For decades, mountaineers have attempted to climb K2 in winter, with the most recent being Apricot Tours in 2020. They have all failed, but data shows promise that it can be done.
Many expeditions have tried including the 2018 Krzysztof Wielicki expedition that rescued Elisabeth Revol on Nanga Parbat. Other expeditions were attempted it in 1988, 2003, 2012 and 2015, and 2019.
The 2008 K2 Disaster was a highly publicized climbing disaster that resulted in the deaths of 11 climbers on 01 August of that year. The tragedy also heightened scrutiny of safety precautions and climber responsibility during expeditions.
The 2008 K2 Disaster was brought on by a series of events, some preventable, some not. but what it had in common with many mountaineering disasters, including the 1996 Everest Disaster, was the continuation of a summit push past the safe turnaround time.
In a controversial statement on Twitter, Vanessa O’Brien revealed that she felt the Nanga Parbat rescue volunteers could have climbed higher to retrieve Tomasz Mackiewicz.
On Friday, 26 January, Tomasz Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol made a successful assault on the summit of Nanga Parbat during their Winter Ascent Expedition. Prior to their attempt, Nanga Parbat had only been summited once in the winter in 2014.
PAKISTAN – One climber has been rescued from Nanga Parbat and one perished during separate winter expeditions on the “Killer Mountain.”
French mountaineer Elisabeth Revol was rescued off of the mountain after an ill-fated storm trapped her and her climbing partner above 25,000 ft (7620 m).
Her climbing partner, Polish native Tomasz “Tomek” Mackiewicz had to be left behind due to his severe injuries and physical condition.
Now, we’re moving into our Antarctica and Cold-Environment Expedition Season. This is where we feature climbers, explorers and expeditions traveling to Antarctica and other environments that are naturally cold year-round.
We have a lot planned for this long season that will stretch into the end of winter 2017. Included in our publication calendar is our well-awaited coverage of Second Lieutenant Scott Sears’ solo expedition to the South Pole and a feature on Dr. Ash Routen’s expedition to Lake Baikal in Siberia where he will be leading a team of 3 Brits across one of the world’s most interesting bodies of water.
“Certain that Bob had me, I unclipped from the anchors, leaned back – and then free-fell nearly 200 feet to the ground.” I kept telling myself, “Don’t close your eyes Wendy, don’t close your eyes.”
Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High School’s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) took on mountaineering in a recent training course designed to teach basic mountaineering concepts and techniques.
After the expedition, work on accepting that the expedition is over. The team is back home, the season has ended and you need to get back to your life and responsibilities.
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.
While traditional mountaineering goals would take to long to complete for inclusion in the Winter Olympic Games, Ski mountaineering, on the other hand, is not; and the International Olympic Committee Executive Board announced this week that they would be including ski mountaineering in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games Lausanne.
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.
This article was shared from Northeast Alpine Start a mountaineering tip/tutorial and product review publication.
Continuing my almost weekly Tuesday (not always Tuesday) Tech Tip series this week I’m sharing how to build the Auto-Locking Munter (ALM) hitch. In last weeks post I shared how to tie a Munter Hitch (MH) directly onto a carabiner, a skill useful for any climber. This skill is a little more specialized and its…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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