situation remains difficult. The icefall on the lower part of Gasherbrum IV has many crevasses and highly unstable seracs. Sergey and Mikhail Mironov can hardly move. According to a brief radio contact, they heard the helicopter and were waiting for the rescuers to come up to them.

At the moment, there are no other climbers in Pakistan who could provide at least logistical support. Helicopter pilots said a longline operation was not an option due to the rough terrain.

At the tail end of the Karakoram season, Tom Livingstone of the UK and Ales Cesen of Slovenia opened a new route on the West Ridge of 7,958m Gasherbrum III. Back at home, the climbers have shared their thoughts on the feat.

The pair climbed in alpine style for seven days, and their resulting route, called Edge of Entropy, was only the mountain's third complete ascent.

Real-altitude challenge

Both climbers have excelled in highly technical routes on big mountains around the world, but Livingstone had dreamed for years about combining that extreme difficulty and the purity of style with the thin air of 8,000 meters.

"What is the hardest route you can climb, at the highest altitude? How far can you push it?" Livingstone wondered. In his own words:

Altitude is a huge challenge. It destroys you. Although I say ‘good effort’ to those who ascend mountains with supplemental oxygen, a track in the snow, tents in place, Sherpa support, fixed ropes and other teams around…They’re a universe apart from our practice of alpinism.

Gasherbrum III falls just 42m short of an 8,000'er, but as Livingstone points out, it is the 15th highest peak on Earth*. However, these measly few meters have left GIII off the collectors' list, and its technical difficulty and the messy approach up the tricky Gasherbrum Glacier make it rarely visited and little climbed. It is the perfect candidate for two serious alpinists. Livingstone and Cesen made their first attempt in 2022; this summer, they returned to finish the job.

(*NOTE: Altitude lists vary with selection criteria. For instance, Eberhard Jurgalski's 8000ers.com considers Gasherbrum III a subpeak of Gasherbrum II rather than an independent peak because it lacks enough prominence.)

Livingstone's hardest route ever

The climbers went up Gasherbrum III's West Ridge, a route previously attempted by a Scottish team in 1985. They climbed the route in one push and reached the summit on August 4.

"We pushed on a door to what we wondered was possible, shedding expectations, worries, and ideas," Livingstone reflected. "Alpinism is such a beautiful trap of what you want and what you need."

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As they went down the normal route, Livingstone and Cesen left their tent at Camp 1 on the Gasherbrum Glacier to be used by the only team left, a Russian group led by Sergey Nilov. Nilov was retrieving the body of Dmitry Golovchenko, who died last year as he and Nilov attempted a new route on Gasherbrum IV, the most technical peak in the area.

Ales Cesen of Slovenia and Tom Livingstone of the UK have summited Gasherbrum III.

There are no details yet on their route, but Cesen told Slovenia's Alpine Association that they returned safely back to Base Camp on Tuesday.

The pair first tried the mountain in 2022 but failed due to bad weather.

This time, Cesen only posted two updates from the Karakoram, while Livingstone remained silent on social media.

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Gasherbrum III is rarely visited and has been only summited twice. At 7,952m, the peak is 48 meters short of 8,000m status, and the approach is long and tricky. It requires climbing the Southwest Ridge of Gasherbrum II, then eventually turning left to Gasherbrum III. The team planned to use this Southwest Ridge to acclimatize before their final attempt.

Gasherbrum III was not climbed until a Polish expedition succeeded in 1975. Here, the legendary Wanda Rutkiewicz teamed up with Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, and Krzysztof Zdzitowiecki and climbed via the East Face. Basque climbers Alberto Inurrategi and Jon Beloki made the second ascent in 2004.

The weather awarded the climbers' patience, clearing up after constant snowfall and high winds through most of July. August is providing an unusual window for other patient climbers, such as Tracee Metcalf of the U.S., who summited Broad Peak today.

While several climbers have already returned to K2 Base Camp after summiting over the weekend, other teams topped out a little later and are still on the mountain. All climbed via the normal Abruzzi Spur route.

Nepalese guide Siddhi Tamang summited twice within 24 hours, matching Mingma Gyabu Sherpa's past achievement. Tamang summited on both July 28 and 29 while accompanying clients to the top.

Tommaso Sebastiano Lamantia of the Italian Alpine Club team reportedly summited alone, without bottled oxygen.

Australian Allie Pepper continued her summit list by climbing K2 without bottled oxygen. She topped out with Mikel Sherpa, her usual guide. Madison Mountaineering had 18 people on the summit, including Garrett Madison. Summiters with Seven Summit Treks included Jorge Egochega of Spain and Valery Babanov of Russia.  Nepalese sherpas and Pakistani climbers also summited, including Ali Durani, who celebrated the third K2 ascent of his career.

Jean-Yves Fredriksen, climbing alone via the Cesen route, also summited. At Camp 3, the Cesen route joins the normal route.

Sultana Nasab was the only member of the Pakistani Women's Expedition to K2 to successfully reach the top.

It seems that Fredriksen and new K2 speed record holder Benjamin Vedrines did not paraglide down from the summit. This was possibly due to restrictions from local authorities after a recent paragliding tragedy.

Pakistan's Naila Kiani led a team to retrieve the body of Mohammad Hassan Shigri, who died last year on the Traverse, above the Bottleneck. Yesterday, Kiani's group brought down Hassan's body to Camp 4. From here, they will carry it to the lower camps.

Gasherbrums and Broad Peak

Marco Camandona of Italy summited Gasherbrum I, thereby completing his 14x8,000m series. Several climbers also summited Broad Peak, including an Italian party.

Uta Ibrahimi and Waldemar Kowalewski have summited Gasherbrum II this week.

According to Ali Saltoro of Alpine Adventure Guides, the Italians who summited Broad Peak are now heading to K2.

We are still waiting for news about Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima. In the meantime, dozens of climbers summited 8,611m K2 this morning. There are also more summits on Broad Peak and Gasherbrum I.

Given all the delays, speed climber Benjamin Vedrines lowered his expectations by suggesting that he might summit K2 in two days instead of one. However, he reached the top today. We are waiting for confirmation about his time and whether or not he paraglided down.

According to Chhang Dawa Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, a group of SST sherpas and clients summited at around 9 am this morning.

According to Dawa, several teams collaborated with the rope fixing. From Base Camp to Camp 1, the Italian expedition did the work. From Camp 1 to 150m below Camp 3, Seven Summit Treks rope fixers took over. Imagine Nepal continued from there to Camp 3. Then Seven Summit Treks again fixed to lower Camp 4. From lower Camp 4 to the Bottleneck, Madison Mountaineering, 8K Expeditions, Imagine Nepal, Glacier Himalayan, and Seven Summit Treks combined forces.

Finally, from the Bottleneck to the summit, a mixed team led by Mingtemba Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks fixed the ropes. Mingtemba made his fourth successful ascent of K2. Sirbaz Khan of Pakistan also assisted in the fixing work.

Dozens of summits

Today's summiters included eight clients and 10 sherpas from Imagine Nepal, nine clients and sherpas from 8K Expeditions, Da Dendi Sherpa from Mashabrum Expeditions, and others.

In a glimmer of good news for Japan in what has otherwise been a terrible year for climbers from that country, Naoko Watanabe summited K2 for the third time, thus becoming the first woman to do so three times.

Jean Yves Fredriksen is climbing no-O2 via the Cesen route. It seems he is the only one on that route. According to his tracker, he was at 8,000m this morning, above where the Cesen and Abruzzi routes converge.

Broad Peak

More teams have topped out on Broad Peak. Yesterday, a team that included Abid Baig of Pakistan and climbers from Italy, Peru, Canada, and Romania summited. Today, Jean Descat from France, along with two sherpas and Ricardo Segreste of Mexico, successfully summited at 10:11 am.

Gasherbrum I and II

Dorota Rasinska Sanocko of Poland has summited Gasherbrum I. We are waiting for outfitters to release the names of other climbers who also reached the top.

Lukasz Supergan and Pawel Wikowski from Poland aimed to climb Gasherbrum II without bottled oxygen but had to turn around. They are now back in Base Camp.

The Poles spent the first weeks of the expedition searching for a route through the icefall, which drained a lot of energy at the start. For the past few days, they have hunkered down at Camp 1 near 6,000m, waiting for a weather window.

"Each day, the forecast promised a sunny day, and each day, we woke up covered with 20 to 30 cm of snow."

They finally climbed the ridge to Camp 2 but that was as far as they managed. The weather is poor again, and no other window is forecast for the near future, so Supergan and Witkowsi called it quits.

As Gasherbrum II summiters return to Base Camp, they are sharing some details of their difficult climb -- long hours in fog, high winds, and breaking trail on both summit days.

On Broad Peak, many frustrated climbers have abandoned the mountain, while a few still hope for a last-minute push, despite uncertain weather and questions about the fixed ropes.

No FKT for Druelle

Vadim Druelle returned to Base Camp yesterday after his fast, single-push ascent of Gasherbrum II in tough conditions. Druelle left Base Camp at 4:55 pm and reached the summit 17 hours, 17 minutes later. He told his home team that he started on his own from Base Camp.

At around 7,000m, he caught up with a team going for the summit. From that point, Druelle broke trail through fresh snow until he reached the highest point on July 22 at 10:12 am local time.

As usual on the 8,000'ers, it is hard to establish an official FKT since previous fast climbs typically didn't record their exact starting point. Conditions on the route also vary widely. But however fast Druelle was -- and he was fast -- he can't claim an FKT. In 1997, Anatoli Boukreev of Kazakhstan went alone from Advanced Base Camp (5,800m) to the summit in 9 hours 30 min.

Base Camp on Gasherbrum II is located on the moraine and varies in altitude. Uta Ibrahimi's tracker shows the altitude of this year's Base Camp is 5,100m.

Summit marathon

Ibrahimi and Sanu Sherpa needed 30 hours from Camp 2 (at around 6,400m) to the top and back. Thanks to their marathon effort, they reached the summit at 7 am Pakistan time on July 21. Theirs were the first summits of the year on Gasherbrum II. Ibrahimi of Albania-Kosovo has now completed all the 8,000m peaks in Pakistan.

"I summited at 10 am [on July 21], after almost 23 hours of summit push from 6,500m," Dorota Rasinska-Samocko, climbing with Seven Summit Treks, wrote on social media. "We were opening the trail, there were a lot of crevasses and strong wind on the ridge. We set off looking for a route from Camp 3 because there were no fixed lines, and traverses were really dangerous."

According to SST, more climbers topped out today.

So far, no one has attempted Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, this season. But SST said today it still hopes to lead a team to its summit in the next few days.

Unhappy clients on Broad Peak

On Broad Peak, the situation remains confusing. Climbers in Base Camp confirm that the rope fixers retreated from the mountain with no apparent intention of climbing again. As a result, several have decided to call their expedition off, including Andres Vilalta and Cristobal Cuello of Spain.

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Some climbers -- who wished to remain anonymous -- told ExplorersWeb that the rope-fixing team retrieved gear and supplies as they went down to Base Camp. Previous posts on social media denouncing the ropes situation have been deleted, hinting at a tense situation.

Expedition leaders met in Base Camp yesterday evening and decided to try one last time if the weather improves in the next few days. However, the fixed ropes end below the Col, and there are no ropes on the long summit ridge. So even if the weather cooperates, we will have to see how this plays out.

Several oxygen-assisted climbers summited Gasherbrum II yesterday and today. Others turned back and are heading home.

Young speedster Vadim Druelle of France bagged his second no-O2 8,000m peak in just 12 days, after Nanga Parbat. He will give more details when he is back in Base Camp.

Sashko Kedev of Slovenia and Tracee Metcalf of the U.S. summited with Imagine Nepal's Sherpas Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Kilu Pemba Sherpa, and Angdu Sherpa. The climbers spent three windy nights in Camp 2, waiting for an opportunity to summit.

This is Tracee Metcalf's 10th 8,000'er. After the deaths of Anna Gutu and Gina Rzudidlo on Shisha Pangma last year, the medical doctor is now closest to becoming the first American woman to complete the 14x8,000'ers. However, she has clearly stated that she is in no hurry.

Seven Summit Treks, whose team bagged the first summits yesterday, noted today that Nhadira Al Harthi and Pasang Sherpa also reached the top.

Success and failure

Lukasz Supergan and Pawel Witkowski of Poland reached Camp 3 yesterday and then retreated as planned. They didn't intend to summit on this go since they still needed a last rotation before attempting a no-O2 ascent. They are prepared to wait patiently in Base Camp until it is safe to try again.

Supergan noted that Seven Summit Treks' oxygen-aided ascents yesterday took 17 hours and that several climbers retreated during the marathon push.

"Georges Abou Rjeili reached 7,400m and started to go back down," Supergan wrote. "Laszlo Csomor descended to C2, very tired. He said he had searched for a route on the summit dome [to the very top] without success.

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Among those who retreated were Horia Colibasanu and Silviu Balan. Climbing without oxygen and therefore more vulnerable to frostbite, they turned around in bitter cold. Colibasanu noted that some sections carried a moderate risk of avalanches. This marks the end of their expedition; they are currently running down the Baltoro to catch a flight home.

A last try on Broad Peak

At the meeting that took place among all the climbers left at Broad Peak Base Camp last night, they eventually decided to make another attempt, according to Shehroze Kashif of Pakistan.

"The rope-fixing team will depart in a day, followed by the climbers," he wrote.

Now 22, Kashif summited Broad Peak at 17, earning him the nickname Broad Boy. He now has only Shisha Pangma left to complete the 14x8,000m. He has also started his own outfitting company and has a small team of Pakistani clients and porters who will join the upcoming last-minute attempt.

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Gasherbrum II had its first summits of an unstable weather season today.

According to Seven Summit Treks, its Sherpa rope fixers led the way. Six clients came after them: Alina Pekova of Russia, Dorota Lidia Rasinska-Samocko of Poland, Josette Valloton of Switzerland, Marco Camandona of Italy, and Shahida Jamil Afridi and Rana Hassan Javaid of Pakistan.

The Nepalese workers supporting the clients and fixing the ropes were Pasang Tenje Sherpa, Dawa Nurbu Sherpa, Chhangba Sherpa, Phurbu Kusang Sherpa and Pasang Dukpa Sherpa of Nepal.

Summit Karakoram reported that Uta Ibrahimi of Albania-Kosovo and Sanu Sherpa of Nepal also summited at around 7 am.

Updates are expected from no-O2 climbers advancing on their own, without guides. These include Horia Colibasanu and Silviu Balan of Romania and Lukasz Supergan of Poland.

Horia Colibasanu reached Camp 3 (between 7,000m and 7,200m) today.

Uta Ibrahimi's tracker shows that she set off for the summit from 7,200m, suggesting that instead of a Camp 3 and a Camp 4 on the normal route, climbers this year have pitched a higher Camp 3.

Sylvain Saudan inspired a generation of young skiers before the term "freeride" existed. He was also the first to complete a ski descent down an 8,000m peak, Gasherbrum I. He died last Sunday at 87.

Those familiar with this true adventurer may doubt this sad news -- not surprisingly, since Saudan was supposed to have died several times before. A block of ice fell on his tent on Dhaulagiri, killing two partners. A plane he was in crash-landed on Monterosa, in the Italian Alps.

Years later, he led a heli-tour in the Indian Himalaya when the helicopter crashed. Saudan was 71 at the time. The media announced the crash as fatal, but Saudan escaped unharmed. He was fit enough to lead his clients on skis away from the crash site. When they made it safely out, he read his own obituaries.

“I am one of the rare people who already knows what will be written about me after my death,” The Financial Times quoted him as saying.

It thus seems almost odd that, when the end came, he was peacefully at home.

Pioneer extreme skier

Saudan's reputation did not come from his brushes with death but from his extreme ski descents. If 50º is still considered steep today, imagine that angle with the material and techniques of the 1960s.

Saudan was raised near Verbier, Switzerland. Like nearly every child in the area, he learned to ski at a very young age and soon became a ski instructor. However, he eventually far surpassed his colleagues in skill and daring. In 1967, he skied down local couloirs and faces that were so outrageous it prompted his neighbors and fellow skiers to say, "That's impossible" -- hence his nickname.

For a time, he went from stunt to stunt. He even trained on rock and pebble slopes, claiming that if he could ski on such a surface, he could ski on any kind of snow. Check the video below.

In 1967, two 45º descents in the Alps were his way of training for his first great feat: the 55º degree Couloir Spencer on the Aiguille de Blaitière in the Mont Blanc massif. More dramatic descents in the Alps, North America, and the Himalaya followed. In Pakistan's Karakoram in 1982, he achieved his most famous descent: Gasherbrum I.

It was not only the first complete ski descent of an 8,000'er. At the time, it was also the longest 50º degree slope anyone had ever skied. The descent required that Saudan link 3,000 meters of jump-turns, a technique he invented that revolutionized steep, narrow ski descents.

The weather has not improved much, but impatient climbers are heading off anyway. "People are tired of sitting in Base Camp, so off they go," said Waldemar Kowalewski, currently on Gasherbrum II.

Because of unstable weather, Gasherbrum II climbers are simply hoping to reach at least Camp 3. If conditions allow, they may go for the top.

On Broad Peak, climbers are equally uncertain but will try to summit this weekend.

Broad Peak: Summit Saturday

Jean-Francois Descat of France reports on Livexplorer.com that he joined 20 to 30 people for a meeting in Base Camp yesterday.

"Consensus is to attempt the summit during the night of July 19-20," Descat wrote.

He intends to set up Camp 2 tomorrow, spend the night there, move to Camp 3 in the morning, rest, and then set off for the summit that night. He will take two bottles of oxygen and a porter to at least Camp 3.

Climbers will have to be careful. Tom Kitta of Canada earlier reported a big avalanche along the normal route on Broad Peak. It did not hit him, but he had to help Donatella Barbera (climbing with an Italian team from CAI Biella). Barbera was partly buried but uninjured.

Kitta explained that avalanches release frequently, but they are usually small. "The fresh snow is very sticky but does not adhere to the sugar-snow layer beneath," he explained.

Gasherbrum II: Camp 3 and then will see

Waldemar Kowalewski of Poland, who is with Seven Summits Climb, told the Alpymon blog that it is extremely hot at the glacier.

It's also foggy, according to recent photos from Horia Colibasanu and Silviu Balan. The Romanians, who climb without oxygen or porters, are skiing across the tricky, heavily crevassed glacier to Camp 1. Located at 6,000, that camp marks the start of the mountain face.

Lukasz Supergan, also from Poland, shares the frustration of hearing good weather forecasts that never come true.

"Every night, we plan our ascent and the snowfall always prevents us from going," he explained. He added that today, he joined a group to Camp 1. The plan is to continue at least to Camp 3.

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Uta Ibrahimi is also attempting Gasherbrum II after aborting her expedition on Kangchenjunga earlier this year. This time, Ibraimi's husband, Metodi Chilimanov, is with her.

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Her tracker locates her on the South Gasherbrum Glacier on the way to Camp 1.

K2 has to wait

The current weather conditions will force a later summit push on K2. Many climbers are now gathering in Base Camp, including some recent Nanga Parbat summiters. The route must be ready to Camp 4 before a summit push is viable, but the weather is not cooperating. Climbers have gone only as far as Camp 2 to acclimatize in variable weather.

Several teams reported that a big avalanche fell down K2 yesterday. The slide began at the serac maze right below Camp 1 and fell down toward Base Camp. No one was injured.

The route to Camp 1 on the Gasherbrums is finally open, but crossing the hazardous glacier remains difficult, as Horia Colibasanu's close call shows.

The start of the Gasherbrum season was quite chaotic, as the few teams in place -- mainly small groups of independent climbers -- tried to find a way through the broken Gasherbrum Glacier. Each followed a different path but shared information on their progress. For many days, there was, frankly, not a lot of progress to share.

Searching for a passage

Lukasz Supergan of Poland tried again last week. He and his partner managed to reach 5,300m. Progress was slow on the dangerous terrain in the dark, but the sun destabilized the glacier even more, making night travel preferable. After they returned, they learned that a French team had finally found a way to Camp 1.

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"The French team was thus the first to open a route through the icefall this year," Supergan reported. "A day later, the Seven Summits Treks team came out to the icefall, with their nine Sherpas, who know the route from the previous year. In one outing, they crossed the route on the left, where we were operating, and opened access to the plateau above the icefall...so now we have two routes to choose from."

The Polish climber planned to hurry to Camp 1 for a first acclimatization trip. The idea was to return to Base Camp before tomorrow's expected snowstorm.

For the task, he joined with Luke Smithwick's American team and with Romanians Horia Colibasanu and Silviu Balan. They reached Camp 1 at 6,000m yesterday.

"The trail was much longer and harder than I thought," Colibasanu wrote. "[It was] hot even at 3 am when we left."

Everyone was on skis, which made the going somewhat easier.

Snow bridge collapses

However, the skis didn't save Colibasanu when a snow bridge collapsed under his weight, plunging the climber into a crevasse. Colibasanu described what happened next:

After they both kept me on the rope, I asked them to drop me a meter below. Although they hesitated for a moment, not believing that I enjoyed the crevasse so much, they simultaneously executed the maneuver and lowered me onto an ice sill about six meters deep. There I managed to put my skis and backpack down on a 40cm ledge, put on my crampons and take the two ice axes from the backpack.

 

I [wondered if I should] abandon the skis, but I didn't, thinking that I would need them later, even though I knew that it would be much more difficult to get out of the crevasse with the skis on the pack...

At a signal of the loudest possible shout from the crevasse, the boys began to pull the rope, and I, on ice axes, began to advance toward the exit. The last two meters, the wall became overhanging, so I...passed to the other side of the crevasse. The biggest problem was the actual exit, because the edges were snow, not ice, and the axes didn't stick. Finally, pushing myself with my legs I managed to lean my chest on the edge and take off my backpack and push it over the crevasse.A strong pull of Silviu's rope and I was safe, breathless. Fortunately, without a single scratch.

Denis Urubko is finally at the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu. Doctors are treating his frostbitten hands.

The jeep driving Urubko from Jhola reached town at nearly 4 am this morning. The Russian climber will now receive medical assistance and a diagnosis, according to which, he'll decide when to fly back to Islamabad.

Preliminary reports from doctors are optimistic and point to a full recovery according to Urubko's home team.

Urubko has communicated with friends, sounding strong and confident on the phone. He explained that he endured constant snowfall and poor visibility from Goro II (which is still on the Baltoro Glacier) to the end of the road at Jhola.

Urubko made the entire trip in just two days, despite a lack of rest and frostbite. He is well aware that every minute counts with frostbite that requires treatment.

Denis Urubko is finally on the road to Skardu where he will receive treatment for the frostbite he sustained during his attempt on Gasherbrum I.

Urubko reached the Jhola camp at around 5:30 pm today, Pakistan time. He immediately boarded a 4x4 vehicle that was waiting to drive him directly to the military hospital in Skardu.

Despite his injuries, Urubko has kept a remarkable pace on his trek back from Base Camp. Helicopters were reportedly ready to perform an aerial pickup but weather conditions kept them grounded. This left Urubko with no choice but to trek back to a road under his own power.

Urubko's home team confirmed that the expedition cook accompanied him on the trek to Jhola. The pair covered 80km and 2,200m of descent, on glacier and rock, in just two days.

Denis Urubko is on his way to Skardu for proper treatment of his frostbitten right hand. His friends (in Pakistan and abroad) have been coordinating to ask for evacuation options, but in the end, the best resource is Urubko himself. Nothing if not hardcore, Urubko is moving at a remarkably fast pace.

According to the latest news, Urubko reached Goro II today. He then passed Urdukas' military camp and continued toward Kobutse, near the Paju camp usually used in summer. At this speed, he might get to Jhola (also spelled Jhula) camp tomorrow, one day earlier than expected. This is crucial, jeeps are waiting for him there, ready to drive him to Skardu Hospital.

Running for the road

In the morning, Urubko's friends considered sending a helicopter for an emergency airlift. Unfortunately, the weather is very bad in the Baltoro area, so flying was not an option.

Sources consulted by Explorersweb mentioned no insurance issues, only bad weather is preventing aerial pickup.

Urubko was trying to climb Gasherbrum I in winter. He counted on the help of Hassan Shigri to traverse the dangerous glacier up to 6,500m. From that point, he planned to continue solo.

The attempt came to an abrupt end when Urubko fell six or seven meters into a crevasse at roughly 5,500m on the glacier. Shigri needed an hour to drag him out in worsening weather and, in the process, Urubko sustained frostbite.

Denis Urubko's bold attempt to climb Gasherbrum I in Pakistan, solo, in winter, has come to a dramatic end. The Russian climber is walking back to Skardu with serious frostbite on his right hand after falling into a crevasse. Luckily, someone was there to help.

Encouraged by good weather, Urubko planned to reach Camp 2 at 6,500m. But while crossing the dangerous Gasherbrum Glacier at around 5,500m, he fell six or seven meters into a crevasse. Urubko remained inside for at least an hour until Pakistani climber Hassan Shigri, who accompanied him from Base Camp to Camp 2 at the top of the glacier, managed to drag him out.

By the time Urubko returned to a tent, his right hand was frostbitten. The injuries require immediate treatment but according to Desnivel, Urubko's insurance is, for some reason, inactive. For that reason, Urubko has started the long walk back to Skardu in the midwinter Karakoram.

He hopes to get treatment at the town's military hospital. Wasting no time, Urubko hopes to reach town in two days. It will be a hard trek back but at least he has survived the fall and can walk down the Baltoro Glacier under his own power.

Denis Urubko reached the Gasherbrums base camp on Jan. 20. Each day, he sends short messages via a satellite device to his partner back in Spain, Pipi Cardell.

Journalist Laszlo Pinter received some interesting information from Urubko, via Cardell:

"After eight days of trekking, we arrived at the base camp at 5,000m. Several porters fell ill, the loads were heavy. There was about 30cm of snow on the trail at 4,400m. Fortunately, there was no serious wind. The temperature was -15°C during the day and about -30°C at night. Gasherbrum I is shrouded in clouds, not visible, but I can feel its power. A special giant, its past is extreme, with many tragedies and triumphs. But our summer success with Maria Jose Cardell will help me plan the winter ascent."

Gradual progress

Urubko mentioned that the base camp stands on a secure platform, protected from stormy winds. He has started to scout ahead, taking a look at the descent route on the glacier. On Jan. 22, he planned to find a way through the icefall.

The next step is to find the route to Camp 2 at 6,400m. "Pakistani climber Hassan Shigri is very strong, Ibrahim the cook is a real specialist, liaison officer Shahzeib is positive, assistant Nizar is attentive. The team is ready," Urubko said.

On Jan. 21, a few further details from Urubko were posted on Cardell’s social media. Urubko reported that they broke trail in 30-80cm of snow and made it through the icefall to 5,150m. They deposited some gear before returning to base camp.

On Jan. 22, Urubko reported that he was back in base camp after reaching 5,400m.

"[There are] many crevasses, lots of snow, fixed ropes," he wrote. Today, Urubko and Shigri will try to reach Camp 1.

The main stage of Denis Urubko's winter expedition to Gasherbrum I will begin soon. Urubko's small convoy is expected to reach Base Camp today. The camp, located at 5,000m, is common to both Gasherbrum I and II, but it is quite far from the peaks. To reach them, climbers need to find a route across the hazardous Gasherbrum glacier.  For Gasherbrum I, the base of the peak is at 6,500m.

The glacier

As Urubko mentioned before his departure, "he is not crazy" and knows that venturing into the heavily crevassed glacier alone would be close to suicide. The glacier is particularly dangerous in winter when it is drier and crevasses are wide open.

Therefore, Urubko will rope up with local climber Hassan Shigri. While not confirmed by either climber, hopefully, Shigri will then wait for Urubko while he climbs the peak. Urubko will ascend alone, via the normal route.

Expect little news

Urubko spent a last night in Shama military camp yesterday, on the edge of the Gasherbrum Glacier. "There will be no more internet," he warned. Any further news will likely be via his partner Pipi Cardell who might post to social media.

Denis Urubko is underway in a wintery and exceptionally dry Karakoram. Today, he reached Goro II camp at 4,000m, two days away from Gasherbrum Base Camp.

Urubko left Skardu on Jan. 12 after a couple of days acclimatizing on peaks near town. He is now heading to Base Camp at a relaxed pace. His convoy numbers 15 people, including porters and camp staff.

The team reached Kobutse Camp, located in front of the Trango Towers, on Monday. Yesterday, they reached Urdukas and today they made it to Goro II. The next stop will surely be Concordia, before the final stage to Base Camp.

An unusually dry Karakoram

On the way, the team reported extremely dry conditions. It is cold and windy, but they only saw the first snowflakes en route to Goro II earlier today.

Urubko intends to start his winter ascent of Gasherbrum I in February. He will rope up with local climber Hassan Shigri to traverse the heavily crevassed Gasherbrum glacier to 6,500m. From there, Urubko will launch a solo, alpine-style attempt on the mountain. It is not clear whether he will acclimatize any further before the final push.

Denis Urubko has finally reached Pakistan about 10 days late. He is en route to Gasherbrum I. Meanwhile, Moeses Fiamoncini of Brazil has joined the Winter Annapurna team. They are currently waiting for better weather to begin their summit push.

Acclimatization first

According to Urubko's expedition plan, he will spend January acclimatizing, and then climb Gasherbrum I in February. Local climber Hassan Shigri will accompany Urubko across the treacherous Gasherbrum Glacier, up to 6,500m. Urubko will then continue on his own toward the summit.

Urubko had a chance to explore the face carefully during his attempt to open a new line last summer, but he now intends to do a variation of the normal route.

Fiamoncini joins Winter Annapurna

In Nepal, Alex Txikon's team continues to wait for good weather. Chhepal Sherpa recently posted some videos of their recent work in Camp 3, digging snow platforms for the tents:

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Seven Summit Treks has confirmed that Moeses Fiamoncini of Brazil has joined the group.  We are trying to contact the Brazilian for details.

Fiamoncini attempted Annapurna last spring but retreated 70 meters shy of the summit. On the way down, he witnessed Indian climber Anurag Maloo fall into a crevasse.

Gasherbrum I, or Hidden Peak, lies in the Karakoram on the border between Pakistan and China. It's 8,080m high and has a prominence of 2,155m. This eleventh-highest mountain in the world was first ascended on July 5, 1958 via the north side by Americans Pete Schoening and Andy Kauffman, members of an eight-man team led by Nick Clinch.

In 2011, Canadian Louis Rousseau, Austrian Gerfried Goschl, and Spaniard Alex Txikon spent more than 50 days on the first winter attempt on Gasherbrum I. The approach from Askole to Base Camp marked the first time that anyone had done that trek in winter. It took them a week.

On Jan. 31, 2011, they reached Base Camp at 5,100m. According to Rousseau and Goschl's report for the American Alpine Journal, the temperatures at night ranged from minus -20˚C to -30˚C.

Two days later, on Feb. 2, Denis Urubko, Simone Moro, and Cory Richards summited Gasherbrum II without bottled oxygen or porters. Thus, they became the first to climb a Pakistani 8,000m peak. They had a close call on the way down when an avalanche buried them, but they freed themselves and descended safely. Cory Richards documented that climb in the film, Cold.

South Face winter attempt

The other team's success buoyed the spirits of Goschl, Txikon, and Rousseau. They decided to attempt the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I along a partially new route.

They planned to follow the couloir and ridge close to the right edge of the triangular rock face that forms the left side of the west-southwest face of 7,069m Gasherbrum South. At the top of the triangle at about 6,800m, they would cross the upper section of the southeast ridge. Here, at 7,500m, they'd join the 1958 American route.

On Feb. 4, 2011, the trio started up. But from that day until the first days of March, the weather was poor, and clouds covered the sky. They worked hard up a steep slope of rotten rock and hard ice to establish a camp at 6,300m.

On March 9, they reached 6,650m after climbing 1,500m of new ground. But the final 200m of a 70˚ ice slope proved unclimbable for them. They had to turn around.

They had a second chance a few days later when their weather forecaster, Karl Gabl, announced a fresh weather window. This time, the three decided to make an alpine-style attempt of the standard route up the Japanese Couloir.

They surmounted the couloir at 7,050m. Here, they spent the night. The next morning, 80kph winds forced them to retreat. They reached Base Camp on March 15.

On July 13 of that same year, Goschl climbed Gasherbrum I with several others, despite bad snow conditions. After that successful summer expedition, he decided to give winter another try and returned to GI the next year.

Winter 2012

"Since I now know the mountain very well from both sides...I want to make the first winter ascent of Hidden Peak, climb a new route to the summit, and complete the first traverse of an 8,000er peak in winter," he stated boldly.

Goschl planned to finish the South Face route to the summit, then descend the normal way on the opposite side with an international team. But in February 2012, the headwall -- a steep wall on the glacier plateau over which the international expedition's new route ran -- was accessible only with difficulty.

He and his partners made a first attempt but failed to advance beyond the headwall. But the forecast promised another spell of good weather around March 8-9.

Goeschl's team shared Base Camp with a Polish group, led by Artur Hajzer, which also wanted to make the first winter ascent of Hidden Peak. The Poles planned to follow the normal route and summit on March 9.

Goschl and two partners, Cedric Hahlen of Switzerland and Nisar Hussain Sadpara of Pakistan reached Camp 2 at around 7,000m on March 7. They planned to summit in the early afternoon of March 8.

Tragedy strikes

However, on March 8, Goschl, Hahlen, and Sadpara managed to reach just 7,630m after 7.5 hours. Another 450m remained to the summit. Around 10:30 am, Goschl, Hahlen, and Sadpara made a satellite phone call. Shortly after that, they lost touch.

From Base Camp, Alex Txikon, a member of the international team, last spotted the three climbers about 250m below the summit. That was the last known location of Goschl and his small team. During that whole time, both sides of the mountain were enveloped in strong winds and storms.

Adam Bielecki and Janusz Golab from the Polish team finally summited in almost no wind and clear skies via the normal route on March 9, at 8.30 am. By the time they returned to Camp 3, around the time that Goschl made their last satphone call, the weather had already begun to change. By 5 pm that day, the weather had deteriorated, with fog and a very strong wind.

"We succeeded but sadly our friends...just ran out of time," recalled Hajzer afterward. The strong winds may have blown them off the mountain. On March 10, a multiday rescue operation began, but neither a helicopter nor searchers on the ground could find any trace of the missing climbers.

Artur Hajzer, who failed to summit with Golab and Bielecki, returned the following summer to attempt Gasherbrum I again. He died on July 7, 2013, after a fall in the Japanese Couloir.

During a lecture in a small mountain club in northern Spain yesterday, Denis Urubko mentioned that he wanted to climb Gasherbrum I this winter. Social media and news sites hurried to announce the upcoming expedition. But when we asked Urubko himself, he was less certain.

"I still have no money," he admitted. "I was sharing a wish with the public, but nothing is confirmed."

Urubko says he might have to decide at the very last minute.

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Urubko and partner Pipi Cardell attempted a new route on Gasherbrum I this past summer. First, they summited the peak's normal route for acclimatization. Then they launched two alpine-style pushes up a new route, but bad conditions forced them back both times, first from 6,400m and then from 6,750m.

Urubko could indeed put together one of his minimalist expeditions quickly. Typically, just he and one partner go in pure alpine style. For such a veteran, there's not a lot of organizing. However, money is always an issue for small teams focused on highly committed alpinism. Many sponsors these days rank social-media impact over alpine excellence. And the latest decision by Pakistan's authorities isn't helping.

No more winter discounts

This winter, for the first time in years, the Gilgit-Baltistan government has eliminated the winter discounts (up to 95%!) for permits to all peaks above 6,500m. Until now, winter royalty fees were largely symbolic. It was an attractive incentive for small teams, such as Goetler and Barmasse on Nanga Parbat last January, and also for the big winter K2 expeditions.

In Nepal, the peaks high enough to require a permit have an off-season 50% discount. This applies both to the summer (monsoon-affected) and winter seasons. Alex Txikon, heading to winter Annapurna with a sherpa team, will benefit from the cost savings.

But with the new measure, climbing a Pakistani peak in winter will cost just as much as it does in summer. Pakistan has a $12,000 group fee for K2, and $9,500 for its other four 8,0000'ers  -- Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II. The group fee covers up to seven members. Additional members must pay $3,000 each. These fees have risen by over 75% since 2020.

Some Western outfitters told ExplorersWeb that further increases are expected in 2024, but there's been no official announcement yet.

What is winter for Gasherbrum I?

Adam Bielecki and Janusz Golab of Poland first climbed winter Gasherbrum I on March 9, 2012. The date lies well within the calendar winter. However, Denis Urubko is a purist who insists on using meteorological winter, from December 1 until the end of February, to classify that climbing season. By this standard, Bielecki and Golab did an early spring ascent. Read more about the debate over winter climbing expeditions here.

Quiet season ahead

Ali Saltoro of  Alpine Adventure Guides Pakistan told ExplorersWeb that currently, there is not a single application for 2024 winter expeditions on peaks above 6,500m.

"In the next few months, we only expect a handful of backcountry skiers," Saltoro said.

Poland's Maciej Kimel will climb in Pakistan next February, but not on the higher peaks. If all goes according to plan, he and Michal Krol will launch a second winter attempt on Trango Tower.

The teams heading for peaks lower than 6,500m only need to pay a trekking fee of $50 and an extra environmental fee of $150. Urubko himself used this kind of permit in winter 2022-23 when he climbed a new route on Koshar Gang, a 6,400m peak near Skardu. His partners on that climb were Anton Kravchenko, Andrew Shlyapnikov, and Max Berngard.

Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golovchenko were one of the leading pairs in high-altitude, high-difficulty alpinism. They had already won two Piolets d'Or. Now they were set to write another golden page in the history of exploratory mountaineering on the southeast ridge of Gasherbrum IV. It is one of the most beautiful, yet rarely attempted, mountains in the world. We wrote that this could well be the best climb of the year.

Today, Sergey Nilov is preparing to return home to Russia, alone. His friend and climbing companion for years, Dmitry Golovchenko perished last week. His body will remain at nearly 7,000m on Gasherbrum IV for the foreseeable future. The aerial recovery operation has been called off.

"Nilov, who had initial treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu, has returned to Islamabad and is currently preparing for his travel home," Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club, told ExplorersWeb. "He is now in better health."

Haidri sent an image of himself and Nilov, who looks anything but healthy.

Exactly what happened remains unclear

"At the debriefing session held at the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Nilov verified the demise of Dmitry Golovchenko during the attempt to summit Gasherbrum IV," Haidri confirmed. "He said that the Golovchenko family is trying to lower his body from the elevated camps."

If the recovery happens, it will not be a helicopter operation. The aerial mission has been finally called off. A ground team might be able to climb to where Nilov left his friend's body wrapped in a tent, but that is a risky (and pricey) option, and winter is just around the corner in Pakistan.

Only Nilov knows exactly what happened on Gasherbrum IV between August 30 and September 4-5, when Nilov managed to return on his own to the Base Camp. It is hard even to imagine his solitary descent down a highly difficult route, frostbitten and in shock, across two icefalls. Nilov's survival shows what a truly world-class climber he is.

The images below from Golovchenko's Instagram account show Nilov during a climbing day on Jannu, in 2019:

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Sergey Nilov has confirmed that Dmitry Golovchenko perished on Gasherbrum IV. Now, Pakistan's helicopter pilots will ponder their options regarding a recovery mission that seems nearly impossible.

Details are still sketchy because (among other reasons) Nilov reportedly speaks little English. However, he managed to tell rescuers and Base Camp crew that he reached Golovchenko, verified that he had died, and wrapped the body in their tent. Then he returned on his own to Base Camp.

Too high for a long line

Nilov has pointed out the approximate place where he left Golovchenko. Unfortunately, the spot (shown in the feature image illustrating this story) is at about 6,850m, beyond the flight ceiling of Pakistan's helicopters.

Rescue teams have not yet decided on the next steps in their recovery effort. Today, the weather is bad and no flights are expected.

As for Nilov, rescuers transferred him to Islamabad today. Karrar Haidri, secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, confirmed to ExplorersWeb that Nilov will return to Russia for treatment.

News from Gasherbrum IV is short and somber: Sergey Nilov was flown to the hospital in Skardu today, and the search mission to try and find Golovchenko has been called off for the moment, sources from Base Camp said.

As per the sources, Nilov flew yesterday to Paiju Camp, a two-day trek from Skardu along the Baltoro route, for a preliminary health check at the military post there. He had minor frostbite and exhaustion. However, Nilov said that he was feeling well enough to return to the mountain in the rescue helicopter, to show the pilots where his partner had fallen.

In the end, bad weather prevented the helicopters from returning to the mountain. Since then, the military aviation authorities have been waiting for further instructions from Golovkencho's family, and Nilov has transferred to the hospital in Skardu.

Nilov's condition is currently stable, according to mountain.ru. The severity of his injuries varies depending on the source, but he seems to be recovering.

Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golovchenko were attempting a new route on the southeast ridge of Gasherbrum IV, a route never before attempted. They climbed in a long, alpine-style push. For three weeks, they had remained on the mountain. Climbing off-season, they were the only climbers left in the Karakoram at the time.

Sources at Gasherbrum Base Camp have confirmed the story and added that Pakistan Army helicopters are ready to fly to the mountain and try to locate Golovchenko. Unfortunately, the weather is very bad.

New high-difficulty route

Golovchenko and Nilov were on their third week alone above 7,000m, on a completely unknown route up the southeast ridge of Gasherbrum IV.

They were climbing with minimum gear, fast and light. To preserve their battery, they only communicated short reports over satellite phone. The latest news on their progress was from August 30.

Concern grew over the last few days. Nilov and Golovchenko were climbing off-season; they were the last climbers in the Karakoram this summer.

A long push

Golovchenko and Nilov were climbing their long new route in alpine style. They left the normal Base Camp at the base of the Gasherbrum Glacier on August 18. Then they set camp for the night in the middle of the icefall before carrying the tent up to the plateau at the base of the mountain. There, they left the tent and supplies.

On August 21, they started the climb to the summit and spent their first night at the beginning of the ridge. On August 22, they spent their first night above 7,000m. Since then, they have progressed slowly but also spent some days unable to move from their little bivouac tent because of stormy conditions.

Cutting-edge climbers

Golovchenko and Nilov won two Piolets d’Or, one for their new route up the north face of Thalay Sagar in 2016 (with Dmitry Grigoriev) and one for the first ascent of the northeast ridge of Muztagh Tower (with Alexander Lange) in 2012. All their new routes featured high difficulty and commitment.

The two Russians are also well-known for their incredible effort on the southeast face of Jannu and their epic descent. The expedition led to an excellent film called The Wall of Shadows. You can see the trailer here.

Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Volovchenko cannot wait any longer. The Russian team has spent two days on a ledge in the middle of a storm on the southeast ridge of Gasherbrum IV. But now, it's move up or give in. They are running out of supplies, so they need to grind higher up the mountain and pray for the weather to improve.

After two days of staying put in the storm and ten days since they started their summit push, the team has set off again. Yet conditions are still far from stable.

"We're moving up, we need the good weather," they said yesterday. Today, they removed the ropes and fixed two more pitches until they reached a decent ledge to spend the night on.

Multimodel forecasts foresee an improvement in the weather, but not before Wednesday this week.

Bad weather thwarted Jeff and Priti Wright's second attempt on K7 Central (6,858m), but the Spaniards on Latok II may be luckier. A three-day weather window has begun, according to forecasts. Sergey Nivol and Dmitry Golovchenko may also use it to push their new route on Gasherbrum IV's south face.

The Wrights -- who were successful on neighboring K6 back in 2000 and retreated just 100 meters below the summit of K7 last year -- returned to Skardu yesterday. They have not updated their social media since July 20, but constant bad weather and too much snow gave them no chance to complete the first ascent of K7 Central, Ali Saltoro of Alpine Adventure Guides told ExplorersWeb.

Climbers on Gasherbrum IV and Latok II

Golovchenko and Nilov are in the first stages of their attempt to open a new route on Gasherbrum IV. Earlier this week, they traveled across the Gasherbrum Glacier, marking the route across the icefall. Since then, they have been acclimatizing.

They have not yet climbed high enough to scope out a possible line on the south face. Except for trekking groups and perhaps some unknown small teams, they will be soon the only climbers left in the Karakoram.

Miquel Mas and Marc Subirana began their new route up Latok II yesterday. During the good weather, they will try to finish what they started last year. We will know more when they return to Base Camp in a couple of days.

Kazuya Hiraide is back home in Japan and shared a photo, below, from the impressive new route that he and Kenro Nakajima opened on the north face of Tirich Mir.

Flor Cuenca of Peru made no headlines this season, despite summiting three 8,000m peaks in two months -- Kangchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, and Gasherbrum II. Perhaps it is not surprising that she didn't make waves, you might think. Just three? It doesn't seem that impressive these days.

Except she climbed them without personal porters or bottled oxygen. She wrote on social media that she used the fixed ropes -- which she admitted were indispensible for her -- but pointed out some differences.

"I reached the base camps on foot, I carried my [own] gear, food, and other stuff to high camps, and I went without bottled oxygen," she said. "Also, there was no one behind me with oxygen, in case I had a problem."

Sherpa support vs none at all

She insists that there is a huge difference between having personal support (or any sherpa support), and having none at all. It's an exaggeration, she says, when climbers on a normal route claimed to have used "no O2 or sherpas."

"If we climb an 8,000'er by the classic route, the support of sherpas or high-altitude porters fixing ropes is essential," she says. "Without fixed ropes, it would take us weeks to reach the summit."

About her ascent of Gasherbrum II (the only 8,000m peak in Pakistan she had not previously climbed), Cuenca praised Gelje Sherpa in particular. He was there supporting Adriana Brownlee.

"[Gelje] was opening the trail from C3 and went without oxygen," she said. "After the traverse [GII requires traversing the pyramidal summit], I fell in behind them and didn't lose sight of them. The fog made it difficult to see, but Gelje still managed to locate the rope that took us to the summit."

Cuenca's biggest disappointment was that she and her group summited in a total whiteout. There was no view to enjoy.

Cuenca, the Hirkawarmi

Cuenca would have been a typical character in the 8,000m scene 20 years ago. While both commercial expeditions and heavily supported teams existed then, especially on Everest and K2, most base camps featured smaller groups or independent climbers sharing logistics and climbing permits. Today, however, climbers like Cuenca are comparatively rare.

Cuenca is a Hirkawarmi, a Quechua mountain woman who grew up in the Andes. She feels closer to the mountain peoples such as Nepal's sherpas and Pakistan's Baltis than she does to some clients, many of whom are unfamiliar with fragile alpine environments.

She was the first to raise her voice against the tons of rubbish in K2's higher camps. Earlier this season, she helped a Pakistani porter who was shivering around the tents on Nanga Parbat, and explained how he had been abandoned. (The climbers who had hired the porter later explained that a lack of communication had caused this mishap, but the fact is, it was Cuenca who let the distressed man into her tent.)

Harila on the Gasherbrums

This season has seen a well-distributed bounty of summits on the two Gasherbrums. Like the rest of the Karakoram, the weather was unstable and snowy, but climbers made the best out of short, favorable windows.

As on other peaks, Seven Summit Treks' sherpas took the lead. They opened the trail and fixed the ropes for Kristin Harila, who was right behind them, and for their other clients.

In her summit report, Harila highlights the sherpas' hard work, especially that of Tenjen Lama and Mingtemba Sherpa. They fixed the ropes to Camp 3, then returned to Camp 2 to help her and cameraman Gabriel Tarso on their summit push. The sherpas also fixed sections above Camp 4 as they went.

"This summit would not have been possible without them," Harila wrote. "It's thanks to them that we were the first team on the summit this season again."

No-O2 but not alpine style

Harila and her team then climbed GI from Camp 1 (shared by both Gasherbrums). She summited in very good weather and felt strong and healthy, so she chose to go without oxygen.

"It wasn't very hard to climb without oxygen, but I could only do it because of great weather," she said. Besides being physically strong, she was also hyper-acclimatized by now thanks to her many previous climbs.

Harila also noted that they went too far to the left on the final ramps to the summit: "We had to take a different, much harder route up to the top, but even then, it only took us 8h up, which is very fast."

Then Harila wrote: "Many people criticize that the way I climb is not 'pure' alpinism. So was this climb pure alpinism since I used no oxygen and used only the main rope to the summit?"

What Harila means by "main rope," according to the photos, is that she was roped to Tenjen Sherpa.

"There was no fixed rope [from Camp 3] and since it's possible to go up with just main rope, that's what we did," she said.

Previously in her report, Harila wrote that the Japanese Couloir was fixed.

Several summit windows

In our Climber's Guide to Gasherbrum I, Ferran Latorre explained that Gasherbrum I sometimes needs no fixed ropes at all.

On K2, climbers launched a single summit push this year. But on the Gasherbrums, teams that reached Base Camp later or were not ready initially also had summit chances. This includes Cuenca as well as Moeses Fiamoncinni of Brazil, who was recovering from a leg injury. He finally summited Gasherbrum I on the final summit push.

There were other summits on both peaks on July 19-21, on GI on July 26 and GII on July 27 -- when Cuenca and the others reached the top -- and on GI on August 2.

Just two left

All the 8,000m climbers have left now. In the Gasherbrums, only two men remain -- Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov of Russia. Their highly difficult goal is the south side of Gasherbrum IV. Besides the intrinsic risks of the climb, there will be no one there to help if they get into trouble.

Urubko and Cardell are safely down but did not summit Gasherbrum I.

They set off on Thursday night on a fast, alpine-style push up a new route. The pair climbed with just a handful of snacks and some fuel for melting snow but no tent or sleeping bag.

However, rapidly increasing wind forced them to stop, Cardell told Desnivel. There was also an avalanche that missed them but helped them decide to turn around.

Urubko and Cardell had to leave for Skardu today, so that attempt ends their expedition. They had already started their trek out when they met Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov. The Russian pair will attempt a new route on the south side of the highly difficult Gasherbrum IV (7,925m).

Golovchenko and Nilov should reach Base Camp today.

"Start" is the only word Denis Urubko wrote yesterday on Instagram. He illustrated it with a picture of his wife, Pipi Cardell, staring at the Karakoram. Out of time and with the weather against them, it's now or never for their alpine-style route up Gasherbrum I.

A hurried summit push

The pair left Base Camp yesterday on an ultralight attempt on this new line. Three days ago, their tentative beginning ended prematurely when a good-weather forecast proved wrong. They had to retreat as heavy snow flew around them, Cardell told Desnivel.

They apparently need to start trekking out tomorrow, August 5. So their only climbing option was to leave Base Camp yesterday at 6 pm, reach the beginning of the new route at sunrise, speed to the top today -- they should be there by now, if all went well --  then hurry all the way back down, non-stop.

The last commercial climbers, some without sherpa support or without bottled oxygen, summited the Gasherbrums on July 27. But for whatever reason, Urubko and Cardell didn't find the weather or the conditions right for them at that time.

Company coming

They will not be alone when they return to Base Camp tomorrow. Another climbing pair has arrived to attempt one of the most interesting projects of the season -- a new route up the south side of Gasherbrum IV. Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov checked in with ExplorersWeb today from the nearby Trango Towers area, which they know well.

"We are one day away from Base Camp," Golovchenko said. "We climbed No Fear [on Nameless Tower] in 2011."

Andrzej Bargiel and his team have shared a video about the Polish skier's descent of Gasherbrum I.

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The climb and descent took place on July 26. Gasherbrum I was Bargiel's sixth complete ski down an 8,000m peak. He has now skied all four Karakoram 8,000'ers.

Andrzej Bargiel of Poland skied down Gasherbrum I today. He has now skied all the Karakoram 8,000'ers from their summits.

Bargiel topped out on Gasherbrum I at 7:15 am today and immediately started skiing down. Several other teams such as Alpenglow and Imagine Nepal, and independent climbers such as Hugo Ayaviri, summited as well.

Bargiel's team has just made it back to Base Camp and will rest before sharing details.

Bargiel summited and skied down Gasherbrum II last week.

He succeeded on Broad Peak in 2015 and K2 in 2018.

Today's Gasherbrum I summiters started their push from Camp 2. This increased the difficulty for no-O2 climbers such as Hugo Ayaviri and Bargiel. Bargiel set off from Camp 2 at 9 pm. Supporting climber Janusz Golab and drone operator Maciej Sulima, who had accompanied Bargiel to that point, waited for him at Camp 2.

Ayaviri himself is back at Camp 1, happy with summiting despite the long climb in bad weather and tough conditions.

Another group of climbers on neighboring Gasherbrum II hope to summit tonight. Among them, Flor Cuenca of Peru and Adriana Brownlee of the UK. There are also summits reported on Broad Peak, from an EliteExped team that included Victor Rimac of Peru without supplementary O2. Chris Warner also succeeded on Broad Peak with Tsering Sherpa of 8K Expeditions.

The season is approaching its -- hopefully grand -- finale. The last teams are on the Gasherbrums. Among them, Denis Urubko and Pipi Cardell gear up for their new route.

Together with other climbers, Urubko and Cardell summited Gasherbrum I via the normal route on Friday, without oxygen or porters, as the final part of their acclimatization. This was Urubko's 27th 8,000'er without O2, a record. They are now ready to attempt their planned new alpine-style route.

Topo Mena, leading an Alpenglow Expeditions team, is currently on his summit push. Others are following. Moeses Fiamoncini of Brazil is still recovering from a crampon wound on his leg and will wait until August to attempt G1. He will have the mountain virtually to himself. Adriana Brownlee and Gelje Sherpa are also in Base Camp.

Finally, Andrzej Bargiel is also on his way up, planning to summit on July 26 and ski down, as he did on Gasherbrum II last week.

Bad weather on K2

The only Pakistani 8,000'er without a summit so far this season is K2. Bad weather is making things difficult. Da Dendi Sherpa, leader of Glacier Himalaya's team, reported that they have returned to Base Camp and called off their expedition due to bad weather. To illustrate his point, he just posted a video showing K2 in a whiteout:

The rope-fixing team is supposed to reach the summit today.

Whatever the weather and the state of the ropes, Kristin Harila and her sherpas will have to summit no later than Wednesday if she wants to complete all 14x8,000'ers within her planned three months. Her tracker was not active at the time of writing this story, but outfitter Seven Summit Treks reported that she and her team reached K2 Base Camp yesterday, just hours after summiting Broad Peak.

Twenty-four hours after Andrzej Bargiel carved turns down the perfect pyramid of Gasherbrum II, his team has uploaded a brief video that gives a great idea of the challenge's difficulty:

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The Polish skier will now try to repeat the feat on Gasherbrum I. This will be even more difficult, especially between Camp 2 and Camp 3. There, Bargiel will have to deal with the exposed Japanese Couloir, and with the 50º to 55º ramps before the final summit ridge.

Andrzej Bargiel and Anna Tybor, both from Poland, carved some impressive ski tracks this week. Bargiel and his team skied from the summit of Gasherbrum II. Meanwhile, Tybor skied down Broad Peak over two days.

On Gasherbrum II, Bargiel topped out and skied all the way back to Base Camp yesterday, thereby notching a complete descent. He and his team will now rest at least two days before repeating the feat on Gasherbrum I.

Anna Tybor summited Broad Peak yesterday at 5 pm and was back in Base Camp today at 2 pm. That suggests that she stopped at a high camp for the night. Tom Lafaille supported her.

Horrible weather on Broad Peak

A constant trickle of climbers summited Broad Peak yesterday and today. Among them, Pakistanis Sajid Sadpara (yesterday) and Naila Kiani. Kiani left yesterday night, snatching a little more rest, and summited today. But the delay forced her to deal with weather that, as predicted, turned for the worse today.

"It turned for the horrible," is how she put it.

She and her Nepali guide, Phur Sherpa, were the only ones to summit today, she said.

"The descent from the summit back to Camp 3 was harder than my descent to Camp 3 [last year] on G1," Kiani admitted.

In 2022 on Gasherbrum I, Kiani encouraged her two partners, Sirbaz Khan and Sohail Sakhi -- who were exhausted and affected by altitude after summiting without supplementary oxygen -- to keep descending, despite the bad weather.

Both Sajid Sadpara and Naila Kiani are now back in Base Camp and have completed all the 8,000'ers in Pakistan.

Harila's logistics

In the Gasherbrums, Kristin Harila's approach to logistics has apparently given others ideas. Nima Rinji Sherpa, the son of Seven Summit Treks' CEO Tashi Lakpa Sherpa -- Harila's outfitter -- says he wants to climb all the 8,000'ers in record time and at a record age. He is only 17, but he has joined Harila's team on several of her recent ascents.

He summited Gasherbrum I with Harila on Tuesday. Then from Camp 1, he set off right away up Gasherbrum II, which he summited yesterday with Pasang Nurbu Sherpa.

The peak baggers next go to Broad Peak, where Harila has scheduled a July 23 summit. Then finally, on to K2.

Self-sufficient climbers

There are also numerous independent climbers on the Gasherbrums. They use no high-altitude porters or supplementary oxygen. Many are well-rested and acclimatized after Nanga Parbat. Among them is Saulius Damulevicious of Lithuania, who is currently above Camp 3 on his summit push. Hopefully, this time he will not have to sacrifice his summit to help climbers in trouble.

Hugo Ayaviri of Bolivia, also climbing independently, summited Gasherbrum II yesterday. Back in Camp 1, he is now resting while considering Gasherbrum I. Ayaviri reached the summit of Nanga Parbat some weeks ago, as well as K2 without oxygen last year.

As we reported earlier, elite alpinists Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golovchenko have returned to the Greater Ranges, with a first-class goal: Gasherbrum IV (7,925m).

For this pair, their choice is not surprising. Over the last 20 years, the two Russians have repeatedly tackled premier routes on Asia's most difficult peaks. No matter that most climbers in Pakistan flock to the normal routes up the 8,000'ers. Nilov and Golovchenko just cannot take their eyes off vertical dreams like Gasherbrum IV.

We spoke to Golovchenko about their upcoming climb.

"Gasherbrum IV is one of the most beautiful and famous mountains in the world, I can't believe there's anyone who has never dreamed of climbing it," he told ExplorersWeb. "We have been to the Baltoro region twice, and it is one of the mountains you see from almost everywhere."

The climbing plan

They will definitely climb on the south side of the mountain. Beyond that, they are keeping an open mind about potential routes.

"The final decision will be made only after some time under the mountain," says Golovchenko. They could attempt any line between the south ridge and the east face. There have been several attempts but no successes on this part of the mountain.

Since they have no permits for any other mountain, they will acclimatize on Gasherbrum IV itself.

"The plan is to climb up to the plateau [above the icefall] and live there for two or three days," Golovchenko said. "Then we'll return to Base Camp, rest, and start our climb to the top."

They will then traverse the mountain and descend via the northeast ridge, where Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri made the first ascent of GIV in 1958.

Basic training and a shoestring budget

Golovchenko and Nilov are currently finishing off their preparations. Their training has been simple compared to cutting-edge hypoxic tents or even preparatory trips to other high peaks.

"We train as usual: in the climbing gym and by running in the woods. There are no mountains for 1,000km near [Moscow] where we live," he said.

In fact, the most pressing issue for the climbers is how to cover their expenses.

"Our budget is always less than it should be. "By 'our,' I don't mean just Sergey and me, but all 'sport' climbers," Golovchenko said, referring to small, independent teams seeking rare objectives.

"We definitely we have less influence on media compared to well-organized rich expeditions to well-known summits," he added.

Historic background

Golovchenko and Nilov won two Piolets d'Or, for their new route up the north face of Thalay Sagar in 2016 (with Dmitry Grigoriev) and the first ascent of the northeast ridge of Muztagh Tower (with Alexander Lange) in 2012. All their new routes featured high difficulty and commitment.

Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri first summited Gasherbrum IV in 1958, as part of a bigger Italian team led by Ricardo Cassin. They went via the northeast ridge and across the north summit.

The epic GIV climb by Wojciech Kurtyka (Poland) and Robert Schauer (Germany) in 1985 is often called the greatest climb of the 20th century, although they didn't reach the main summit.

Greg Child (Australia), Tim Macartney-Snape (Australia), and Tom Hargis (U.S.) made the second ascent via the northwest ridge. A Korean team bagged the first complete ascent of the west face via the central spur in 1997. Bang Jung-ho, Kim Tong-Kwan, and Yoo Huk-Jae summited in full expedition style.

Past attempts

Previous attempts on Gasherbrum IV's south and east sides (as researched by Dmitry Golovchenko):

• 1980 - Attempt on the south face by Steve Swenson, Todd Bibler, Don Frederickson, Matt Kerns, Craig McKibben, Jim Nelson, and Dr. Charles Scherz from the U.S.
• 1988 - Attempt on the south ridge by Dai Lampart, Geoff Hibbert, Phil Thornhill, and Martin Hind.
• 1993 - Attempt on the American south face, south ridge line by Andrew Macnae, Andy Perkins, Andy Cave, Kate Phillips, Chris Flewitt, and Brendan Murphy.
• 1993 - Solo attempt on the east face by Yasushi Yamanoi of Japan, up to 7,000m.
• 1995 - Attempt on the east face by Koreans Lee Gye-Nam, Kim Chang-Ho, Park Young-Sik, Kim Yong-Ho, Kim Saeng-Muk, Kang Houn-Soo, and Kim Duck-Sun.
• 1999 - Attempt on the southwest ridge by Americans Steve Swenson, Charley Mace, Steve House, and Andy DeKlerk (South Africa)
• 2006 - Attempt on the west face-south ridge by Jordi Corominas and Oriol Baro of Spain.
• 2017 - Attempt on the east face by Bruce Normand (Switzerland), Marcos Costa (Brazil), and Billy Pierson (U.S.).
• 2018 - Attempt on the southwest face by Herve Barmasse (Italy) and David Goettler (Germany).

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.

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:

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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.

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.

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.

Kristine Harila and Viridiana Alvarez summited Gasherbrum I today with a strong sherpa team. Harila has now climbed the same number that she did on her first attempt last year to summit all 14x8,000'ers in record time. However, the odds are much more in her favor now.

As on previous occasions, Harila's group was the first of the season to reach the top. The eight-member support team fixed ropes as they went. Harila, Alvarez, Gabriel Tarso of Brazil, and Adrian Laza of Romania summited Gasherbrum I beginning at 5:10 am.

Their support team included Nepalis Tenjen Lama Sherpa, Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Nima Rinji Sherpa, Chhepal Sherpa, Ming Temba Sherpa, Lakpa Temba Sherpa, Ang Tenji Sherpa, Pasang Dukpa Sherpa, and Pakistan's Yousuf Ali.

Back to 12 out of 14

In 2022, Harila's record quest stalled when she couldn't get permits to climb the two 8,000m peaks located in Tibet. This year, supported by Nepal's biggest expedition operator and better contacts, she received the permits, climbed the peaks, and has a chance to finish even more quickly than last year's six-month target. It is possible that she'll finish in half that time.

She spent the spring focusing on Tibet and Nepal. Now in the summer, she has moved to Pakistan. Seven Summit Treks can provide the logistics easily because they had expeditions to all the peaks.

Harila summited Shishapangma, the first 8,000'er in her current quest, on April 26, 83 days ago. She still has until next Tuesday, July 25, to complete the challenge within the 90-day mark.

Harila and her team's endurance is impressive. Tenjen Lama Sherpa has led the way on all 12 peaks.

Looking good for Broad Peak and K2

They now have only Broad Peak and K2 remaining. Unlike her attempt last year or Nirmal Purja's climbs in 2019, the question is not if she will make it. Rather, the question is, why not? Climbs on Broad Peak are currently underway, with ropes fixed to above the Col. With skilled guides, the final summit ridge can be done without fixed ropes. Harila's team has been efficient on unroped terrain before.

Meanwhile, on K2, the rope-fixing teams should be on their way to Camp 4. Summit pushes are expected to begin today. The forecast suggests that the weather is about to improve.

And then what?

Harila's feat further opens the market for similar multi-climbs in the Himalaya and Karakoram, a trend that is already increasing. Increasingly, the 8,000m list targets a small but wealthy niche of clients looking for mountain trophies beyond Everest.

On the other hand, the general interest in 14x8,000m speed records is bound to decrease as more clients show that three months, or six months, for all 14 peaks is not superhuman but possible, given enough money, logistics, and cooperation from the weather.

For serial summiters like Kristin Harila, acclimatization rotations are a thing of the past. She just flew to Base Camp and climbed Gasherbrum II. Recently arrived in the Karakoram and climbing without O2, Horia Colibasanu has summited Broad Peak, his 10th 8,000'er.

Broad Peak success

On Broad Peak, teams started for the top yesterday. Horia Colibasanu, with some other independent climbers, rested at Camp 3 (7,000m) for a day, then headed for the summit last night. We only know that he summited but have no further details about conditions on the long summit ridge.

Before the current push, there were no ropes beyond the Gasherbrum Col. Not knowing whether yesterday's teams would install any ropes, Colibasanu and his partners carried their own rope.

Seven Summit Treks put seven people on top of Broad Peak as well, including 14x8,000'er lister Allie Pepper of Australia.

Urubko and Cardell break trail on GI

Meanwhile, on Gasherbrum I, Denis Urubko and Pipi Cardell have opened the trail to Camp 2. They plan to acclimatize on the normal route as far as Camp 3. Then they will descend and launch their alpine-style attempt on a new route on the 8,035m peak.

Kristin Harila and friends bag GII

Kristin Harila of Norway and Tenjen "Lama" Sherpa of Nepal are getting closer to summiting all 14 8,000'ers in three months. They reached the top of Gasherbrum II today at 7:45 am, together with Mingtemba Sherpa.

There are no details yet about conditions or whether they all used supplementary oxygen on the 8,034m peak. Harila and the Seven Summit Treks' sherpas gained some rest time in town by skipping the long Baltoro trek and helicoptering to Base Camp. Members of the EliteExped group, including Nirmal Purja and Qatari Princess Asma Al Thani, also used the airlift.

A large number of climbers should follow Harila. Teams from Nanga Parbat reached Gasherbrum Base Camp yesterday, already acclimatized from the previous peak. Those using supplementary oxygen (even on lower 8,000'ers like the Gasherbrums) can climb the peaks in one go, sipping oxygen as they go.

K2 will have to wait

On K2, summit pushes will have to wait until camps and ropes are set. Taking advantage of improving weather, most teams are on their way to Camp 2 for a first acclimatization round. Those on oxygen or already acclimatized are going even further. Ropes are fixed to Camp 3.

Gasherbrum IV is one of the most beautiful and hardest mountains on earth. Just 75 meters keep the peak from being the world's 15th 8,000'er.

Commercial climbers have thus been spared from having to deal with a peak that is well out of their league. There is no easy route up its walls. Instead, the record seekers that populate base camp these days focus solely on Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II, the two 8,000'ers.

Within three weeks, they will all be gone. Then alpinists Sergey Nilov and Dimitry Golovchenko will be alone to tackle a new route on Gasherbrum IV.

A totally new line

The two Russians are well known among ExplorersWeb readers for their incredible effort on the SE Face of Jannu (speaking of difficult peaks!) and their epic descent. They told Mountain.ru that they will begin on July 28, which is rather late in the Karakoram climbing season. They also confirmed they want to climb a new line that no one has done or even attempted before. With the story, mountain.ru included a picture of the unclimbed South and East Faces of GIV. Hopefully, the climbers themselves will share details soon.

In the footsteps of legends

Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri made the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV in 1958, on an expedition led by Ricardo Cassin. They climbed the NE Ridge to the north summit, then managed the crux of the climb: the traverse to the main summit.

Yet the most distinctive aspect of Gasherbrum IV is its massive West Face, better known as The Shining Wall, because it reflects the dawn sun. Voytek Kurtyka and Robert Schauer did the first ascent of this face in 1985, in one of the epic climbs of the last century. They pushed their own limits, alpine style. Although they survived, they didn't reach the main summit.

Twelve years later, a siege-style South Korean team ascended the Shining Wall to the main summit via a different route, thus gaining credit for the first full ascent.

Nilov and Golovchenko won a Piolet d'Or in 2016 for their new route on the north spur of 6,904m Thalay Sagar. Their Jannu climb led to an excellent film called The Wall of Shadows. See the trailer here.

Thanks to @KrisAnnapurna for the heads-up!

The good weather settling in today or tomorrow coincides with the arrival of dozens or hundreds of climbers to the Baltoro area Base Camps.

However, after a long, stormy spell, it will take time for the mountains to shed their excess snow. Yet acceptable conditions may depend on how much in a hurry the individual climbers are. Some are willing to spare no expense to speed up their expeditions.

New regulations

A set of new regulations in Pakistan may lower the number of serial summiters. This season, international climbers cannot apply ahead of time for permits to several peaks. Instead, once they finish with one, they need to apply for the next and repeat the process for every mountain they want to climb.

Mingma G of Imagine Nepal also told ExplorersWeb that he is having some trouble with visas. Apparently, some members of his team entered Pakistan with a tourist visa but they apparently need a "mountaineering categorized visa" to climb in Pakistan. They have applied for new visas, but the process is taking long.

Why trek when you can fly?

Once again, the peak collectors will lead the way, and at least some of them will be well-rested, after flying to Base Camp. While helicopter taxis are normal in Nepal, they are rare in Pakistan. Here, the Pakistan army operates all the helicopters, which fly in pairs for safety reasons.

The Karakoram lies near the Chinese-Indian border and has a history of military tension. Helicopters were traditionally deployed only in case of emergency -- mainly for rescues or to evacuate sick or injured climbers.

But very recently, some wealthy clients have agreed to pay $20,000 for a comfortable 40-minute trip to or from Base Camp. Viridiana Alvarez pointed out yesterday that helicopters also give a great view of the Baltoro Glacier from above:

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Alvarez is part of a Seven Summit Treks group that also includes Kristin Harila and her sherpa team. Both Harila and Alvarez summited Nanga Parbat on June 26. They had plenty of time to return to Skardu and trek to the Gasherbrums, so saving time was no reason to fly. Nor was, apparently, saving money or reducing one's carbon footprint. However, the Baltoro trek is demanding, the weather was bad, and the women had already acclimatized.

With the weather now expected to improve, they are rested and ready to move to Camp 1, where many climbers have already settled in. Like Base Camp, C1 is common to both Gasherbrums. It is not on the mountain itself but at 6,000m on the Gasherbrum Glacier.

Above-average teams

This season features some of the highest numbers of commercial clients ever seen on the Gasherbrums (no figures available yet). But the Gasherbrums will also host the two most interesting 8,000m climbs of the summer: Denis Urubko and Pipi Cardell's attempted new alpine-style route on GII and Andrzej Bargiel's ski expedition on both peaks.

Urubko and Cardell have been waiting at the foot of the mountain for some time, while Bargiel reached Pakistan last week. After a first acclimatization trip up 6,400m Koshar Gang near Skardu, he and his team set off toward the Baltoro.

The Gasherbrums are also the next destination for the recent Nanga Parbat climbers. At least, for those who didn't sustain frostbite during the exhausting summit push without a Camp 4.

None of them, as far as we know, are paying for an airlift. Some reported delays on their way to Skardu because of landslides on the Karakoram Highway. A big group including Saulius Damulevicius of Lithuania and others from Lela Peak Expedition reached Urdukas today, according to Damulevicius' tracker.

Recently, the monsoon is becoming more active and affects larger areas of the country, sometimes precipitating catastrophic floods. This year, the Punjab is the most affected region.

Patience needed on K2

The more vigorous monsoon also seems to be responsible for the bad weather that has shut down the Karakoram lately. K2 teams started arriving in Base Camp two weeks ago but have been on hold since then. The relentless bad weather has barely allowed a first acclimatization round to Camp 1. Ropes have not been fixed beyond Camp 2.

EliteExped used the time to do some cleanup on the lower parts of the Abruzzi Spur route. The operation, led by Mingma David Sherpa, retrieved 200kg of trash, mainly old ropes, they reported.

Sajid Sadpara of Pakistan also announced a cleanup campaign of his own on K2. It will start soon, in cooperation with Seven Summit Treks. Sadpara's team noted that Pakistan is one of the 10 countries most affected by climate change.

Broad Peak

On Broad Peak, Furtenbach Adventures has started working well ahead of everyone else and launched a summit push last week. But the forecast on which they were relying proved wrong. Unexpected 100kph winds stopped them as soon as they reached the ridge. Out of time for further attempts, lead guide Ulises Corvalan called off the expedition.

The expedition sherpas and one guide then went to K2 to meet the K2 Flash team. This group has already acclimatized at home using the hypoxic tents provided by Furtenbach. Weather permitting, they are able to go to K2, climb it, and return home in three or four weeks total.

Other teams are trying to get some altitude despite the conditions. Horia Colibasanu of Romania has managed at least one rotation in snowy weather. Today, he took advantage of better weather to climb 1,400 vertical meters and pitch his small tent at Camp 2 (6,200m).

After skiing down K2 in 2018, Andrzej Bargiel of Poland is back in Pakistan for a similar feat on both Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II.

Bargiel will climb teaming up with Janusz Golab. Maciej Sulima will be the videographer and drone operator, and Bartek Pawlikowski will photograph the expedition.

No further details are available yet, such as whether Bargiel will acclimatize on the Gasherbrums or train on lesser peak first.

Bargiel also tried to ski Everest in the fall of 2019 and 2022. In the first attempt, he called the expedition off due to an unstable serac that loomed above the route. Bad conditions thwarted his no-O2 attempt last year.

In 2021, Bargiel climbed and skied down the steep -- and stunning --  Laila Peak, also in the Karakoram. Check a video of the climb and descent below.

Previous ski descents on the Gasherbrums

Gasherbrum II's first ski descent took place in August 1984. Patrice Bournat (France) and Wim Pasquier (Switzerland) descended the normal (Austrian) route on the southwest ridge, the AAJ reports. Boris Langenstein, Tiphaine Duperier, Aurelia Lanoe, and Guillaume Pierrel successfully skied the mountain in 2021.

The following year, Thierry Renard skied the south face from the summit, west of the central spur. There have been many ski descents on GII, but many of them were partial. Climbers often stopped for the night and used crampons on technical sections. Check a list here. Last year, Bartek Ziemski did the latest GII ski descent. He also skied down Annapurna and Dhaulagiri this year.

Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, was the first 8,000er to be skied, in 1982 by Sylvain Saudan. In 1995, Iztok Tomazin of Slovenia skied it with an overnight stop in Camp 3 and a short rappel section. At the same time, Marco Car descended G1 on a snowboard.

Luis Stitzinger did the latest ski descent in 2018. He sadly perished on Kangchenjunga this past spring. His was not a complete descent, since the climbers summited in tough conditions late in the day and Stitzinger downclimbed some technical sections on foot. Also, nightfall eventually forced Stitzinger to replace his skis with crampons halfway to Camp 1. Here is a video of Stitzinger's expedition:

Last year, Denis Urubko said he wanted to climb a new route on an 8,000'er in his usual pure style. He wanted to partner with a female climber because a woman has yet to open a new alpine-style route on an 8,000m peak. Maria Jose "Pipi" Cardell, his wife, stepped up and accepted the challenge. We had a chat with Cardell before they left, about the project and what it means to her.

A ski rescuer and rock climber, Cardell has undergone hard training with the hardest teacher to prepare for the task. "I am addicted to rock climbing but in winter I also like to enjoy the wildest side of the mountains," she told ExplorersWeb.

In 2015, Cardell soloed Hombrok (5,470m) in Pakistan. "Then, climbing with Denis [Urubko] brought me the opportunity to develop that kind of alpinism beyond limits I had not even dreamt of."

Injuries delay plans

The plan was to try a new route on Gasherbrum II in 2019, but Cardell suffered a back injury that kept her in Base Camp. Meanwhile, Urubko opened the new route on his own. He paid tribute to the original plan, naming it "Honeymoon." Last year, Cardell was recovering from another injury when Urubko opened a route on Koshar Gang in winter.

In June, Cardell and Urubko climbed a virgin 5,975m peak in the Shigar Valley. Cardell then returned home while Urubko climbed Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II, and K2 in three fast, single-push ascents.

We asked if being Urubko's climbing partner is an added pressure. "The only pressure is that which I put on myself to get well prepared," Cardell said.

This year, after months of training, they're trying again. The couple is now ready to leave for Pakistan on June 8. The goal is Gasherbum I.

A first on Gasherbrum I

"Back in 2019, we spent two months at the foot of this mountain. It was the first thing we saw in the morning and the last sight when we zipped up the tent. I would observe the peak and discover new lines and details as the light changed. Somehow, it became alive," Cardell said.

As for the chance to bag a "world first," Cardell's focus is on the beauty of the goal itself.

"I didn't know that no woman has opened a route on an 8,000'er in alpine style. Being first is not why I'm involved in this climbing project," she said.

"To me, a new alpine-style route is one of the most stunning climbs you could dream of. It is the kind of alpinism we both like. I want to go because of the absolute loneliness in an extreme environment, because of the degree of commitment, because of the challenge of looking into yourself and finding out what you're made of, for the uncertainty of every step you take. Any of these reasons are more powerful than being first."

Marek Holecek and Radoslav Groh had to turn back earlier this week on Masherbrum. And now Tom Livingstone of the UK and Ales Cesen of Slovenia had to do the same on Gasherbrum III. With the high success rate on guided 8,000m peaks, we sometimes forget that big mountains are hard. At least, for those on unclimbed routes with no support except the gear that they themselves carry.

Only summited twice

The third-highest Gasherbrum is only 48m shy of 8,000m. That immediately attracts serious alpinists -- fewer guided collectors to contend with. Its approach is also longer and trickier than the way to its two taller brothers. Climbers must first get up part of GII's Southwest Ridge, then turn left to GIII.

On the other hand, Gasherbrum III is not quite as challenging and aesthetic as the slightly lower but difficult Gasherbrum IV.

No wonder GIII has been summited only twice. And yet, both times were epic. The legendary Wanda Rutkiewicz, together with Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz, Janusz Onyszkiewicz, and Krzysztof Zdzitowiecki made the first ascent in 1975 via the East Face. Basque climbers Alberto Iñurrategi and Jon Beloki made the second ascent in 2004.

Livingstone and Cesen hoped to bag the third ascent via a new line. They knew the odds were against them, and as it turned out, the odds won.

Wind decided

In a brief report, Ales Cesen explained that they reached 7,800m. Beyond that point, they saw no way to advance further, mainly because of high winds. They decided the only wise thing to do was to turn around, as Holecek and Groh decided about their own attempt on Masherbrum's West Face.

"I am still...proud of our decisions to make the climbing and descending reasonably safe at all stages," Cesen said.

Social media climbing and helicopters

The duo will post further when they arrive home. As Tom Livingstone wrote before leaving for Pakistan, he sees no point in publicizing climbs before or during an expedition.

"Imagine having a guy sit in base camp who gets all your photos and videos, runs down the valley for a few days to get a signal, and then posts on your account? How mad is that?" wondered Livingstone. Some teams in Pakistan this summer were doing exactly that, he avers.

Livingstone also used social media to throw a little shadow on "two teams who did great climbs last year" but were airlifted from the mountain (above Base Camp). He wonders whether these were helicopter rescues and therefore not a complete climb. It isn't a coincidence that this is exactly what happened to Holecek and Groh on Baruntse last year.

Livingstone did not need a helicopter after attempting Gasherbrum III, nor did he need one after succeeding on Tengkampoche's Northeast Pillar in Nepal last year. Still, for different reasons, his own 2021 climb was not free from controversy.

They wanted the summit badly, they had no supplementary oxygen with them, and they took risks in "crazy" winds on summit day. Sirbaz Khan, Sohail Sakhi, and Naila Kiani of Pakistan summited Gasherbrum I on August 12 at around 7:30 am. But the descent became a test of endurance and leadership. They passed the test, and all three of them are alive and safe.

A timeline

August 10:

All the climbers on Gasherbrum I launched a summit push. Sirbaz Khan was on his 12th 8,000'er. He led Naila Kiani, on her third 8,000'er, and Sohail Sakhi.

The three of them had already summited K2 together on July 22. Now they were climbing Gasherbrum I. They joined the 8K Expeditions team that included Pasdawa Sherpa, Dawa Ongchu, and Kristine Harila.

Meanwhile, fellow Pakistani Shehroze Kashif was climbing with oxygen and supported by Imtiaz Sadpara (Sajid Sadpara's cousin). The final couple on the mountain was Pioneer Adventure's Sanu Sherpa of Nepal and Naoko Watanabe of Japan.

At Camp 2, Sajid Sadpara joined them. He aimed to summit without O2, at his own pace. That day, all the climbers battled extremely strong winds and technical sections among seracs and crevasses, in order to reach Camp 3.

As Kiani reported, the wind raged up to 45 knots, and the day's climb was a "very bad experience". By the time they all reached Camp 3, they were at the end of their strength. None of the three was using bottled gas. But on the advice of their home team, Naila Kiani carried a bottle in her pack, just in case. The cautionary measure likely saved their lives.

August 11:

While the 8K climbers (on supplementary O2) left for the summit that night, the three Pakistani climbers and Pioneer Expedition's duo decided to rest a bit and wait, hoping for slightly better conditions. Harila and her Sherpa guides summited on August 11, while the others prepared to leave on a clear but very windy night.

August 12:

The climbers who remained in Camp 3 left for the summit at slightly different times. Leading the pack was Shehroze Kashif, swift and strong on O2, and Sajid Sadpara, climbing extremely fast despite no O2. Samson Simon Sharaf, assisting Sirbaz's team from Islamabad, reported that Sajid galloped up the mountain like an "Andean mule" as his "way of taking revenge against the mountains" that took his father's life on K2. Like his father Ali Sadpara, Sajid is mind-blowingly strong.

What followed was, as Naila Kiani texted on her InReach, "a hellish experience, much harder than K2, that we will never forget."

The route was windswept and dry, mainly bare rock and hard ice. Only small patches of snow remained, and just a few ropes were fixed on the last metres before the summit. Sirbaz Khan, Sohail Shaki, and Naila Kiani -- like Harila and her team surely did the day before -- had to progress roped up, so that the wind would not blow them away.

The three Pakistanis gave all they had to reach the summit. They wanted to send a celebratory message to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Pakistan's independence held on August 14. But as the old mountaineering saying goes, the summit is only halfway.

The descent in high winds was excruciatingly snow. Sirbaz and Sakhi, without O2, were feeling the effects of altitude and exhaustion. It took them nearly all day to reach Camp 3. Once there, Khan and Sakhi badly needed a rest. Kiani had used the emergency bottle of O2 above Camp 3 and was in better condition.

Meanwhile, Shehroze Kashif summited three hours before (shortly after 4 am) and had started back down. Sirbaz, Kiani, and Sakhi also crossed paths with Sajid Sadpara while they were on their way up and he was descending. They did not meet again during the climb.

Local outfitter Karakoram Summits reported that Sanu Sherpa and Naoko Watanabe (on oxygen) summited at 2:58 am, ahead of everyone else. No further details have emerged about their descent.

Kiani takes the lead

Through her InReach, Kiani was in contact with home team mentor Samson Simon Sharaf and with renowned alpinist Nazir Sabir. Both urged Niali to get her two partners awake and descending as soon as possible, but that was not easy. Both men were exhausted and obviously suffering from AMS.

"They must lose altitude or they may never wake up again," the experienced pair told Naila. "You must take the lead and order your partners to go down. Kick them if you have to."

August 13-14:

Kiani, a resident of Dubai and a mother of two, somehow managed to get the other two up and going. Carefully, they set off toward the serac area and the Japanese Couloir early in the morning of August 13. A heavily crevassed area forced them to use all their remaining strength. Somehow, they managed to zigzag around the cracks and proceed down.

"Take every step carefully, don't waste a single gram of strength, and do everything to get down as fast as possible," Nazir Sabir texted them.

At first, they downclimbed only 50 vertical metres an hour. Luckily, Khan and Sakhi began to feel better as they lost altitude. By the end of the day, the three climbers reached the Gasherbrum Glacier, despite nearly zero visibility. They then proceeded across the glacier to Camp 1.

Meanwhile, a helicopter airlift was requested. The few climbers and staff remaining in Base Camp, including Harila and her guides, were asked to get ready to go up to aid the climbers in Camp 1 if needed.

Details about the last part of the climb are not clear, as Kiani's InReach stopped working. However, they did manage to reach Base Camp at 4 am local time without external assistance.

As the sun rose, a helicopter airlifted them to Paiju, from which they were driven to Skardu. Upon their arrival, a welcome party congratulated them. Sirbaz Khan had just been awarded Pakistan's Pride for Performance award, along with a number of the country's outstanding athletes.

Sajid Sadpara has chosen to trek back to Skardu via the Gondogoro La pass, likely with his cousin Imtiaz. News is expected soon about Sanu Sherpa and Naoko Watanabe.

This morning, all six members of the Pakistani team, plus Sanu Sherpa of Nepal and Naoko Watanabe of Japan, summited Gasherbrum I.

From the Pakistani team, Sirbaz Khan, Sajid Sadpara, and Imtiaz Sadpara summited without supplementary O2. Sohail Sakhi, Shehroze Kashif, and Naila Kiani climbed with O2.

At just 20 years old, Kashif bagged his 10th 8,000'er. Both Khan and Watanabe nabbed their 12th 8,000'ers, and Kiani summited her third.

Descending now

The summiters are descending, hoping to reach Camp 1 today. Situated on the Gasherbrum Glacier, climbers heading up both Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II use Camp 1. Most spend a night there to get some rest before traversing the crevassed glacier the next morning.

Every climber involved in the two Gasherbrum summit pushes this week reached the summit. It shows how much success rates have increased on traditionally tricky 8,000'ers. Most climbers, especially guides, use oxygen, and Sherpas have already fixed the ropes. On this push, it is unclear whether any rope were fixed above Camp 3.

Nepali guides Pasdawa Sherpa, Dawa Ongchu, Nima Gyalzen, and Ningma Tamang, plus their Western clients Kristin Harila and Grace Tseng, already summited G1 today. But what about the six Pakistani climbers who were battling the wind in Camp 3 yesterday?

They are still there, but they will soon leave for the summit themselves, despite the wind.

Of the six Pakistanis, only Shehroze Kashif is using O2. At just 20 years old, he is trying to become the youngest to climb all the 8,000m peaks. The Pakistanis had a tough time negotiating the Japanese Couloir in 75kph winds. Sirbaz Khan, Naila Kiani (sometimes written as Kayani in local media), and Sohail Sakhi climbed K2 together last week and admitted that right now, Gasherbrum I is even harder.

"On K2, there are ropes everywhere, but the Japanese Couloir is just ice and windswept snow," Khan told his mentor Samson Sharaf by satellite phone.

Windy climb ahead

Wind will remain their most serious obstacle. "Tonight will be clear but very cold and windy," Sharaf reported. The six men will have to be careful on the rock-hard, slippery snow and make sure that the wind doesn't blow them away.

They expect to take at least seven hours to reach the summit and will try to get down to Camp 1 that same day.

If Khan succeeds, Gasherbrum I will be his 12th 8,000'er. Next, he will go to Nanga Parbat with Mingma G.

Khan had not planned to climb K2 for a second time, but he changed his mind after the sad loss of Ali Raza Sadpara some months ago. Ali Raza was supposed to lead Naila Kiani. When he died in a climbing accident, Khan took his place at the head of the team.

Meanwhile, Sheroze Kashif, Sajid Sadpara, and his cousin, Imtiaz Sadpara, have teamed up and will attempt to summit as a trio.

Notes on recent 14x8,000m quests:

Kristin Harila, Pasdawa Sherpa, and Dawa Ongchu have summited the 11th peak of their 14x8,000'ers speed quest in 106 days. They began with Annapurna on April 28. In an Instagram post this week, Nirmal Purja downplayed Harila's potential achievement, leading to a lashback on Reddit.

Gasherbrum I is Grace Tseng's 12th 8,000'er.

Nima Gyalzen says that Gasherbrum I marks the successful completion of his 8,000m list. However, chronicler Eberhard Jurgalski of 8000ers.com pointed out to ExplorersWeb that (like 2,300 other climbers) Gyalzen never reached the true summit of Manaslu. He also offered no proof that he summited Shishapangma. Check the updated 14x8,000m summiters' table here.

But to beat Nirmal Purja's speed record up all the 8,000'ers, the 36-year-old Norwegian now has to reach the true summit of Manaslu, which Nims originally did not. She will also need special permission from China to enter the country and climb Cho Oyu and Shishapangma, which have been closed to foreigners since COVID.

Once again, Pasdawa Sherpa, Dawa Ongchu, and Kristin Harila have led the way to a major summit. They reached the top of Gasherbrum I shortly after 7 am. Bad weather made it a tough slog. Harila and her team have now climbed 11 of the 8,000m peaks in 106 days -- about three-and-a-half months. Nims took 176 days to climb all 14.

Nima Gyalzen, Ningma Tamang, and Grace Tseng followed them to the summit at around 9 am. Outfitter Summit Karakoram announced that Tamang climbed on O2, but Gyalzen and Tseng went without supplementary oxygen. Gyalzen, the CEO of Dolma Outdoor, has now summited all 14 8,000'ers.

More summits to come?

More summit news is expected. Pioneer Adventure's Sanu Sherpa, guiding Naoko Watanabe of Japan, and a separate team of six Pakistani climbers, all reached Camp 3 yesterday.

The Pakistani team of Sirbaz Khan, Sajid Sadpara, Shehroze Kashif, Sohail Sakhi, Imtiaz Sadpara, and Naila Kayani made the 7,100m camp in tough conditions. Kayani told her home team that the "crazy strong" wind was making the climb harder than K2, which she recently summited.

Currently, all climbers are still on the mountain. Harila's tracker put her at 6,700m at 1 pm Pakistan time.

Pakistan's 8,000'ers complete

Harila is determined to prove that a woman can summit the 14 8,000'ers in record time. With the right logistics and strong guides, she has achieved a 100% success rate so far. Together with Pasdawa Sherpa and Dawa Ongchu, Harila has now bagged all of Pakistan's 8,000m peaks. The team has summited 11 peaks in 106 days.

Next, they will enter the final and most interesting phase of their challenge. On Manaslu, they need to ensure they reach the actual highest point. Thanks to recent drone footage, the mountain's summit is now clear, and no lower point on the summit ridge is acceptable. If she makes it, she could surpass current record holder Nirmal Purja, who didn't reach the true summit of Manaslu during his initial Project Possible ascent.

After Manaslu, the main obstacle will be political rather than technical. Harila and her team need to obtain a special permit from the Chinese government to climb Shishapangma and Cho Oyu.

Marek Holecek and Radoslav Groh are advancing slowly on Masherbrum's West Face after the third climber of the team had to retreat because of a toothache. Meanwhile, on Gasherbrum I, six Pakistani climbers have joined forces against high winds and snow.

Slow going

"We're on our third bivouac since we left Base Camp and we've only reached 6,000m," Holecek told his home team. He noted how slowly he and Groh are progressing, and how difficult was to say goodbye to Tomas Petrecek.

"They say men don't cry, but...we hugged each other in silence and preferred not to look at each other's faces," Holecek admitted. Happily, Petrecek reached Base Camp safely today.

Meanwhile, Holecek and Groh spent the day inching up a dangerous vertical gully. Ice and rocks fell constantly, and a void yawned beneath their feet. Once, they had to dig a tunnel through drifted snow to burrow their way up.

They have now reached their bivy and are confident that they have enough food, time, and good weather. "Tomorrow, the goal is a small cave around 7,000m," said Holecek. " I hope that the cave is not just an illusion. Otherwise, I don't know where we would stick our asses."

Pakistani climbers unite on Hidden Peak

The last six climbers on Gasherbrum I have joined forces in a last-ditch attempt to summit despite wind, falling snow, and poor visibility. Sirbaz Khan, Shehroze Kashif, Sajid Sadpara, Naila Kayani, Sohail Sakhi, and another unidentified climber, all from Pakistan, left Camp 2 this morning. They hope to reach the seracs marking the location of Camp 3. Should the weather improve, they will try to summit tomorrow.

This might be the last good weather window in the Karakoram this season. While the record-seekers try to bag one more peak on Gasherbrum II, Czech climbers Marek Holecek, Radoslav Groh, and Tomas Petrecek have set off toward the unknown, up the West Face of Masherbrum.

Fast, light, efficient

Holecek described their upcoming attempt as a "madman's ball", with the West Face of Masherbrum serving as the host.

"Almost 3,500 virgin vertical metres await us, on a steep slope that should take five days to reach the top," Holecek said.

The team plans to traverse the mountain and descend down a different side, which should take a further two days.

The key is to be light, fast, and efficient, Holecek explained. However, they realize that there is a lot of uncertainty. Just crossing the broken glacier to reach the mountain and then climbing to the Masherbrum La to scout the route and acclimatize was hard. Doing so in "greenhouse heat" and slushy snow was even harder.

Record-seekers move up the Gasherbrums

Meanwhile, several multi-peak climbers are in the Gasherbrums. They hope to notch one more summit before the season ends.

After his recent successful climb of Nanga Parbat, Shehroze Kashif has now reached Camp 2 on Gasherbrum II. This time, Kashif is climbing with Sajid Sadpara and Imtiaz Sadpara.

Kristin Harila, Pasdawa Sherpa, and Dawa Ongchu should soon be on Gasherbrum II as well, along with three more 8K Expedition climbers. The Norwegian and her Sherpa guides are trying to turn the Gasherbrums into their 10th and 11th 8,000'ers.

Grace Tseng of Taiwan has also joined the push on Gasherbrum II, according to the Alpymon blog. Nima Gyalzen and Ningma Tamang of Dolma Outdoor are leading the charge.

On Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, Sanu Sherpa is guiding Naoko Watanabe. Meanwhile, Sirbaz Khan of Pakistan leads a separate three-man team.

Nanga Parbat

The current pushes will probably be the last of the season in the Karakoram. Yet Mingma G's expedition to Nanga Parbat (in the Himalaya) is currently in Skardu, preparing to leave for Base Camp with their team's Sherpas.

There's summit news from Gasherbrum II. Sanu Sherpa, leading the Pioneer Adventure team, has broken trail and fixed ropes between Camp 3 and the summit.

By reaching the top, Sanu Sherpa has become the first person to summit all the 8,000'ers twice (at least according to the statistics pre-Jurgalski). Sanu climbed with Japanese climber Naoko Watanabe who, after summiting Nanga Parbat last week, takes his 8,000m total to 11. Watanabe will next go for Broad Peak and then on to Gasherbrum I.

The Alpenglow team, led by Topo Mena, has put four climbers on top, but there are no further details.

Blue Sky Treks and Tours report summits by Romanian Adrian Laza, plus Nepali climbers Tenjing Sherpa and Chhangba Sherpa.

The 360 Expeditions team is currently in Camp 3 and will attempt the summit tomorrow. They report lots of snow on the route.

How about K2?

Progress is not as swift on K2 as expected. At 11:30 am Pakistan time, a group of Sherpas had reached the Bottleneck, according to 8K Expeditions. This is significantly later than planned.

Nyma Gyalzen, leading Grace Tseng of Taiwan, reported pretty strong winds some hours ago. The team was in a tent pitched 100m below Camp 4. Gyalzen told outfitter Summit Karakoram that they were waiting for the wind to abate before setting off toward the top, after the rope-fixing Sherpas.

Most K2 teams are heading for Camps 3 and 4 today. A few clients, including record-seekers Kristin Harila, Pasdawa Sherpa, Dawa Ongchu, and Tseng (climbing with at least two Sherpa guides), intend to follow the rope fixers to get to the top as soon as possible.

In a tweet at noon Pakistan time, The Karakoram Club blog wrote that the summit push had stopped because of bad weather and harsh winds, and that some teams were even returning to Base Camp. We are checking for confirmation and further details.