Denis Urubko is a stellar mountaineer and one of the most qualified candidates to succeed in a K2 Winter Ascent. His history attempting this feat on K2 goes back 17 years. Without a summit, he ends his mountaineering career in 2020.
On 19 February, Denis Urubko reported the incredible story of his evacuation from Broad Peak. Translated and edited from his words in Russian, Urubko detailed his disbelief after being told a helicopter was on its way to pluck him off the mountain.
The Apricot Tours K2 Winter 2020 team crosses the Baltoro Glacier and Concordia and arrives at K2 Base Camp.
The Apricot Tours K2 Winter 2020 team tests gear, concludes sponsor photo sessions and prepares to depart for Askole.
On 14 Jan, the team departed Askole with four dozen porters and began their K2 Base Camp Trek. It begins in Askhole and winds its way through the Braldu Valley before reaching the famous Baltoro Glacier to Concordia.
The Apricot Tours K2 Winter 2020 team arrived in Skardu and was joined by team leader Mingma G.
They briefed with Liaison Officers and enjoyed a K2-themed cake gifted to them by other members of the mountaineering community in Skardu.
Apricot Tours Announces its K2 Winter 2020 Expedition. Dispatch updates to follow.
This year, we are following a Nepalese expedition attempting to summit K2 during the winter season. Apricot Tours mounted their expedition recently and reached Skardu on 08 Jan 2020.
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The North Face climbers David Lama, Jess Roskelley and Hansjörg Auer are presumed dead after an avalanche in the Canadian Rockies.
After finding Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi on Nanga Parbat, Alex Txikon has continued his quest for K2. On 14 March 2019, he reached Camp 1, leaving an audio message on his tracker.
On 09 March, the search for Tom Ballard and his climbing partner, Daniele Nardi, was officially called off. The previous sightings of “silhouettes” during the reconnaissance operation were confirmed to be the bodies of the two climbers.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce that the search and rescue operation of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi was officially called off on 09 March 2019.
The rescue operation had been ongoing since the climbers’ last communication on 24 February. Both climbers were on an expedition attempting to climb the notorious Mummery Spur on Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. Since the route’s creation, it has remained unclimbed.
On 06 March, the Nardi team revealed that Alex Txikon had identified two “silhouettes” through a high powered telescope. The team was prepared to confirm the sightings using the assistance of a helicopter flyby. On the scheduled day, Pakistan recalled the helicopter for military operations. It would be another two days before the identification could be completed.
On 09 March, Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo announced on Twitter that the “silhouettes” previously identified were, in fact, those of Tom Ballard and Daniele Nardi.
In a surprising update to the Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard Rescue operation, Alex Txikon identifies two Silhouettes on Nanga Parbat from Base Camp. The search is continuing.
According to reports, the identification was made at dawn; and helicopters are scheduled to arrive soon to continue the exploration of the mountain. The report stated that the search would continue along the Mummery Spur route. The team hopes to get closer observations of images they witnessed through a telescope.
After a what seemed like a disappointing turn of events on K2, Fredrik Sträng veers course and summits Broad Peak, salvaging some of his K2 2017 expedition.
The 2017 K2 season is over. Only one expedition made it all the way to the summit, however, Fredrik Sträng vows to try again next year.
Fredrik endured a series of setbacks on K2, the weather being the most challenging adversary for this master climber. Communication was also down during the last few days of his expedition.
On 28 July, Fredrik returned to Base Camp after aborting the ascent at aprox. 7,400 meters due to bad weather and dangerous conditions that included little visibility, waist-deep snow and avalanches.
On 28 July at 8:00 P.M. EST, Fredrik’s contact updated his progress by stating that Fredrik and his partner would attempt the summit again. He will now approach the summit via the Cescen Route due to “bad conditions on Abruzzi.”
Yesterday, he announced that today is the day for the summit bid start!
We, and all you reading this now, have been keeping our fingers crossed in hopes of good weather for the summit attempt for Fredrik Sträng’s Sigma K2017 Expedition. In our last Dispatch, we left Fredrik waiting patiently as he watched the stars and contemplated his place amongst them and measured his size against the mountain.
Through Dispatches, you’ve had an inside look into the Sigma K2 2017 Expedition that is underway with climbers Fredrik Sträng from Sweden, Ali Musa from Pakistan and their third team member, Abass, their Chef Cook at K2 Base Camp.
Next week, he and Ali Musa are expecting to have a chance at a summit push on K2, but it will most likely be a shared effort between them and other expeditions on the mountain.
Moving on from Camp 1 after breakfast in his tent this morning, Fredrik Sträng commences the climb to Camp 2 and beyond.
Still snowing each day since his arrival on K2, Fredrik Sträng has made the best of the weather and window opportunities afforded to him on the mountain, always keeping physically active and exercising his mental capacities to remain in top shape for the summit.
Getting over a sore neck, traversing unnaturally wet snow and finally getting a taste of Camp 1, Fredrik Sträng’s K2 2017 Expedition has turned out to be eventful early on, but plans are still on track for the summit.
Swedish climber Fredrik Sträng finally reaches K2 on Tuesday 27, June at approximately 6:50 pm local time.
Sträng shared an image of himself posing at Broad Peak Base Camp with a view of K2 in the distance on his Facebook Page. According to his reports, many teams have gathered in the area for their expeditions to K2 and Brad Peak this season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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