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.”

Krzysztof Wielicki

Krzysztof Wielicki is skeptical. “I think they can have a problem because they only slept in Camp 3 and not at 8,000 meters,” answers the Pole when I meet him at the trade fair ISPO in Munich and enquire him about the chances of the Basque climber Alex Txikon on Mount Everest. Txikon, who wants to scale the highest mountain of the world this winter without bottled oxygen, is currently waiting in Everest Base Camp to set off for his first summit attempt. “In my opinion, you should have slept at the South Col, if you want to push to the summit,” says Wielicki. “I wish him good luck, I hope that nothing happens. It’s most important that they’ll come back safely. It doesn’t matter if they climb to the summit or not.”

Wielicki about Txikon: They can have a problem

Empty bottle at the summit

Wielicki (l.) and Cichy after their successful climb

The now 67-year-old knows what he is talking about. On 17 February 1980, Wielicki and his countryman Leszek Cichy had succeeded on Everest the first ever winter ascent of an eight-thousander. Above the South Col, they had used bottled oxygen “We didn`t know that it was possible to climb without,” says Krzysztof. “Our leader [Andrzej Zawada] said, here is the bottle. You have to carry it. One bottle, nine kilos. When we climbed to the summit, we realized, that the bottle was empty.”

Never again with breathing mask

Despite a flow rate of only two liters per minute, the bottled oxygen lasted only for three or four hours. “The mask was frozen. I even didn’t feel that I was using oxygen,” says Wielicki. “It was horrible. I never again used oxygen afterwards.” Even without breathing mask, the Polish climber remained a pioneer. In 1986, he and his compatriot Jerzy Kukuczka managed the first winter ascent of Kangchenjunga (8,586 meters). In 1988, Krzysztof scaled Lhotse (8,516 meters) not only for the first time in winter, but also succeeded the first solo climb of the mountain. In 1996, Wielicki became the fifth person who had stood on all 14 eight-thousanders. Bottled oxygen “is not necessary, if you are well acclimatized,” says the Pole. “That’s the key.”

Wielicki: It was horrible

Still financing problems

K 2

In winter 2017/2018, Krzysztof Wielicki wants to lead a Polish winter expedition to K2, the only eight-thousander that has not yet been successfully climbed in the cold season. The planned financing by Polish government companies has not yet been finalized. “We are a little disappointed with the government”, says Wielicki. “But we fight and I hope that we can overcome the problem.” According to Krzysztof, at the moment 14 climbers are still on his list of candidates, in the end he wants to assemble a team of eight.

Wielicki: I hope we can overcome the problem

“The most difficult challenge”

Denis Urubko

Adam Bielecki, who succeeded the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I (8,080 meters) in 2012 and of Broad Peak (8,051 meters) in 2013, will surely belong to the team, says Wielicki. And also Denis Urubko, first winter ascender of Makalu (8,485 meters) and Gasherbrum II (8,034 meters): “He wants to go and we want him to join us. I think he will go with us.” Urubko was born in Kazakhstan, but now he has a Russian and a Polish passport. Already in winter 2002/2003, Wielicki and Urubko had been together on K 2, with an height of 8,611 meters the second highest mountain on earth. Wielicki had then also led the expedition on the Chinese north side of the mountain. Urubko had reached an altitude of 7,650 meters before he and his rope partner had been stopped by bad weather and the expedition had been canceled. This time, the attempt is to be made on the Pakistani side of K2. “Either via the Abruzzi Ridge or the Cesen/Basque route, depending on the conditions in the wall,” says Krzysztof Wielicki. “I think, if we talk about winter expeditions on 8000 meter peaks, it is the last and most difficult challenge.”

Wielicki: K 2 the last and most difficult challenge

Nanga Parbat

Nanga Parbat falls back into hibernation. After the 8125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan was bustling over the past years with expeditions who tried to climb it for the first time in winter, it now looks as if the “naked mountain” remains a lonely one in the coming months. This winter even the Polish climber Tomasz Mackiewicz will not change his living room – as he did in the last six years – with a cold tent on Nanga Parbat.

The main argument is gone

Successful team: Alex, Tamara, Simone and Ali (from l. to r.)

“The expedition to Nanga Parbat will be postponed to 2017/2018,” Tomek wrote on Facebook. In his words he has tried in vain to obtain financial support from the Polish government for another attempt. It shouldn’t have been easy for him to argue after the fall of the winter bastion Nanga Parbat: After numerous attempts the Italian Simone Moro, the Basque Alex Txikon and the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” finally succeeded the first winter ascent of the ninth highest mountain on earth at the end of last February. The fourth team member, the South Tyrolean Tamara Lunger, turned around just below the summit, because she was in poor health.

K 2 winter expedition not before 2017/2018

K 2

Not only on Nanga Parbat, but also on other eight-thousanders there is a winter low tide. An originally planned Polish expedition to K2, the only eight-thousander which is still unclimbed in winter, under the leadership of the winter old master Kryzsztof Wielicki, was also postponed for one year to 2017/2018. Also in this case, money was missing first. After all, financing by two state-owned companies seems to be now in the pipeline.

Pilot’s licence instead of winter climb

Tamara Lunger

Also maybe the winter after next, Tamara Lunger will try to climb Mount Everest. After her “almost Nanga summit in winter” it had been reported that the 30-year-old was now considering Mount Everest as a new winter goal. Already this year? “No,” Tamara writes to me. “I’m in America for taking my helicopter pilot’s licence.”

Secret about destination

And what else is going on? The Indian climber Arjun Vajpai has announced via Facebook a winter expedition to a seven-thousander in his home country. He still has not given notice which mountain he means. The 23-year-old has already climbed five eight thousanders: Mount Everest (as a still 16-year-old in 2010), Lhotse and Manaslu (both in 2011), Makalu in spring 2016 and Cho Oyu last October.

Bad media?

In recent days, some climbers in Diamir Base Camp have not been sparing with criticism of the media, complaining about those who, “sitting with their butts in the warmth”, report or, even worse, speculate on what’s happening on Nanga Parbat thus providing discord and strife in Base Camp. Such a sweeping criticism annoys me. The protagonists of the soap opera themselves made their dispute public – via their own websites. They had to be aware that they could trigger a media avalanche. But whenever people are doing it this way and after a while realize that they are going to lose control, they blame “the media”. The cap doesn’t fit and I’m not wearing it! The controversy was already published when I started to report on it. I have always tried to give all sides a word in and to get first-hand information.

From now, only sport

But honestly, I just don’t want to report on this feud any more. I can only appeal to all those involved: Resolve your problems together and concentrate on climbing again! Even without soap opera, winter climbing on Nanga Parbat is extremely exciting. And I’ll continue to report on great mountain sport in my blog.

P.S.: It’s really a coincidence that I’ll leave for a one-week holiday in the mountains after writing this post. Then I’ll be back for you.

The summit, seen form Camp 3

“Only five are left. We don’t give up now“, Tamara Lunger writes on Facebook. The 29-year-old South Tyrolean mountaineer and her Italian team partner Simone Moro hope for better weather on Nanga Pabat. Snowfall is predicted until the weekend, in addition a strong wind is blowing at the 8125-meter-high summit, which currently makes an ascent impossible. The other team still staying in Base Camp, the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Italian Daniele Nardi and the Pakistani Ali Sadpara, are also waiting for an end of the bad weather.

The trio has secured the Kinshofer route, the normal route, with fixed ropes up to Camp 3 at 6,700 meters. “The hardest job is already done, we’ve got the route and our minds amplely prepared for going for summit push as soon as weather gives us a proper chance“, writes Alex adding that it will not be necessary to fix anything else further up to the summit “if conditions do not change“. But exactly that might be the problem if it should continue snowing heavily over the coming days.

Never again to Nanga Parbat?

The Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol have started their journey home. Both had reached an altitude of about 7,500 meters during their summit attempt late last week, before they had been driven back by the freezing cold. Tomek was afterwards so frustrated that he announced he would not return to Nanga Parbat any more and perhaps even give up his Himalayan mountaineering career. Mackiewicz had tried to scale the ninth highest mountain for six consecutive winters but had always failed. Meanwhile there is increasing information that the Polish “Nanga Dream“ team has also abandoned its expedition on the Rupal side of the mountain. Marek Klonowski and Pavel Dunaj had climbed up to 7,500 meters on the Schell route late last week.

Update 1 p.m.: Tamara Lunger and Simone will switch over to the Kinshofer Route and join forces with Alex Txikon and Co. “I think together we can help and motivate better and maybe we are able to do a big thing!“, Tamara writes on Facebook.

Tomek Mackiewicz on ascent

The first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat is in the air – say my gut instincts. Sunny days and clear nights are expected on the eighth highest mountain on earth until the weekend. The wind is to calm down, to a speed of just ten kilometers per hour on Friday. That sounds like ideal conditions for a summit attempt – if we can still speak of it in winter at all. After all, the temperature at the 8,125-meter-high summit is about minus 40 degrees Celsius. Maybe the reason for my optimistic gut feeling is simply that the teams on Nanga Parbat are currently rather stingy with information. Almost as if they are fully focused on climbing and don’t want to be distracted by „public relations“.

Short weather window

Elisabeth Revol in Camp 2

For days, we have not heard anything from the Italian duo Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger, who are ascending on the Messner route on the Diamir side of the mountain. The Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol, climbing on the same route, are more communicative. From Camp 2 at 6,000 meters, Tomek today talked via satellite phone with the Polish Radio journalist Bartosz Styrna. Gusts of wind with a speed of up to 100 km/h had pulled at their tent, Mackiewicz said. They plan to climb further up tomorrow. “We have only a very short time frame of two to three days maximum”, said Tomek. “We have to fight. It will be an uphill struggle.”

Bielecki and Czech left

The Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Italian Daniele Nardi and the Pakistani Ali Sadpara are also expecting this hard fight on the Kinshofer route, the normal route. They have climbed up to an altitude of 6,500 meters and fixed the route where needed. Nardi got off lightly from a fall near Camp 2. The Polish climbers Adam Bielecki and Jacek Czech, who had actually announced to join their forces with the trio, have meanwhile abandoned their expedition and left the Base Camp. Bielecki believed that he had no more chance to reach the summit due to his hand injury after an 80-meter-fall some days ago.
On the Rupal side of Nanga Parbat, the “Nanga Dream” team is working their way up the Southsouthwest ridge. Even from these mountaineers, we hear next to nothing. I am standing firm on this: There is something in the air.

Update 21 January: Tomek and Elisabeth pitched their Camp 4 at 7,200 meters. If things work out, they could reach the summit on Friday or Saturday. The calm winter weather is to continue. So keep your fingers crossed! Meanwhile Simone and Tamara descended to Base Camp.

The Rupal face of Nanga Parbat

If mountains really have a soul, Nanga Parbat obviously suffers from a full-blown winter depression. Year after year the eight-thousander in Pakistan rebuffs climbers who try to climb it first in the cold season. Almost as if to say: “Get off my back! If you bother me, see where that will get you! “ Now, this winter’s second summit attempt also failed. On the Rupal side, the south side of the mountain, Russians Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval had to turn around from Camp 4 at 7150 meters. The four climbers from St. Petersburg had tried to sit a snow storm out, with wind speeds of 100 km/h. No chance.
“We managed to return to BC in bad weather. All safe and sound”, they tweeted on Russian Climb. “Nothing real in such wind. You can fly to K 2 at once.” This is obviously an exaggeration, but gives an idea of how much the Russians must have been shaken up in their tent in high camp. K 2 is about 190 kilometers away as the crow flies. The second highest mountain in the world and Nanga Parbat are the only of the 14 eight-thousanders, which have never been climbed in winter so far.

Together is better

A lot of tracking work on the Diamir side (© www.alextxikon.com)

In mid-January, the Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol – as reported – had reached a considerable height of 7800 meters on the Diamir side, the north side of Nanga Parbat, before they were forced back by cold and storm. Afterwards the two climbers departed. The Italian Daniele Nardi stayed. Two weeks ago during his first attempt, Daniele made it up to 5950 meters on the Mummery Rib – named after the British mountaineer Albert Frederick Mummery, who disappeared on Nanga Parbat in 1895. The Iranians Mahmood Hashemi, Reza Bahadorani and Iraj Maani said that they would work together with the team of the Basque climber Alex Txikon to fix ropes on the Kinshofer route up to Camp 3 at about 6800 meters in the next few days. “Everything depends on the weather,” Reza Bahadorani said. And on the mood of Nanga Parbat, which is usually bad in winter.

Nanga Parbat (seen from Diamir basecamp)

Does Nanga Parbat show its teeth again? More than 20 winter expeditions already failed on the 8125-meter-high mountain in Pakistan. Beside K 2, Nanga Parbat is the only eight-thousander which has still not been scaled in winter. That’s why the “Naked Mountain” has been an attractive destination for professional mountaineers over the past years. The Polish climber Tomasz called Tomek Mackiewicz is trying to climb the  ninth highest mountain on earth for the fifth consecutive year. After having reached an altitude of about 7200 meters with the German mountaineer David Goettler on the south side of the mountain (Rupal side) last year, Tomek is now climbing on the northwest side (Diamir side). Today he and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol returned safely from a summit attempt to base camp.

Tomasz Mackiewicz

Fall into a crevasse

They had climbed on the still unfinished route on the northern flank, which the South Tyroleans Reinhold Messner and Hanspeter Eisendle had opened up to an altitude of 7500 meters in 2000. Mackiewicz and Revol reached 7800 meters, not too far below the summit. For days there had been no contact with them. Now the Italian Daniele Nardi, who shares the base camp with Tomek and Elisabeth gave the all-clear via Facebook: “They’re fine. Tomek has a small problem in the leg because he fell into a crevasse. Nothing to worry about.“

One more aspirant: Alex Txikon

Alex Txikon

Two other expedition teams are on their way to the Diamir side. The Iranians Mahmood Hashemi, Reza Bahadorani and Iraj Maani are expected in base camp this weekend. There, Alex Txikon will pitch his tent too. After Chinese authorities refused to give a permit for his planned K 2 winter expedition with the Russian Denis Urubko and Adam Bielecki from Poland, the Basque decided to tackle Nanga Parbat. He will be joined by the Pakistani climbers Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Khan. Both come from villages in Baltistan: Ali from Sadpara, Khan from Machulu. “They’ve climbed many high mountains in the Himalayas, they are experienced and strong men, and I’m sure they will be very good partners”, Alex writes on his website.
On the Rupal side, a team from St. Petersburg in Russia is currently working up the mountain. Last news came five days ago saying that Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval had left base camp to push ahead the route.

The North Face of Kangchenjunga

Even if it may seem in spring again as though there was only Mount Everest, it is also worth looking to other eight-thousanders. A highly qualified team has been formed to open a new route via the north face of Kangchenjunga: Denis Urubko and Artem Brown from Russia, Adam Bielecki from Poland and the Basque Alex Txikon. Urubko has initiated the project. Denis, who was born in Kazakhstan but is now a Russian citizen, wants to draw a definite line under the past year which was so unfortunate for him.

Achieved nothing

Denis Urubko

“What have I realized in 2013? To be honest, just nothing”, Denis wrote in his blog at the turn of the year. “It was full of pain, horror and destroyed hopes. After the death of Alexei Bolotov I was unable to face myself in the mirror, I was ashamed and hurt.” Urubko and Bolotov had planned to open a new route via the Southwest Face of Mount Everest in spring 2013. But not far away from basecamp, Bolotov fell to death. He had been abseiling, when the rope broke on a sharp edge of rock. The 50-year-old, one of the best and most experienced climbers of Russia, fell down about 300 meters and died instantly.

Like a grail

Adam Bielecki

The Polish climber Adam Bielecki has to overcome a trauma too. In March 2013, after he and three fellow countrymen had succeeded in making the first winter ascent of Broad Peak, Maciej Berbeka and Tomasz Kowalski died during the descent. Later the Polish Mountaineering Association (PZA) accused Bielecki for having let his companions down when he started descending alone before the others. This did not conform with the ethics of mountaineering, said the final report of the PZA. Adam defended himself: “I was near to panic and fighting for my life.” Now Bielecki only wants to look forward. A dream could come true on Kangchenjunga, the 30-year-old climber said in an interview with off.sport.pl: “A new route into terra incognita, where really nobody still has left his footprints! This is like a grail for many travellers or mountaineers.” Before the Broad Peak winter expedition Bielecki – in 2012 with his compatriot Janusz Golab – had also made the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum I.

Eight-thousander No. 11?

Alex Txikon in front of the Lhotse face

At that time the Basque Alex Txikon belonged to the team of the Austrian Gerfried Goeschl that tried to climb G I on a different route and to traverse the summit. Txikon abandoned the last summit attempt while Goeschl, the Swiss Cedric Haehlen and the Pakistani Nisar Hussain continued to climb up. They are missing since then.  In 2013 Txikon and José Manuel Fernández succeeded in making the first winter ascent of the shapely 6000er Laila Peak in Pakistan. The following spring, Alex stood on the summit of Lhotse which was his tenth of the 14 eight-thousanders. Kangchenjunga is still missing in the collection of the 32-year-old climber, who has also been making headlines as a basejumper. The fourth member of the team, the Russian Artem Brown, is still a dark horse in the high-altitude climbing scene.

Kangchenjunga is located on the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. With 8586 meters it is the third highest mountain in the world. Today’s normal route runs via the south side of Kangchenjunga, where also the British climbers George Band and Joe Brown made the first ascent in 1955. The first route on the north side was opened in 1977 by an Indian expedition.