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.

Broad Peak (with the shadow of K2)

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa does not seem to get fed up with climbing eight-thousanders this summer. Five days after his summit success on K2, when under his guidance twelve climbers had reached the top of the 8,611-meter-high mountain in the Karakoram, the 31-year-old expedition leader of the Nepalese operator Dreamers Destination set off with a team for a late-in-season summit attempt on neighboring Broad Peak. According to the GPS tracker of his client John Snorri Sigurjónsson, the team today reached Camp 2 at about 6,200 meters. Last week, John had become the first Icelander on the summit of K 2, the second highest mountain on earth.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

The Untiring

“We rested well after our successful ascent on K2,” Mingma wrote on Facebook yesterday. “We are the only climbing team in (the) whole Baltoro Glacier (area) now.” It is not yet clear who else is ascending Broad Peak besides Mingma and Sigurjónsson. In case of success the expedition leader would have climbed five times to a height of more than 8000 meters this year. Before K 2, Mingma had scaled along with clients the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri and Makalu in Nepal last spring. At the beginning of the summer, he had reached with a team in blowing snow the summit ridge of Nanga Parbat not being sure if he had really found the highest point.

Update 3 August: Mingma G. Sherpa and nine other climbers pitched up their Camp 3 on Broad Peak at an altitude of about 7,000 meters. Scheduled summit push on Friday. Keep fingers crossed!

Alex Txikon

Alex Txikon throws in the towel. His second summit attempt failed too – and so did the entire winter expedition. The 35-year-old Basque and his Sherpa team decided in Camp 2 at 6,400 meters not to ascent further up. Instead, they packed up and returned to Everest Base Camp today. “It really would have been suicide to go on,” Txikon told his team by satellite phone. “As the head of the expedition, I should not endanger the lives of my companions. And not my own.” Nevertheless, the decision to abandon the summit attempt was not easy, Alex admitted.

Minus 40 degrees Celsius

In the Khumbu Icefall

According to Txikon, the wind had not calmed down in the past two days as previously hoped. Again and again there had been gusts at speeds of up to 70 km/h, with temperatures around minus 40 degrees Celsius, “felt lower than minus 50 degrees due to the strong wind”. For Thursday morning, gusts of up to 115 km/h were expected, said Txikon. High time to return.

Txikon wants to come back

74 days after the departure from Spain, the Basque declared his attempt to climb Mount Everest in winter without bottled oxygen to have definitively failed. He wants to return to Kathmandu as soon as possible, rest there for a few days and then return home. In his first summit attempt three weeks ago, Txikon and Co. had reached Everest South Col at 7,950 meters before the storm had forced them to descend. “This year it was not meant to be,” Alex said. “This mountain in winter requires a lot of respect and does not allow any follies.” Despite his failure, Txikon has not yet buried his Everest dream: “There will be more opportunities, and then I will return and try it again in a pure style.”

Alex Txikon on Everest

It is a race against time. Another storm front is approaching Mount Everest. The meteorologists expect the small weather window with relatively favorable conditions in the summit region to remain open only until Wednesday and then close for a longer period of time. Therefore Alex Txikon, who wants to climb Everest in winter without bottled oxygen, has to push now. In two weeks, the meteorological winter will end. On Monday, the 35-year-old Basque and his five-man strong Sherpa team climbed up to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters. Today Txikon and the Sherpas Nuri, Gesman, Temba, Sanu and Pasang Nurbu want to reach the South Col at 7,950 meters. All Sherpas use supplemental oxygen. Three weeks ago, Txikon’s first summit attempt had failed on the South Col. “We hope to reach the summit on Wednesday ,” Alex said.

Two on the last stage

Climb light

Light and fast, this is Txikon’s tactics. He is climbing with a light backpack. On the first attempt, the team had deposited sleeping bags in Camp 2 and on the South Col. “Although I am no specialist in this modality, we are good connoisseurs of the route,” said Alex. He wants to climb to the highest point with Nuri, the other Sherpas are to wait on the South Col. However, Txikon warns against too high expectations: “ I recognize that the possibilities are very small because the weather does not help us.” While ascending to Camp 2, the wind was still strong. “There were times with speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour, in which we could not even move forward,” Alex said.

Energy kick by Messner

Alex along with his idol Reinhold Messner (l.)

Just before his departure on Monday, Txikon had received an unexpected visit at the Base Camp: Everest legend Reinhold Messner came along. The 72-year-old has been staying in the Khumbu area for film recordings. In 1978, Messner – along  with Peter Habeler – had climbed Everest for the first time without breathing mask. In 1980 the South Tyrolean succeeded in doing the first solo climb of the highest mountain, again without the use of bottled oxygen. “The support he has given us is indescribable,” said Alex, “an energy kick from the hand of the greatest.”

I suppose he needed this encouragement. The eight-day interruption of the expedition had brought the Basque climber out of the rhythm. In addition, Txikon had returned with an almost completely new Sherpa team. Nuri Sherpa is the only member left from the original crew. The other Sherpas had stayed in Kathmandu to recover for the upcoming commercial spring season on Everest. It will start in a few weeks.

Alex Txikon

The dream of an Everest summit success in the first run has gone. Alex Txikon has abandoned his summit attempt and returned to the base camp. “I assure you that I have not given up,” the 35-year-old Basque wrote on Twitter. On Monday, Alex had climbed along with Norbu Sherpa and Chhepal Sherpa at temperatures of about minus 40 degrees Celsius to the South Col on 7,950 meters. But there such a strong wind was blowing that it was impossible to pitch a tent. “We have decided it was not the time to challenge nature at these heights and conditions, since we are nothing in dealing with it, and we could have suffered frostbite or even worse,” Txikon wrote later from Camp 3, adding that at times, it had become a tougher battle than the summit attack of last winter on Nanga Parbat.

After two nights at above 7,000 meters Txikon turned around. Winter is far from over. Alex Txikon will get even more chances. So time to recover and to try it once again.

Alex Txikon during his previous climb to the South Col

“The die is cast,” says Alex Txikon. “There will be only a single summit attack and we will try to climb as we have done so far.” Today the 35-year-old Basque climbed along with the Sherpas Nurbu and Chhepal from Everest Base Camp at 5,250 meters to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters. The other three Sherpas of Alex’ team, Nuri, Pemba and Phurba, want to follow on Saturday. For five days, Txikon and Co. had sat out the bad weather – with squalls of up to 190 km/h in the summit area – in Base Camp. At first, the climbers want to check whether the equipment which they had deposited in Camp 3 at 7,300 meters and in Camp 4 on the South Col at 7,950 meters has been damaged or even blown away and therefore has to be replaced.

Good forecasts

Alex in Everest Base Camp

“It looks as if there will be a good weather window between Tuesday and Saturday with optimal conditions compared to those of the previous days. That would favor a summit attempt,” says Alex. “Maybe all of our options to reach the summit will disappear. But we’ll try everything!”

Everything has to fit

Txikon wants to scale Everest without bottled oxygen. So far, only Ang Rita Sherpa has managed this: on 22 December 1987, at the very first day of the calendrical winter, with exceptionally good and comparatively mild weather. Since 1993 no climber has been on the summit of Everest in the cold season. The great cold in winter normally causes the air pressure in the summit area to fall even further. An ascent without breathing mask is then in the absolute limit of the possible. And really everything has to fit, so that Alex Txikon has a realistic chance to reach the summit and return safely to Everest Base Camp.

P.S.: From Sunday on, I will tear up the slopes of East Tyrol and will, if at all, only blog “sparingly”. So don’t wonder!

Small light in the big wall

Gone! Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki has abandoned his summit attempt in the Everest North Face and descended to the bottom of the wall. He would return to the Advanced Base Camp (ABC) on Central Rongbuk Glacier to gather new strength for another attempt, weather permitting, the 34-year-old said by radio. According to his own words, Kuriki decided to return after having reached an altitude of 7,400 meters during the night. “There was the feeling of wanting to continue. But judging the snow conditions and my physical condition, I decided to descend,” Nobukazu said. A picture on his Facebook page, taken from ABC, shows a light point clearly to the right of the planned route towards the Hornbein-Couloir.

Bad weather approaching

Nobukazu Kuriki

As reported, the Japanese had climbed into the snow-covered North Face, solo and without bottled oxygen. On Thursday, he was confident that he would be able to reach the 8850-meter-high summit before the weather change expected for Saturday. At that moment he still had to climb more than 2,000 meters difference in altitude – an ambitious schedule. And afterwards he would have had to descend. For the next days, snowfall and stronger wind is expected on Everest. Against this background Kuriki’s decision sounds reasonable.

Nobukazu Kuriki

He is hell-bent. “I think the chance is there because the wind is weak”, Nobukazu Kuriki reported via Facebook from his Camp 3 at 6,800 meters in the North Face of Mount Everest. The Japanese wants to reach the summit solo and without bottled oxygen, in the upper part of the wall via the Hornbein Couloir. “The oxygen saturation of my blood is 81 percent and very stable,” the 34-year-old climber said and announced that he would continue to climb up still that Thursday evening (local time). If everything goes smoothly, he believes that he can possibly reach the summit on early Friday evening (local time). For Saturday, according to Kuriki, bad weather is expected.

With nine finger stumps

Everest North Face

The Japanese has already proved in 2012 that he is ready to go to the extreme if necessary. At that time, he suffered severe frostbite during a solo attempt via Everest West Ridge, where he, in his own words, had reached an altitude of about 8,000 meters. He had lost nine of his ten fingers. However, Kuriki returned to Everest, with his nine remaining finger stumps and only one intact thumb. The current attempt is already his sixth on the highest mountain on earth, all of them in fall season. In 2015, Nobukazu climbed up to 8,150 meters on the normal route on the Nepalese south side of Everest before deep snow and strong winds had forced him to turn around. “I will enjoy climbing including all the hardship that comes with it,” he had written to me before. Will he this time be rewarded for his perseverance? Hopefully he will not overwind the screw.

Camp 4 in the Bazhin basin

Showdown on Nanga Parbat! The international team on the Diamir side has reached Camp 4, around 7,100 meters high, in the Bazhin Basin. Tomorrow morning the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Pakistani Ali Sadpara, the Italian Simone Moro and the South Tyrolean Tamara Lunger will set off for their summit push to complete the first winter ascent of the 8,125-meter-high mountain – although the wind will probably slow down only on Friday night. “Optimum wind conditions are expected  for 26th night and will remain throughout 27th, but waiting until then would suppose to spend one ‘extra’ night in Camp 4 at above 7,000 m”, Igone Mariezkurrena reports from Base Camp. “So, although tonight and even tomorrow morning wind will blow at 35km/h and from Northwest – therefore Nanga’s summit trapeze will not protect them –, the four members have debated and decided to set out for the summit at 5:30 to 6:00 (local time), avoiding exposure to extremely low temperatures.” Godspeed and good luck!

Within reach? More than 1400 m difference in altitude are still missing

The Nanga train is rolling again. After they had been stuck in Camp 2 at 6,100 meters for a day due to strong winds, the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Pakistani Ali Sadpara, the Italian Simone Moro and the South Tyrolean Tamara Lunger today ascended on the Kinshofer route – the normal route on the Diamir side of Nanga Parbat – to Camp 3 at 6,700 meters. “The summit looks really close from here”, Simone radioed to Base Camp. On Thursday, the quartet wants to reach the last scheduled high camp at 7,200 meters. If everything matches, the four climbers plan to set off for their summit attempt on Friday.

“Dinner is served”

The weather forecast is favorable. Quiet winter weather is expected for Friday and Saturday : clear view, no snowfall, little wind – actually best conditions for the first winter ascent of the 8,125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan. But the international team has still to climb more than 1,400 meters to the highest point. It’s a long and hard road. Not for nothing more than two dozen attempts to climb Nanga Parbat in winter have failed so far. So fingers crossed!

Departure in the night

The Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki has turned around again. The 33-year old abandoned his second summit attempt at 8,150 meters, about 200 meters above the South Col. „Deep snow and high winds“ stopped him, Kuriki tweeted. “I did my best. I’m really disappointed.” Indeed he sounded exhausted and frustrated talking via radio with his team. 

Marathon ends prematurely

Kuriki’s route

The Japanese descended to his last camp at 7,800 meters and further down. His first attempt one and a half weeks ago had ended just above this camp, also due to deep snow and the time that had been running out. Kuriki was climbing without bottled oxygen. Kuriki was aware, that his summit day with a difference in altitude of 1,100 meters would be a “marathon”. He didn’t finish this race. Thus Mount Everest still remains unclimbed this year, since the spring season had been cancelled without summit success due to the earthquake on 25 April and the huge avalanche triggered by the tremors that had killed 19 people in Base Camp.

Respectable performance

Nobukazu Kuriki

Kuriki is on Everest in post-monsoon for the fifth time. In his last attempt via the West ridge in fall 2012, he had suffered severe frostbite. Nine fingers had to be amputated almost on entire length, only stumps remained. Against this background and the fact that the route above the Khumbu Icefall was not prepared, Nobukazu’s two summit attempts were respectable performances. Reaching an altitude of 8,150 meters, he would have summited six of the 14 eight-thousanders; on three more only one, two dozen meters would have been missing. But Everest is even 800 meters higher.

Tomek at 7200 meters (© The North Face)

If there were an “Oscar” for persistence, the Polish climbers on Nanga Parbat would deserve it. For more than 80 days now Tomasz, called “Tomek” Mackiewicz and his friends are already staying on the eight-thousander in Pakistan, still focussed on their great goal: the first winter ascent of the 8125-meter-high mountain. This weekend, they are climbing up again. On this Saturday Pawel Dunaj and Michal Obrycki should start – “to make a new track and to dig out the camp for Tomek, who will start with Jacek on Sunday,” we read on the Facebook page of the expedition “Justice for all”. So, obviously, Tomek Mackiewicz and Jacek Teler are to form the summit team at the fourth attempt.

“We are staying!”

David on the Mazeno ridge (© The North Face)

The first three were unsuccessful. At the last try Tomek and David Goettler – as reported – had reached the Mazeno ridge and thus a height of 7200 meters. Then David and his Italian partners Simone Moro and Emilio Previtali had ended their expedition – and as a matter of course everyone expected that Mackiewicz and Co. would also leave. Far from it: “We are staying!”, the Polish climbers announced. “We have plenty of food, plenty of gear, ropes are fixed. Simone has left us plenty of goodies:  parmesan cheeses, sausages, sleeping bags. We have a deposit and a tent in Camp 3, (…) plenty of power, another deposit in Camp 4. We will keep trying …”

Only less then two weeks left

They are tough – and thus in the best tradition of Polish mountaineers: They just like climbing in winter. Nine of the twelve first winter ascents of 8000ers were made by Polish expeditions. And on Shishapangma Piotr Morawski from Poland was part of the successful team (with Simone Moro). Only on Makalu (Moro and Denis Urubko) and Gasherbrum II (Moro, Urubko, Cory Richards) teams without Polish climbers were successful.

There is not much time left for Tomek and his friends on Nanga Parbat. In less then two weeks winter ends.

David before the summit attempt (© The North Face)

The excitement is increasing. Will there be the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat this weekend or even another failed summit attempt in the long list of unsuccessful winter climbs on this eight-thousander. A new rope team of two climbers has been formed that wants to go up to the highest point at 8125 meters on Saturday. Tomacz called “Tomek” Mackiewicz from Poland and David Goettler from Germany are spending the night in their new Camp 4 at 7000 meters. It was cold with a bit of wind, reported the Italian Emilio Previtali, who is keeping contact with the climbers by radio from basecamp. He is no longer alone there. His compatriot Simone Moro, who has climbed three eight-thousanders firstly in winter, has returned. “He feels okay, but has some stomach trouble,” Emilio writes on Twitter. “Not the right conditions to go up the mountain and be exposed to altitude for days.”

Relatively calm weather

Tomek on Nanga Parbat in 2013

David is feeling good, writes Previtali. For the 35-year-old German it is the first winter expedition at all. He has already climbed five 8000ers, lately Makalu in May 2013. Tomek Mackiewicz doesn’t let up from Nanga Parbat. The fourth winter in a row, he is trying to climb it. Last year he reached – also ascending from the Rupal side via the Schell route, in his last attempt solo – a height of 7400 meters.
On Saturday temperatures from minus 35 to 40 degrees Celsius are expected on the summit. The wind speed should be about 40 kilometers per hour, decreasing during the second half of the day. Also for Sunday relatively calm weather is predicted. However, then it should start snowing again. Keep your fingers crossed!

David Goettler in basecamp (©The North Face)

Do the winter climbers find Nanga Parbat a hard nut to crack? A Polish expedition is on the 8000er in Pakistan for eight weeks now, an Italian-German Team for over six weeks. In the past week the second summit attempts of both teams failed. Simone Moro and David Goettler reached Camp 3, but returned because of the bad weather. I sent some questions to David in basecamp. The 35-year-old climber from the town of Munich replied promptly:

David, the second summit attempt was also unsuccessful, you stopped at 6800 meters. How difficult was it for you to turn back again?

This time it was a little harder. Because the weather was not so bad when we decided to turn around. But we knew that it wouldn’t work, and thus it was definitely the right decision. Also because it was really very cold! When we were still descending, clouds came in and it began to snow. Up on the mountain we would have had problems to orient ourselves. And on the following day the strong wind would have thwarted any summit attempt. All in all we have saved valuable power and avoided frostbite.

What about Simone’s and your morale, after six weeks on the mountain and two failed attempts. Is there any risk of cabin fever?

The morale is still tiptop! No danger of cabin fever or something else – which does not mean that it is easy for me to wait. On the contrary, I think that is the most difficult part of an expedition.

The team led by Tomek Mackiewicz has been on the mountain even two weeks longer than you and Simone. What do you think, how long will your Polish friends stand it?

Perhaps they’re even more persistent. I think they are like us: Everyone here will be happy to get home again. But we all want to climb this mountain. Therefore we do accept waiting!

Staying as long in high altitudes saps your energy. How fit do you feel yet?

I still feel good and fit. The day before yesterday I made a training ascent to ABC (advanced basecamp) and back. It took me only 38 minutes to climb up and 15 minutes to come down. That feels good when you are spending so many days in BC (basecamp). Weather permitting, I am also doing my daily yoga exercises in BC. I think we can recover well because of the low altitude of our BC.

Evening in high camp (©The North Face)

When are you planning your next summit attempt?

If I only knew! We must be patient, at the moment there is not good weather window in sight.

In your home a proverb is saying: “Three times is divine”. Are you hoping that this is also true for winter mountaineering at Nanga Parbat?

Of course! That would be the jackpot … but everything here is Inshallah.

Do you have to reach the summit to see this winter expedition as a success?

That’s why I came here. But I still know that our chance to get on top is very low. And I’m already more than satisfied!

Apart from K 2, Nanga Parbat is the only eight-thousander which has still not be climbed in winter. After your experiences on the mountain, do you now understand better why so many top climbers have already failed on Nanga Parbat?

I already knew that the rules in winter differ from those in summer. But sure, now, playing this game, I can understand it even better.