We have decided to end our K2 expedition. The weather is simply not cooperating. We set off for Camp 1 yesterday, only to be turned back by a mini-blizzard - 24 hours later it is still snowing.
We have been on the mountain for 35 days, trying to establish camps, acclimatize and prep the mountain for a summit bid. On the Abruzzi Spur, climbing with us, have been a Pakistani-Tibetan expedition and a team of Japanese climbers. The Pakistan-Tibetan team has gotten the highest, in fact they almost summited the other day. They actually climbed to 8,400 meters, only to be turned back just 211 meters short of the summit.
The weather chased them back toward their tents, but they almost didn't make it. Just short of the tents, the blizzard caught them. For seven hours they stayed in one place, doing jumping jacks, hoping to survive the storm. As the winds died down they found the tents: 50 feet from where they were standing. If, they had walked back and forth, chances are they would have fallen off the ridge.
The Pakistani-Tibetan team is also heading home. The Japanese are waiting.
In this region of the Karakorum, no teams have summited on the 8,000-meter peaks. Those still hanging in there are hoping for a major shift in the weather: none is forecasted (the best forecasts have always been wrong, while the bad forecasts have generally been right).
I am leaving K2 feeling a bit sad, but convinced that I am making the correct decision. This is a dangerous peak. If conditions aren't right, the risks are simply too great.
Hopefully, it will be hot when we get home, allowing our cold bones to heat up.
We have been on the mountain for 35 days, trying to establish camps, acclimatize and prep the mountain for a summit bid. On the Abruzzi Spur, climbing with us, have been a Pakistani-Tibetan expedition and a team of Japanese climbers. The Pakistan-Tibetan team has gotten the highest, in fact they almost summited the other day. They actually climbed to 8,400 meters, only to be turned back just 211 meters short of the summit.
The weather chased them back toward their tents, but they almost didn't make it. Just short of the tents, the blizzard caught them. For seven hours they stayed in one place, doing jumping jacks, hoping to survive the storm. As the winds died down they found the tents: 50 feet from where they were standing. If, they had walked back and forth, chances are they would have fallen off the ridge.
The Pakistani-Tibetan team is also heading home. The Japanese are waiting.
In this region of the Karakorum, no teams have summited on the 8,000-meter peaks. Those still hanging in there are hoping for a major shift in the weather: none is forecasted (the best forecasts have always been wrong, while the bad forecasts have generally been right).
I am leaving K2 feeling a bit sad, but convinced that I am making the correct decision. This is a dangerous peak. If conditions aren't right, the risks are simply too great.
Hopefully, it will be hot when we get home, allowing our cold bones to heat up.