Andrzej Bargiel after his return to base camp

The Pole Andrzej Bargiel has written K2 history. According to his own words, the 30-year-old succeeded yesterday the first complete ski descent from the second highest mountain in the world. In doing so, he snapped up the “Holy Grail”, which had previously caused the failure of some of the best ski mountaineers in the world – such as Hans Kammerlander from South Tyrol in 2001. After reaching the summit at 8,611 metres on Sunday, Andrzej skied down in one go to the base camp on a combination of several routes, his sponsor from Austria informed: “From the summit, he descended along the shoulder towards the Cesen route (also known as the Basque route), passing below huge seracs, then via the extremely difficult Messner traverse, and via the arête on the Kukuczka-Piotrowski route (which was opened by the two Poles in 1986). Next, he had to face some snow fields full of crevasses. He managed to overcome all the difficulties and achieved his dream, achieving the impossible in the process.”

“Just glad”

On the run

“I’m just glad I don’t have to come back,” said Andrzej in the base camp, visibly marked by the exertions, but with a big grin on his face. During the ascent he had been supported by his compatriot Janusz Golab and a team of Sherpas. “K2 is certainly the most demanding and also most dangerous eight-thousander that you can ski down,” Luis Stitzinger told me a year ago, when Slovenian Davo Karnicar and later Bargiel had given up their attempts of a complete ski descent. In 2011, the 49-year-old German mountaineer – who a few days ago scaled Gasherbrum I, his eighth eight-thousander – had skied down from 8,050 meters to the base camp.

Not any flat meter

Andrzej’s ski route

“On K2, you have to be a very good extreme skier, and you always have to give it your all because there is not any flat meter.” Another danger is caused by the increasing temperatures in the Karakoram as a result of climate change. “There you set off high up on the mountain on rock-hard snow and reach the lower parts on snow as soft as butter. Particularly in the lower area there is also a threat of wet avalanches thundering down through the couloirs.”

Record season and one death

Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” on the summit of K 2

On Saturday and Sunday, a total of 63 climbers reached the summit of the K2, more than ever before in one season. Among them was Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara”, who had been one of the first winter ascenders of Nanga Parbat in February 2016. Having climbed K2, the 42-year-old completed his collection of the five eight-thousanders in his home country Pakistan. Also sad news was reported from K2: The 41-year-old Japanese Kojiro Watanabe fell to his death on his descent from the summit at about 8,300 meters. R.I.P.

Broad Peak

For me, drones come right after leaf blowers. I find the noise generated by the increasingly popular flying machines extremely annoying. Drones sound like mutated giant bumblebees. Torture for my ears. But even I have to admit: On the eight-thousander Broad Peak in the Karakoram in Pakistan, a drone and the guy who flew it did a great job. Eight days ago, on 9 July, the 64-year-old Briton Rick Allen set off alone for a summit attempt. His teammates stayed in Camp 3 at 7,000 meters. When Rick didn’t return, they sounded the alarm because they feared Allen might have been injured or even died. Sandy Allan, who had already descended to base camp due to strong winds in the summit area, contacted the Polish Bargiel brothers in the nearby K2 Base Camp. Andrzej Bargiel is planning to ski the second highest mountain in the world from the summit to base camp for the first time this summer. His brother Bartek is filming the project – also using a drone.

Thanks to Dan Mazur and Co.

Sandy Allan (l.) and Rick Allen on Nanga Parbat in 2012

Bartek let it take off. With the help of the camera mounted on the drone, Sandy, Andrzej and Bartek were able to find Rick Allen’s exact position and to radio it to Camp 3. A seven-man rescue team, consisting of climbers from the expedition operator “Summit Climb”, managed to climb up to Rick and bring him back to Camp 3 in the dark. “Rick returned to Base Camp on 12 July safely thanks to Dan Mazur (the expedition leader of Summit Climb) and his Sherpas,” Allen’s expedition blog said. “After being examined by a doctor at Base Camp, Rick is okay all things considered and has a few superficial cuts and some frostnip.”

The two Britons Sandy Allan and Rick Allen had landed a coup in the Karakoram in summer 2012. At that time they were the first to reach the summit of Nanga Parbat via the more than ten kilometers long Mazeno Ridge. Allan and Allen had been at very high altitude for 18 days. In 2013, they had been awarded for this amazing ascent the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar of the Climbers”.

Bielecki and Berg on top of G II

Camp 3 on Gasherbrum II

Meanwhile, further summit successes were reported from the Karakoram: According to Polish media reports on Monday, 35-year-old Pole Adam Bielecki and 37-year-old German Felix Berg reached the 8,034-meter-high summit of Gasherbrum II. “We managed to traverse the summit – we reached it by the fragile and surprisingly difficult West Face and went down the regular route (via the Southwest Ridge),” Adam wrote on Facebook. Their companions Jacek Czech, also from Poland, and Boris Dedeshko from Kazakhstan had wanted to climb via the normal route, but had turned around at 7,500 and 7,800 meters respectively, said Bielecki. It was his fifth eight-thousander, for Felix Berg after Mount Everest (in 2004), Broad Peak (in 2014) and Cho Oyu (in spring 2018) the fourth success on one of the 14 highest mountains in the world.

First summit success on Broad Peak

Yesterday, ten climbers from the Austrian expedition operator “Furtenbach Adventures” according to their own words reached the summit of Broad Peak at 8,051 meters. The group had abandoned their first summit bid last week because the avalanche danger had been still too great at that time. The first summit attempts of this summer season have also begun on K2.

A lot of snow on Gasherbrum II

A short snowfall break in the Karakoram – or, as Felix Berg describes it from Gasherbrum II with a twinkle in his eye “a small good-weather disturbance”. Time for the climbers to stuck their noses into the wind and to reconsider their plans. Dominik Müller, head and expedition leader of the German operator Amical alpin has decided to strike the tents on the 8,051-meter-high Broad Peak and to return home. “All the equipment from Camp 1 was recovered,” Dominik writes on Facebook today. “Just now it’s snowing again, and during our ascent there were some avalanches!” The porters have been ordered for Sunday.

Stitzinger: “Too much snow in the flanks and couloirs”

The Amical team led by Luis Stitzinger, who wanted to first climb the 7,082-meter-high Urdok Kangri II, threw in the towel too. “It’s been snowing for days since we arrived at the base camp. There is now half a meter of fresh snow, and up to one and a half meters at 6,000 or 7,000 meteres,” Luis writes on Facebook. “The route looks elegant, but there’s too much snow in the flanks and couloirs.” For the next three days more than half a meter of fresh snow is expected, says Luis adding that they’ll finish the expedition early: “I’ve never experienced such a season with so constant bad weather in the Karakoram.”

Like Russian Roulette

Alex Gavan (l.) and Tunc Findik (r.)

Snowfall has also increased the risk of avalanches on the other eight-thousanders in Pakistan. Continuing the ascent would be like “Russian Roulette”, Romanian Alex Gavan wrote three days ago. Alex and his Turkish team partner Tunc Findik had interrupted their activities on Nanga Parbat. The two want to climb the 8125-meter-high mountain without bottled oxygen.

Bargiel and Golab move to the K2

On the eight-thousander Gasherbrum II, the Poles Andrzej Bargiel and Janusz Golab declared their acclimatization over – “due to heavy snowfall. Time to move on to K2 base camp and focus on our main goal,” writes Bargiel on Instagram. The 30-year-old is planning the first complete ski run from the 8611-meter-high summit of K2. Last year, Bargiel failed on the second highest mountain in the world – because of bad weather.

Göttler and Barmasse want to climb G IV Southwest Face

Gasherbrum IV

The German climber David Göttler and the Italian Hervé Barmasse are probably glad to have made their way to the Karakoram rather late in the season. Both are still on their trekking. They definitely haven’t missed anything so far. Göttler and Barmasse want to first climb the Southwest Face of the 7,925-meter-high Gasherbrum IV – in pure Alpine style, i.e. without bottled oxygen, high camps and high altitude porters.

Nanga Parbat

The spring season on Nepal’s highest mountains has segued almost seamlessly into the summer season on Pakistan’s eight-thousanders. The first expedition teams have reached the base camps. The South African adventurer Mike Horn arrived on the Diamir side of Nanga Parbat a week ago. In the meantime, the 51-year-old and his teammates have already climbed up to 5,900 meters. Maya Sherpa is tackling the 8125-meter-high mountain too. In May, the 40-year-old Sherpani had had to turn back on Kangchenjunga at about 8,500 metres. Less than 100 meters of altitude difference had been missing to the summit. With the Romanian Alex Gavan and the Turkish Tunc Findik, two other well-known climbers have set off for Nanga Parbat. The 36-year-old Gavan, who failed on Dhaulagiri in spring, has so far scaled six eight-thousanders.  For the 46-year-old Findik, Turkey’s most successful high-altitude climber, Nanga Parbat would be his twelfth of the 14 eight-thousanders if successful.

Goal: Entering new territory on Gasherbrum

The Gasherbrum massif

The two Poles Adam Bielecki and Jacek Czech as well as the German Felix Berg will be on the road in the Gasherbrum massif. The trio will acclimatize on the 8,035 meter-high Gasherbrum II, afterwards the three climbers will try to open a new route via the East Face of the 7925-meter-high Gasherbrum IV.  Another possible destination is the still unclimbed 6,955-meter-high Gasherbrum VII. In May, Felix Berg had summited the eight-thousander Cho Oyu in Tibet without bottled oxygen. In spring 2017, Bielecki and Berg together with the Canadian Louis Rousseau and the British Rick Allen had tried to climb the Annapurna Northwest Face, but had had to give up because of bad weather.

Eight-thousander No. 8 for von Melle and Stitzinger?

Alix von Melle (r.) and Luis Stitzinger

The German mountaineering couple Alix von Melle and Luis Stitzinger – both have seven eight-thousander summit successes on their account – also head for the Gasherbrum massif. The 46-year-old and her three years older husband want to climb Gasherbrum I, also known as Hidden Peak, in Alpine style from the south. They have their skis with them. Before that, Alix and Luis try to first climb the 7082-meter-high Urdok Kangri II with a team of the German expedition operator Amical alpin.  Luis will lead the group.

Several expedition teams pitch their tents at K2 (8,611 meter) and neighbouring Broad Peak (8,051 meter). As in summer 2017, the Pole Andrzej Bargiel has planned the first complete ski descent from the summit of K2, the second highest mountain in the world.

K 2, the “King of the Eight-thousanders”

Will K2, after all, stretch out its hand for reconciliation? Despite the difficult weather and snow conditions on the second highest mountain on earth, today more than a dozen climbers have reached the highest camp on the K 2 Shoulder. “He just arrived at Camp 4,” Lina Moey, partner of the Icelander John Snorri Sigurjonsson, wrote on Facebook. “He is very tired, after almost twelve hours of climbing. This was a very long day and the snow reached up to his waist at some points. Fourteen people are planing to summit the peak, 9 of them are Sherpa. They had to dig 1.5 meter down to be able to put the tent down.” On 16 May, the 44-year-old Sigurjonsson had summited the 8516-meter-high Lhotse in Nepal. He was the first Icelander on the fourth highest mountain on earth. Also on the summit of K2, he would be the first climber of his country. John’s GPS tracker showed an altitude of 7,650 meters.

Furtenbach team returns home, Bargiel still in Base Camp

The British-American mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien also reached this height. “Camp 4”, the 52-year-old tweeted concisely, with a link to her GPS tracker. Like Sigurjonsson, O’Brien also belongs to the team of the Nepalese operator Dreamers Destination. Vanessa tries to climb K2 for the third year in a row. If she reaches the summit, it would be her fifth eight-thousander. Today the team of the Austrian expedition operator Furtenbach Adventures descended. “Sadly weather on K2 played it’s own game again,” the team said. “Avalanche danger became dramatically high very quick so team decided to stop and descend to Base Camp. We do not want to send our Sherpas up in that danger.” The team members arrived safe and sound at the foot of the mountain and want to go home tomorrow. “We are still sitting in the Base Camp waiting for weather to improve,” wrote Andrzej Bargiel today on Facebook. The 29-year-old Pole wants to ski down K2 for the first time from the summit without interruption to Base Camp. However, Andrzej and his team are running out of time.

Cardiach and Co. reached last high camp

Broad Peak

On the neighboring eight-thousander Broad Peak, the Spaniard Oscar Cardiach and his companions reached Camp 3 at 7,200 meters and are planning to climb up to the 8051-meter-high summit on Thursday, if the conditions allow an ascent. Cardiach’s team includes Tunc Findik, who has already summited ten eight-thousanders, making him the most successful high altitude climber of Turkey, Muhammad Ali “Sadpara”, who was among the winter first ascenders of Nanga Parbat in 2016, and Yosuf, a Balti HAP (High Altitude Porter). Broad Peak is the last of the 14 eight-thousanders which is still missing in the collection of the 64-year-old Catalan Cardiach. Oscar has climbed all 13 eight-thousanders so far without bottled oxygen.

Gasherbrum II

According to the Pakistani expedition operator Alpine Adventure Guides, there was this summer’s first summit success on Gasherbrum II. The two Frenchmen Mathieu Maynadier and Jeremy Rumebe had reached the 8,034-meter-high summit in the Karakoram, the agency said on Twitter. Further information is not yet available. The two mountain guides from France had planned to climb G II on the normal route and to ski down afterwards. The goal of his first eight-thousander expedition was to gather experience at high altitude for an attempt on a technical route on an eight-thousander over the next few years, Maynadier had said ahead of the trip.

Bargiel is waiting for his chance

Andrzej Bargiel on K 2

The Pole Andrzej Bargiel who wants to ski down K 2 – with 8,611 meters the second highest mountain on earth – is more experienced on eigth-thousanders. The 29-year-old has succeeded already three ski descents from eight-thousanders: Shishapangma (in 2013), Manaslu (in 2015) and Broad Peak (in 2015). Andrzej has just returned from an acclimatization climb. Bargiel and his countryman Janusz Golab spent two nights in Camp 3 at 7,100 meters. “A few days of rest are now ahead of me and the other team members,” Andrzej writes in his blog. “We’ll be watching the weather all the time to catch the right moment for the summit push.”

No new track of Zerain and Galvan

Accident site below the Mazeno Ridge

On Nanga Parbat, the new search for Alberto Zerain from Spain and Mariano Galvan from Argentina has finally been abandoned. The rockfall and avalanche risk below the Mazeno Ridge was too high to reach the point from where the last GPS signal of the two climbers had been received, writes Mirza Ali, head of the search action, on Facebook. Finally, Mirza had flown in a rescue helicopter another five laps over the accident site. His summary: “1. The climbers were swept off the ridge into the crevasse below and buried in heavy avalanche. 2. The avalanche triggered above the climbers at around 6,200 meters. 3. After the avalanche there is no further foot track on the ridge.” R.I.P., Alberto and Mariano!

Update 18 July: Along with the two French Maynadier and Rumebe, the American Colin Haley also reached the summit of Gasherbrum II. The three climbers have meanwhile returned to the base camp. “We are happy that we were alone on the mountain and that we were able to succeed the first ascent this season,” the trio said.

Karnicar strikes his tent on K 2

The Slovenian Davo Karnicar, known for his spectacular ski runs from the highest mountains in the world, has aborted his expedition on K2. The 52-year-old justified his decision with a minor back injury, which he had suffered already at the beginning of the expedition. The injury did not allow him to jump with his skies on the slope to change the direction, said Karnicar. Previously, he had skied down on trial from Camp 1 to the Base Camp. “K2 is too demanding for improvisation and for doing things by halves,” said Davo. Karnicar also pointed out that the key section of the South Face was currently snow-free and therefore a complete ski descent from the summit to the Base Camp, as he had planned, was not possible. The Slovene wanted to ski down the Cesen route.

First complete ski descent from Everest

Davo Karnicar

In 1995, Davo Karnicar succeeded along with his brother Andrej a ski descent from the eight-thousander Annapurna in Nepal on the north side of the mountain. In 2000, Davo was the first to ski down from the highest point of Mount Everest to the base camp on the south side without having to take off his skis. He is listed as the first ski mountaineer who succeeded complete ski descends from the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of all continents (the variant with Mount Kosciusko, the highest mountain of Australia).

Stitzinger: “Most demanding and dangerous 8000er to ski down”

Luis Stitzinger’s ski route in 2011

So far, all attempts to ski down from the 8611-meter-high summit of K 2 to the Base Camp have failed. Karnicar had already returned empty-handed from the second highest mountain on earth in 1993, when a storm had blown away his skis at an altitude of almost 8,000 meters. “K 2 is certainly the most demanding and also most dangerous eight-thousander that you can ski down,” Luis Stitzinger tells me. In 2011, the 48-year-old German mountaineer had skied down from 8,050 meters to the Base Camp. “On K2, you have to be a very good extreme skier, and you always have to give it your all because there is not a flat meter.” Another danger is caused by the increasing temperatures in the Karakoram as a result of climate change. “There you set off high up on the mountain on rock-hard snow and reach the lower parts on snow as soft as butter. Particularly in the lower area there is also a threat of wet avalanches thundering down through the couloirs.” In order to reduce the dangers, it would be advisable to spread the ski descent over two days, says Luis. “But the purists would not except this as a ski run in one go.”

Bargiel also plans to ski down K 2

This summer season also the Pole Andrzej Bargiel wants to ski down K 2. The 29-year-old has succeeded already three ski descents from eight-thousanders: Shishapangma (in 2013), Manaslu (in 2015) and Broad Peak (in 2015). “I believe there is also a line on K 2 which is possible to ski down from the summit to the valley,” says Luis Stitzinger. “But everything has to fit perfectly: good weather and snow conditions, ability and stamina of the skier.”