Elisabeth Revol (l.) and Tomek Mackiewicz on Nanga Parbat

“We are acclimatized. We’ll try to reach the summit.” Tomek Mackiewicz is quoted on his Facebook page with these words. After about two weeks of strong winds, the weather on Nanga Parbat had improved, the conditions were good, it said. Tomek and his climbing partner Elisabeth Revol probably set off today towards their material depot at 6,700 meters.

Subsiding wind

Nanga Parbat

The 43-year-old Pole and the 37-year-old Frenchwoman want to complete the so-called Messner route – “the only possible Alpine style route in winter”, as Tomek wrote to me last November. In 2000, the South Tyroleans Reinhold and Hubert Messner, Hanspeter Eisendle and Wolfgang Tomaseth had opened the route through the Northeast Face up to an altitude of 7,500 meters. Meteorologists predict clear weather with decreasing wind for the coming days on Nanga Parbat. On Saturday, temperatures of minus 31 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of around 40 kilometers per hour are expected at the 8,125-meter-high summit. From next Tuesday, the wind is to continue to calm down, but then it should be a little colder again.

K2: Poles want to pitch up Camp 1

Entry of the Cesen route

The Polish team at K2 – the second highest mountain in the world, as well as Nanga Parbat located  in Pakistan – stayed in the base camp today. On Friday and Saturday, the climbers want to continue to fix ropes on the Cesen route and pitch up Camp 1 at 6,200 meters. The 8,611-meter-high K2 is the last remaining eight-thousander, which has never been climbed in winter. The Polish expedition led by old master Krzysztof Wielicki wants to change that.

Climbing Pumori in preparation for Everest

Alex Txikon on ascent on Pumori – in the background Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse (from l. to r.)

In Nepal, meanwhile, the Spaniard Alex Txikon has left his base camp at the foot of Mount Everest in the opposite direction. The 36-year-old Basque climbed today with the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” and the Nepalese Nuri and Temba Bhote on the 7,161-meter-high Pumori up to Camp 2 at 6,200 meters. According to Alex, the trio wants to climb the mountain “in a minimalist and fast style” in order to further acclimatize. Subsequently, Txikon and Co. will return to the actual goal of climbing Everest without bottled oxygen. Last Monday, the Spaniard had ascended with five Sherpas to Camp 2 at 6,500 meters on the highest mountain on earth.

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.

Ralf Dujmovits

“It would have been a dream to take this beautiful route, but I do not dare to climb in this crumbly zone.” Ralf Dujmovits sounds a little bit disappointed when he calls me via satellite phone from the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest. Actually, the 52-year-old wanted to scale Everest via the route that Reinhold Messner had opened during his solo ascent in 1980: beneath the North Ridge, then through the upper part of the Norton Couloir, onto the summit plateau. The wind was the reason that he abandoned his plan, explains Ralf: “It is blowing for 14 days now. There is a rocky interruption in the upper section of the Norton Couloir, where it is the steepest. There is no snow, probably it is rather sandy.” Even the point where Messner had left the couloir is free of snow now. This challenge at an altitude of more than 8000 meters is too big for him, because he will be climbing alone and without bottled oxygen, says Ralf. “This is too difficult, too exciting. I’m getting older, I have not enough power for that.” Now he will try to climb to the summit on the normal route, “though it pains me”.

Alone on the mountain

Little snow in and around the Norton Couloir

Dujmovits is the first and by now only German who has climbed all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Everest, in 1992, he used bottled oxygen. Ralf wants to wipe out what he thinks is a mistake. But his sixth attempt on Everest would definitely be his last, he said before his departure.

Ralf is feeling fit, so far he has been spared from colds or other illnesses. His acclimatization is completed. Actually Dujmovits wanted to stay in his camp at 7600 meters for a second night last weekend, but it was too windy. Therefore, he descended to ABC at 6400 meters on Sunday. Previously, he had deposited a material bag at 7700 meters, with a tent, sleeping bag, stove and food. “I carry my stuff by myself”, says Ralf. “Yesterday I was completely alone on the mountain.”

Cannot risk to get stuck in a jam

Everest North Col (r.) with Changtse

Even the ABC is still rather empty, says Ralf. A Chinese group is there, and a few single climbers. These are not the forerunners of the first major summit wave of the season as speculated on the Internet, says Ralf. He expects that 25 and 26 May could be possible summit days. Maybe a first weather window will open already on 23 May, “but still with too much wind to climb without oxygen.” Probably most of the nine groups on the north side focus on the later date, believes Dujmovits. Therefore he has not still decided when to start himself. “Without bottled oxygen I can not risk to get stuck in a jam.” He also wants to consult with the experienced meteorologist Charly Gabl from the Austrian town of Innsbruck. Maybe there could be another weather window at the beginning of June.

Two Sherpas left their groups

Of course the news of the avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall, which killed 16 Nepalis on Good Friday, had spread quickly on the north side too, the 52-year-old climber told me: “Almost all Nepalese Sherpas who work for the teams here have lost in the disaster relatives or friends. There was deep sadness at Chinese base camp for two or three days. Two Sherpas left their expeditions. Meanwhile one of them has returned. Apart from that we have not noticed much of the trouble on the south side.”

Diamir face, Messner route on the right side

The cloud cover has broken on Nanga Parbat. Snowfall had stopped overnight as predicted by Austrain meteoroligist Charly Gabl, writes Ralf Dujmovits in an email from basecamp. 40 centimeters of fresh snow have fallen. The climbers had two hours of sunshine. For the first time in days Darek Zaluski and Ralf could see the whole Diamir-Face: “Observing it our fear of being in quite a high risk when climbing up the Messner-Route was very obvious. On the huge serac-barrier are two big ice towers which are isolated from the rest. And they don’t look very stable.”

In the line of slope

The two ice towers (ovals) and the depot (x)

The depot, which Ralf and Darek have made at about 5500 meters and which they thought could be a possible camp site, is in the line of slope of a potential ice avalanche which would result in case that one of the two ice towers collapses. “From my planning I knew that for the Messner-Route I shall have to climb underneath this ice-barrier. But I didn’t expect to have to search for the route in such difficult ice and glacial conditions and to spend much more time underneath this barrier.” After the heavy snowfall of the last 36 hours the lower part of the Messner-Route looked much more closed as it was actually.

One and a half days full risk

Ralf studying the route

Weatherman Charly Gabl is expecting quite low wind conditions on 8th and 9th January. That sounds like a good opportunity for a summit attempt. But first, Ralf has to overcome the tricky passage at the bottom. “Now I’m heavily thinking of what to do?”, writes Ralf. “My two nights for acclimatizing on the summit of Aconcagua were on 12th and 13th December. I feel strong but I’m not as quick as I should be under these conditions.” Ralf expects that he will need one and a half days for climbing from the camp at 4900 meters to above the ice barrier. “It’s a big risk to spend so much time underneath these two unstable ice-towers. I shall have to find out my decision within the next 24 hours.”

First ascent

A winter expedition is not for wimps. Minus 18 degrees Celsius showed the thermometer of Ralf Dujmovits at the basecamp on the Diamir side of Nanga Parbat. Not outside, but inside the tent. “We have just only two and a half hours of sun per day here at the basecamp”, says Ralf Dujmovits. There was hardly time to warm up the computer and the satellite modem to operating temperature. Ralf and Darek Zaluski have returned from their first trip exploring the lower glacier areas. “That was a hard tracking job”, says Ralf. “On top we had powder snow, below a hard crust of old snow, which often broke when I stepped on it.”

Wonderful day

Summit in evening light

The two climbed up to a height of 4850 meters, “just below Camp 1 of the Kinshofer route”. The normal route will be out of the question as well as the variant that the Austrian climber Gerfried Goeschl had opened in 2009. “There is so much blue ice that many people would be necessary to fix ropes on these routes.” Ralf will probably try to climb the same route as Reinhold Messner did on his solo 1978. This is no walk in the park, says Ralf: “There are many crevasses and more steep slopes with blue ice than I expected. The many ice barriers in the lower part make it very complicated to find a way.” He wants to take another close look on the route. For their first trip Ralf and Darek had “a wonderful day, only a few clouds in the west, no wind at 4800 meters and also above not very much (from 40 to 50 km/h).”

Moment of silence for the victims

After the ceremony

After arrival at the basecamp the expedition team and the porters had kept silent for a minute in memory of the eleven climbers who had been murdered there by terrorists last summer. “It was a very moving ceremony”, says Ralf. In a short address he talked about the terrible event and expressed his hope that tourism would return to the region. Three armed policemen are detailed to protect Ralf, Darek, their cook Essan and kitchen helper Karim at the basecamp. “Three more who must be provided with food and heat.”