Mountaineering Boot Grades Quick Guide
Mountaineering boot grades can be tricky. This quick guide will help you better understand which boots should and can be used for certain activities, such as alpinism, mountain walking and mountaineering.
Tag Archives: Ice Climbing
Dispatch: Apricot Tours K2 Winter 2020: On the Way to Askole
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.
Dispatch: Apricot Tours K2 Winter 2020: From Islamabad to Skardu
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.
K2 Winter 2020 Dispatches: Apricot Tours Heads Out Led by Mingma G.
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.
The Best Mountaineering Documentaries on YouTube – Ice Climbing
Some of the best mountaineering documentaries can be found on Youtube.
Our list includes Touching the Void, IMAX Alps, Miracle on Everest, Beyond the Edge and more.
UPDATE: Tom Ballard & Daniele Nardi Rescue
Over the weekend, the Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard rescue operation was plagued by delays and bad weather. A rescue fund has been set up.
Tom Ballard, Son of Alison Hargreaves, Disappears on Nanga Parbat
The acclaimed son of Alison Hargreaves has disappeared on Nanga Parbat while on an expedition in late February with Daniele Nardi.
The last time the pair were heard from was on Sunday, 24 February 2019.
Tom Ballard is the son of Alison Hargreaves, first woman to summit Mount Everest during a solo climb without supplemental oxygen. She died 3 months later on K2 at the age of 33. Ballard is 30.
La Sportiva Olympus Mons Evo Boots Updated
The La Sportiva Olympus Mons Evo Boot has been the warhorse of the 8,000er club, carrying climbers up to the highest peaks for over 20 years. In 2019, it has been revamped to create a new, lighter boot; the Olympus Mons Cube.
K2 Remains Unconquered in Winter (2020)
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
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.
Vanessa O’Brien Thinks the Nanga Parbat Rescue Could Have Climbed Higher to Save Tomasz Mackiewicz
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.
One Saved, One Perishes on Nanga Parbat During Winter Expedition
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.
Wendy Ong Shares How She Overcame Her Spinal Cord Injury and Climbed On
“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.”
Coming Up: Wendy Ong on Surviving a SCI and Climbing
Wendy Ong is the only person to have fallen nearly 200 feet (70m), survive, go on to rock climb, ice-climb, and ski at high levels with a T-10 Spinal Cord Injury; survive sepsis and climb her hardest trad route as a paraplegic (5.12- Cloud Tower, Red Rocks, Nevada) a few months later; ski her way across North America; and be the only para to ski, ice-climb, and rock climb in the space of less than ten days.
Fredrik Sträng Ends K2 Expedition With Broad Peak Attempt
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.
K2 2017 is Over, Fredrik Sträng to Try Again Next Year
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.
First Successful Summits on K2 Since 2014
There hasn’t been a successful summit on the King of Mountains, K2, since 2014. However, this changed today when one expedition, led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, made it to the summit and reported their successful assault through social media.
Roughly six hours ago, Mingma G., head of Dreamers Destination, reported on his Facebook page that he and 11 other climbers had successfully made it to the summit. He wrote:
28/07 UPDATE: Fredrik Sträng K2 Summit 2017 | Summit Abort and Reattempt Through Cecen Route
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.”
The Wait is Over, Fredrik Sträng Attempts K2 Summit Today
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.
Fredrik Sträng and Ali Musa Wait for a Weather Window on K2
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.
Routes Up to K2’s Summit
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.
K2 Mountaineering Documentaries You Can Watch on YouTube
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.
5 Famous Ueli Steck Videos
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:
Ueli Steck Cremated and Ashes Split Between Switzerland and Nepal
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.
Base Camp Magazine 