Known Spanish climber Alberto Zerain and his climbing partner, Mariano Galvan from Argentina, have been reported as missing on Nanga Parbat.
Zerain’s team announced on 27, June, that communication with the climber had been lost on 24, June. According to a statement on their Twitter account, the team believes that because of the number of days the climbers have spent on the Mazeno route, they believe their radio equipment has lost battery.
In the case of Tibet, it has decided to close its borders to climbers as a result of the actions of one man, Polish climber Janusz Adamski. In May, Adamski ascended the Tibetan North Side of Everest and successfully reached the summit; he then proceeded to descend the mountain from the Nepalese South Side. Adamski did not have a permit from Nepal to complete this traverse and was in violation of immigration laws between the two countries.
Prior to this, we also reported that another climber, Ryan Sean Davy, had been detained for attempting to climb the world’s highest mountain without a permit.
Swedish climber Fredrik Sträng departs Skardu, Pakistan on the road to Baltoro. He arrived in Paju on 22, June at approximately 6:30 pm local time.
In our last Dispatch, Swedish climber Fredrik Sträng was in Skardu, Pakistan battling permit issues and hiking the area.
We are excited to report that the permit issues have been ironed out after 5 patient days of waiting for the LO to arrive in Skardu and meet the team. Sträng left Skardu on 20, June and commenced the ride to Askole followed by the trek to Baltoro Glacier.
Base Camp Magazine is kicking off July with new article features and stories. As we close out our June Calendar, here’s a sneak peek into what’s coming up in July.
Review of FIREPOT by Outdoorfood. Climber Profile: Wendy Ong, continued Dispatch coverage from Fredrik Sträng, and 6 mountaineering disaster book features.
Fredrik Sträng arrives in Skardu, Pakistan experiencing delays but ready to take on the trek to K2 after a 26-hour ride on the Karakoram Highway.
Sträng is feeling good, enjoying the land and trekking the area in good company, mentally preparing for the long trek to the Baltoro Glacier.
Ryan Sean Davy was released from Nepal on 04, June and given clear passage to the US.
In a recent article we covered the story of Ryan Sean Davy, the climber who ventured to Everest with the intent to summit it, only when he got there, he didn’t have enough money to purchase his permit. So, he set out to climb it anyway.
Davy faced a fine of $22,000, double what he would have paid had he just bought the permit at $11,000. He also faced the possibility of jail time, or his fine could have been converted to jail time in whatever scale the Nepalese Government deemed appropriate.
Fredrik Sträng is our K2 2017 Watch Pick, and we will be following his expedition on K2 this year through his Dispatches from the mountain. But who is Fredrik Sträng and why does it matter? I felt that in order to really give readers a sense of what Fredrik Sträng is like as a climber and person, we needed some input from Cass Légér, the editor of BCM and Sträng’s point of contact for Dispatches. During my latest meeting with Cass, I lobbied for the quote bits below.
Here’s a glimpse into the life of this incredible climber, with some quotes from Cass Légér, with whom I spoke with this week while trying to get to know Sträng a bit better for this piece.
While western climbers are famed for their great feats, Sherpa climbers are some of the best, with a natural ability to weather high-altitude oxygen levels and an almost unnatural ability to climb relatively effortlessly compared to western climbers. These are 4 of the world’s greatest Sherpa climbers who are still alive.
Pemba Gyalje, Purba Tashi Sherpa, Ang Dorje, Lakpa Gelu
In this Editor’s Note, we’re going to be candid and frank, we’re talking about mountaineering/climbing and why many sportsmen in this field have issues making their romantic relationships work.
If your reason for being alone is because you don’t want to fight or constantly decide between love and climbing, then you don’t really want to be alone. You just don’t want to have to choose, which is different.
Swedish mountaineer Fredrik Sträng has made it safely to Islamabad, Pakistan and is on track to commence K2 2017.
Sträng is in good spirits and keeping good company, excited about the days ahead. Sträng now begins the daunting task of organizing the gear and food he arranged to have shipped to Islamabad on 04, June, prior to his arrival.
On Everest, it’s possible to import some of your food from the nearby villages, many mountaineers and expedition teams often count on getting their fresh vegetables, bread and fruits from them; however, on K2, that’s not an option. If you’re climbing on your own, or as part of a private team without the reliability of commercial expedition food planning, you’re going to want to spend just as much time planning your meal supply as you do on gear planning. It should be noted that if you’re going to want fresh bread, it’s recommended to bring your own supply of ingredients and bake it yourself, chapati style in a pan. We have a great Bannock bread recipe for this. When climbing K2 be sure to have:
Mountaineer Fredrik Sträng heads out to K2 on June 12, 2017, after nearly ten years of absence from the mountain since the 2008 K2 Tragedy that killed 11 mountaineers.
On 3, June, Sträng was ready, packing his gear for his K2 expedition and gave everyone a glimpse of 60% of his gear, which he laid out and gave a tour of. His gear included the Swedish flag, two Petzl ice axes, Olympus Mons La Sportiva high-altitude boots, a Primus Lite XL stove pot and Out Meals dehydrated ready-to-eat meals.
First ascended by Achille Compagnoni on 31 July 1954, the mountain has since sprouted various routes across its faces that lead to the top.
Whether or not you’re crazy enough to attempt it, you’re not getting anywhere without a roadmap. Mountaineers usually take one of these ten pre-determined routes to the peak of K2.
Everest2017 is over, but there’s another season on the horizon. K22017 is just around the corner, and with it, comes a lot of preparation and thoughts, both good and bad. In this Editor’s Note, Base Camp Magazine’s Editor talks a bit about what to expect for K2’s upcoming climbing season and who BCM is watching closely on the mountain.
For every mountaineering season, I have a pick of mountaineers, expedition companies, guides… that I seem more interested in watching as they complete journeys; each season the picks are different, but some are constant favorites. This year, for the K2 season, I am watching Fredrik Sträng closely.
Thankfully, YouTube is an entire resource for some of the best K2 docs out there. These are some of the best K2 mountaineering documentaries you can watch on YouTube that we’ve found.
In the case of the missing Hillary Step, we still are no closer to knowing whether or not the landmark is intact. So far, we have seen that various western mountaineers, including Kenton Cool and Tim Mosedale, claim that the rocky outcrop near the summit of Mount Everest is either completely gone or altered in some way.
But officially, the Hillary Step didn’t disappear, collapse or crumble.
Let’s take a closer look at why there is so much confusion.
Is the Hillary Step Gone? A controversy has arisen during Everest2017 over whether or not the famous Hillary Step outcrop on Mount Everest has collapsed.
Dr. Roland Yearwood, 50, from Alabama died on 21, May within the Death Zone of Everest during the 2017 season.
If you’ve just made the mad dash to the top and succeeded, or even if you didn’t, you may be looking for some relaxation. An 8-hour trek from Everest Base Camp can get you to Hotel Everest View just 30.9 km. (19.2 mi.) away; here enjoy food, relaxation and the best view any hotel boasts.
Everest2017 marks the 21st anniversary of the 1996 Everest Disaster that killed 8 climbers including Adventure Consultants leader Rob Hall and Mountain Madness leader Scott Fisher on May 10, 1996. This day remains with everyone in the mountaineering community as a tragic unfolding of events that began on the 10th with an epic storm and would not end until the 12th. In its path, the storm left 8 climbers dead and one clinging to life, left for dead and only being saved by a tenacious wife who would not give up on him.
More stories of violence on Everest this evening as reports come in about a South African man who was nearly killed on Everest by climbers for allegedly purposefully avoiding payment for a necessary $11,000 (€10,104) permit that is required to climb the mountain.
Ryan Sean Davy says he was “treated like a murderer” when he was found cowering in a cave hiding, all in a bid to obscure his presence and not have to pay the $11,000 climbing fee the Nepalese Government imposes on climbers to reach the world’s highest peak.
Ueli Steck, one of the most revered mountaineers of his time, died on 30 April 2017 while on a Himalayan expedition on Mount Nuptse. He was 40 years old.
Enjoy the memory of Ueli Steck by watching the awe-inspiring videos that made one of the greatest mountaineers a household name:
When we think of Mont Blanc, we think of excellent climbing, amazing views and incredible snow-capped peaks, but little know about the dark history of Mont Blanc and the once-thriving towns it destroyed in 1892 after the Mont Blanc Massif released a hidden lake within the Tête Rousse Glacier upon the town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and the small hamlet of Bionnay.
Ueli Steck, one of the most revered mountaineers of his time, died on 30, April 2017 while on a Himalayan expedition on Mount Nuptse. He was 40 years old.
On 04, May 2017, Ueli Steck was given a ceremonious burial service in Khumjung, Nepal. The mountaineer was cremated, and in attendance were only close family and friends who mourned his death for over three hours. The ceremony took place in Tengboche Monastery in true Nepalese tradition. It was reported that some of his ashes were spread in Nepal, and the rest, taken to Switzerland to be dispersed by his family.
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