Tamara Lunger

The adjourned game on Nanga Parbat continues. 15 centimeters of fresh snow cover the Base Camp on the Diamir side. Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger may be forced to postpone their acclimatization climb they actually planned for Sunday. A reconciliation between the Spaniard Txikon and the Italians Daniele Nardi seems unlikely. “YES, cooperation is finished”, Alex writes to me from Base Camp. “Although tried to give more than one chance to this cooperation, it was finally impossible.” The dispute also stresses Tamara Lunger. The 29-year-old South Tyrolean has already climbed two eight-thousanders: In 2010, as the youngest woman ever, Lhotse (with supplementary oxygen) and in 2014 K 2 (without breathing mask). On Nanga Parbat, she once again forms a team with the Italian Simone Moro. Last year, both had to abandon their attempt on Manaslu due to heavy snowfall. I have contacted Tamara in Nanga Parbat Base Camp.

Tamara, the bad weather has forced you to stay in Base Camp for days. How do you spend your time and keep yourself fit?

I had to cope with some health problems because I had a bad cough. So it was not so bad for me that everything went like that. And then, of course, we tried every day to keep the trail to Camp 1 open. But in fact your physical condition doesn’t get better if you only sit in Base Camp doing nothing. Your body is getting more ponderous. On the days without any chance to go out, I always have the opportunity to write my book, to film, just enjoy the sun or talk to all the men here about women. 

On winter expeditions, patience is even more in demand than during expeditions in the other seasons. Is it hard for you to wait?

I must honestly say: yes. But it’s so important for me to reach this summit in winter that I actually take three months to achieve my aim and don’t put myself under any pressure. I am here to stand on top of Nanga Parbat. I’ll try anything, and I know that Simone Moro is the best climbing partner I can have. In this last period, I’ve already learned a lot from him, particularly concerning winter climbing. We get along very well, and I’m happy to be here and to have this opportunity.

Doing the trail-breaking

You both have given up your plan to ascend on the Messner route. Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol had climbed on this route within striking distance to the summit. What caused you to change your plan?

When Tomek and Elisabeth tried to reach the summit, we were along with them in Camp 2. We had to wait there for two days because of the weather, and unfortunately our food ran short. Despite the good weather window, we decided to go down. Upon their return from the summit attempt, Tomek and Elisabeth advised us against climbing the route because there was a dangerous serac that could collapse at any moment.

What conditions do you expect now on the Kinshofer route?

It should be quite good and hard. We have tried to maintain the trail up to Camp 1. From Camp 1 to Camp 3 it’s quite icy. The strong wind was very helpful there.

Simone and you joined forces with Alex Txikon and Co. Does that also mean that you’ll do the summit push together? Or will you then try to reach the highest point in separate rope parties?

It’s too early to tell. Anyway, we’ll set off together, and we are already looking forward to doing it. We all are on the ball and have a lot of fun together.

Three teams have already left the mountain. How much time are you willing to spend on Nanga Parbat?

Until the end of winter. I feel quite a lot of positive things. Until now, we had to fight numerous problems, but here it’s more a love story: The prince has to fight for a long time until he gets his princess. But hold your horses!

Lunger, Moro, Sadpara, Txikon (from r. to l.)

Many commentators in the media – by the way I don’t – talk about a race on Nanga Parbat. What do you think about that?

If there was one, then it’s over now! And I am very happy and looking forward to whatever comes. And the media are really taking the easy way. Some of them construe their own reality putting things together, listen to just one opinion or speculate, but don’t know what they are doing here. Many of the disputes, disagreements and differences here in Base Camp arose thanks to and for the media. Climbers are reported from outside as being good or evil, behaving right or wrong. And we ourselves who sit here in Base Camp are only astonished, but don’t have any influence of some things that happen.

But I must say, it has opened my eyes. This is not the right place for climbers who only come here to please the world outside, to report exciting stories to get as many likes, clicks or God knows what else. Among other things, we have to struggle to survive. In the icy cold, a stupid mistake may lead to death. And your comrades will hardly be able to help. Everything we do here has its value. But we too have a certain value which sometimes seems really fragile.

How do you deal with the disagreements between Alex and Daniele, which the Spaniard has made public?

I am, or rather, those who are still here are suffering from these disagreements. A particular person has played a dirty game and now has to live with the consequences.

Is it for you a special situation as the only woman among men on the Diamir side?

I have Igone (Mariezkurrena), the girlfriend of Alex, as my support here. Sometimes it is quite pleasant to be only among women. With the men you can only talk about the same two themes: women and what’s hanging between men’s legs.

Update 8 February: Italian Daniele Nardi abandoned his expedition and left Nanga Parbat Base Camp.

Ralf Dujmovits at the ISPO

Ralf Dujmovits is one of the many climbers who have already failed in winter on Nanga Parbat. The first and so far only German who climbed all 14 eight-thousanders tried to scale the 8,125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan at the turn of 2013/2014 after having acclimatized previously on the 6,962-meter-high Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. At that time Ralf abandoned his expedition relatively quickly because he thought the danger of ice avalanches on the Messner route was by far too high. I met the 54-year-old this week at the trade fair ISPO in Munich.

Ralf, at the moment much is happening on Nanga Parbat. Are you not itching to go there again?

Of course, I am itching, but I also know how cold, hard and difficult the times on Nanga Parbat can be. In this respect I am quite happy that I enjoyed the winter in the south while climbing. [Ralf returned mid-January with his partner, the Canadian climber Nancy Hansen, from a trip to Southeast Asia]. Despite everything, I’m itching so much that we consider going there again next winter. I would very much just like to use my experiences that I made on Nanga Parbat for an – in the ideal case successful – winter ascent.

But you would have to be prepared for the fact that you would be anything but alone on the mountain. It feels as if Nanga Parbat in winter becomes more and more attractive for professional climbers each year.

It’s whipping up. K 2 and Nanga Parbat are the only eight-thousanders, which have not yet been climbed in winter. Of course, many mountaineers want to try it. I think it’s good if you do it with a lot of experience, even in climbing Nanga Parbat in summer. Then you already know where to go and what to expect. In this respect, I think I would have good cards – if the conditions on the mountain permit.

Ralf on Nanga Parbat in January 2014

This winter, many experienced climbers are trying to scale Nanga Parbat, even with winter experience on this mountain. To look no further than Tomek Mackiewicz, who was there the sixth winter in a row, or even Simone Moro, a very experienced winter climber. Nevertheless, Nanga Parbat remains a hard nut to crack. Why is it so difficult to climb this mountain in winter?

I think, the main mistake is trying to climb Nanga Parbat insufficiently acclimatized. Last week there was a relatively long good weather window but once again it was not used. There are some climbers who had a good pre-acclimatization on 6000-meter-high mountains. Despite everything, I believe that the acclimatization is not sufficient to be able to ascend as quickly as possible. There’s the rub. When the rare good weather windows are used for acclimatization, essential time is lost.

Ralf coming down from the Messner route

This year again, some teams tried to climb variants of existing routes like the Schell route or the Messner route. Which route do you think has the best chances of succeeding?

I still believe that a winter ascent on the Rupal side is not possible because the route leads to the Mazeno Ridge from where it’s still a long way to the top. You have to make a very long traverse towards the summit trapezoid. There is almost always in winter consistently black ice. You simply need too much time for this traverse at high altitude. If at all, you will have the best chances to succeed on the Diamir side. The Messner route, on the far left side of the Diamir flank, is probably the most promising. Or the very classic Kinshofer route that, however, needs to be secured with fixed ropes because it is very steep in long areas and thus has black ice in winter.

You said you are flirting with the idea of ​​returning to Nanga Parbat next winter. Will your motivation be gone, if someone should succeed climbing it for the first time this winter?

Of course, for all who are now on Nanga Parbat a dream would come true to be the first ever at the summit in winter. They would kid themselves denying it. I already stood on top of Nanga Parbat, I know the mountain well, I need not necessarily to reach the summit a second time. If I try it again in winter, I’ll focus on being the first to do it. If someone was successful this winter, I probably would not go there anymore.

In this case, you could go to K 2.

I think I am beyond the age to tackle K 2 in winter. K 2 is at least one dimension more difficult than Nanga Parbat. And if so many climbers find Nanga Parbat a hard nut to crack, then all the more it will be much, much more extreme on K 2.

Mount Everest is even higher. Did you finally give up your ambition to climb it without bottled oxygen?

I take an Everest sabbatical in 2016. [In 1992, Mount Everest was the only eight-thousander, where Ralf was using a breathing mask. Since then he tried seven times in vain to scale the highest mountain on earth without bottled oxygen.] But we plan to go there again in 2017. I have still not banished the thought of climbing Everest without bottled oxygen.

You have an Everest break, but for sure other ideas for this year?

I have other plans. There are seven-thousanders which are still unclimbed. One of them is located in Pakistan. We would like to climb it in June.

Will you tell us, which one?

No, we actually don’t want to give details by now.

Group picture – with joker Tomek Mackiewicz (r.)

Again, it’s a tough struggle for the first winter ascent on Nanga Parbat – and a dangerous one. On the Rupal side, the southwestern side of the mountain, the Polish “Nanga Dream” team is working their way up on the Schell route. “The guys are on the ridge [the Southsouthwest Ridge] trying to make Camp 3”, the team writes to me today. “They are pushing higher up to 7,000 meters.” Camp 2 is located at 6,200 meters. On the Diamir side, the northwestern side of the mountain, Thursday is “one of the few days – if not the only one – that we ALL are in Base Camp at the same time”, the Spaniard Alex Txikon writes on Facebook.

Fixed rope torn

The mountaineers of the four expeditions on the Diamir side took the opportunity to take a “family picture”. “We’re in Base Camp licking our wounds, following weather forecasts and contemplating our options”, says Adam Bielecki. The Pole survived an 80-meter-fall with minor injuries on his right hand. On the way up to Camp 2 at 6,100 meters on the Kinshofer route, Adam had lost his footing as a fixed rope had torn. “Fortunately Daniele [Nardi] was securing me with a second rope”, Bielecki writes on Facebook, adding: “Nanga ist not an indulgent type.” Not for nothing more than two dozen attempts to climb the eight-thousander in Pakistan for the first time in winter have failed in the past decades.