Daniele Nardi in Camp 3

While the winter expedition teams at the eight-thousanders K2 and Manaslu have only just moved into their base camps, the Italian Daniele Nardi and his three companions on Nanga Parbat are in a more advanced phase. Today Daniele, the Brit Tom Ballard and the two Pakistani mountaineers Rahmat Ullah Baig and Karim Hayat ascended again to Camp 3 at 5,700 meters, directly below the Mummery Rib. Five days ago, the four climbers had deposited a tent there and then returned to base camp.

Second attempt

Position of Camp 3 below the distinctive Mummery Rib

Tom and Karim broke the trail, Daniele and Rahmat followed carrying heavy equipment, Nardi’s team wrote today on Facebook. “Today it was really hard to get from Camp 1 to Camp 3 with a 30kg backpack on our shoulders and the wind that was not helping us”, Daniele told by radio. “When we reached the tent, we found it submerged under snow. We worked hard to put things straight again.”

Nardi and Co. want to climb the complete Mummery Rib for the first time. In 1895, the British pioneer Albert Frederick Mummery had dared the first serious attempt on an eight-thousander via the distinctive rock spur in the Diamir Face. With the Gurkha Ragobir he had reached an altitude of 6,100 meters. Nardi tries this route for the second time: In winter 2013, he had climbed with the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol up to about 6,400 meters.

K2 Base Camp reached

K2 team from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

Meanwhile, the seven climbers of the K2 winter expedition from Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan have set up their base camp at an altitude of around 5,200 meters at the foot of the world’s second highest mountain. After arriving there yesterday, four team members turned towards Advanced Base Camp today, but were unable to reach the spot due to bad weather.

Today the two Poles Marek Klonowski and Pawel Dunaj reached K2 Base Camp too, as the first climbers from the team of the Spaniard Alex Txikon. The majority of the members, including Txikon, are expected there on Wednesday. Waldemar Kowalewski,, the third Polish climber, will join the team in a few days. The 45-year-old has scaled three eight-thousanders so far: Mount Everest in 2014, Lhotse and Broad Peak in 2017. According to the chronicle “Himalayan Database”, he reached the 8,125-meter-high Subpeak of Manaslu in 2016.

Moro and Pemba Sherpa at Manaslu Base Camp

Base camp at the foot of Manaslu

The Italian Simone Moro and the Nepalese Pemba Gyalje Sherpa have moved to their base camp at the eight-thousander Manaslu in western Nepal. After having previously climbed the six-thousander Mera Peak in the Khumbu region to acclimatize, they yesterday were flown by helicopter from Kathmandu directly to the base camp at 4,800 meters. “Due to the snow porters cannot walk till here,“ Simone wrote on Facebook on Monday. “Weather conditions are good, definitely better than 2015. Of course, it’s a bit cold. Today it’s minus 25 degrees Celsius. Let this adventure begin!” In 2015, the 51-year-old and the South Tyrolean Tamara Lunger had failed on Manaslu due to the enormous snow masses of that winter.

Update 16 January: Daniele Nardi and Tom Ballard climbed on the Mummery Rib up to 6,200 m and deposited equipment there. Alex Txikon and Co. have reached K2 Base Camp.

Alex Txikon (l.) and Simone Moro in Lhukla

Several winter expeditions in the Himalayas and Karakoram started in the first days of the year. Two of the three climbers who had succeeded the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in 2016 met in Lhukla in Nepal, however now with different goals: The Spaniard Alex Txikon wants to tackle K2 in Pakistan, the last remaining eight-thousander to be climbed for the first time in the cold season, the Italian Simone Moro is drawn to Manaslu again. The 51-year-old and the South Tyrolean Tamara Lunger had failed on the 8167-meter-high mountain in western Nepal in 2015 because of the enormous snow masses of that winter. This year, according to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, Moro plans to climb with the Nepalese Pemba Gyalje Sherpa on the normal route without bottled oxygen. In order to acclimatize, they wanted to climb the 6,476-meter-high Mera Peak in the Khumbu region.

Also two Poles in Txikon’s K2 team

Alex Txikon meanwhile travelled with his Sherpa team to Islamabad. There he meets his Spanish climbing partner Felix Criado and other compatriots from the K2 expedition team – as well as the Poles Marek Klonowski and Pawel Dunaj. Both have participated several times in winter expeditions to Nanga Parbat. “We will certainly not play the first fiddle if we play the fiddle at all,” said Pawel in an interview with the Polish radio station “RMF 24”. “But we will try to support Alex as much as we can.”

Only seven climbers left in Pivtsov’s team

Pivtsov’s team in Islamabad

While Txikon’s team grew, the K2 winter expedition team from Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan shrank from eleven climbers – as originally planned – to seven, due to lack of money. Now the experienced Kazakh Vassily Pivtsov, who has already scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, will lead only six climbers: the Russians Artem Brown, Roman Abildaev and Konstantin Shepelev, the Kazakh Tursunali Aubakirov and Dmitry Muraviov and the Kyrgyz Mikhail Danichkin. The mountaineers from the former CIS states are on their way to Northern Pakistan.

Nardi and Ballard in Camp 1

Daniele Nardi on Nanga Parbat

Still in the old year the Italian Daniele Nardi and the Brit Tom Ballard arrived in the base camp at the foot of Nanga Parbat. As reported, they want to climb together with the two Pakistani Rahmat Ullah Baig and Kareem Hayat the 8125-meter-high mountain on a new route via the Mummery Rib in the Diamir Face, which has not yet been mastered. They already reached Camp 1 at 4,700 meters.

Txikon ends his Everest winter expedition

One and a half weeks in Africa including the ascent of the 5895-meter-high Kilimanjaro lie behind me. High time to look at the two winter expeditions on Mount Everest and K2. Because they provided plenty to talk about, especially the expedition on K2. First, however, to the highest of all mountains: As he had already done in 2017, the Spaniard Alex Txikon abandoned his attempt to scale Mount Everest in winter without bottled oxygen. A summit attempt last week ended at 7850 meters, just below the South Col, because the cold was much more severe and the wind significantly stronger than predicted.

No fast weather improvement in sight

Turning back in the Lhotse flank

“The truth is that these are not easy moments, my greatest hope was to go from Camp 4 to the top, but the mountain is the one that decides,” said Alex. “And it was impossible to advance under those conditions. After all, the most important thing for the entire team is to return safely to continue dreaming and enjoying the mountain.” Since the permit for Everest expired at the end of February and there was no weather improvement in sight until mid-March, the expedition team decided to go home.

Urubko turns around at 7600 meters

Denis Urubko on K2

Also for Denis Urubko his winter expedition is over – but for completely different reasons. The native Russian, who has also a Polish passport since 2015, today left in quarrel the Polish expedition on K 2, the second highest mountain in the world. At the end of last week, he set off for a solo summit attempt, without consultation with expedition leader Krzysztof Wielicki. Previously he had tried to convince his powerful team-mate Adam Bielecki to join him. But the Pole, with whom Urubko had rescued the Frenchwoman Elisabeth on Nanga Parbat at the end of January, refused. According to his own words, Denis reached an altitude of about 7,600 meters, just below the so-called “Shoulder”. Due to storm, the 44-year-old finally returned.

Dispute with Wielicki

Urubko (l.) and Wielicki (r.)

Urubko had already stated in an interview with alpinismonline.com before the expedition that a winter expedition was only successful if the summit had been reached before the end of February. Obviously he was dissatisfied with the slow progress of the expedition and tried it on his own. “It was my chance to do something, not just to sit in the base,” said Urubko. “I think I do not need to apologize. The others are not angels, either.” After returning to Base Camp, the team leader announced that Urubko would leave the expedition. “This decision was accepted by the participants of the expedition, who did not see any further possibility of cooperation with Denis after his independent attempt to get the top,” it said. Expedition leader Wielicki even forbade Urubko from using the expedition’s internet connection, “because Denis sent critical information about our expedition and its participants to the media and I did not see a reason for him to continue this.” Previously, Wielicki had considered Urubko’s attempt to be “selfish”: “Denis thinks it’s all about just him, but it’s not. He has put all of us in danger. If something goes wrong, of course we must try to rescue him.”

Urubko scaled all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen. Twice he succeeded first winter ascents of eight-thousander, both by the way in February: In 2009 with the Italian Simone Moro on Makalu in Nepal and in 2014 with Moro and the American Cory Richards on Gasherbrum II in Pakistan. The Polish winter expedition on K2 continues – without Urubko, probably the strongest climber in the team.

Tomek Mackiewicz on Nanga Parbat

Ready, go! “We are at 7,300 (meters). Terrible fight,” Tomek Mackiewicz is quoted on his Facebook page in telegram style. “If weather permits, tomorrow summit.” If not now, when?, we could add. On Thursday, by far the lowest wind speeds this week are expected for the 8,125 meter summit of Nanga Parbat: 20 to 25 km/h. In addition a few clouds and temperatures of minus 42 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, the wind is to refresh again and reach storm strength at the weekend.

Keep cool!

The 43-year-old Pole Mackiewicz and his 37-year-old French climbing partner Elisabeth Revol, both en route without bottled oxygen, climbed via the still unfinished Messner route. In winter 2015, the two climbers had reached an altitude of 7,800 meters on Nanga Parbat, but had then been forced back by the cold and windy weather. “When I reached out, I could ‘feel’ the summit with the touch of my finger. It was very close,” Elisabeth later reported. “My heartbeat increased, but we were to remain calm.” She and Tomek should also keep cool in their current attempt.

Restless night in Camp 2 on K2

Denis Urubko in Camp 2

The Polish team on K2, with an altitude of 8,611 meters the second highest mountain on earth, has pitched up Camp 2 on the Cesen Route. Denis Urubko was the first to reach the ledge at 6,300 meters and spent one night there: “The tent was shaken strongly by the storm, but somehow I managed to sleep enough.” Denis then descended to the base camp. Three more teammates will be spending the night to Thursday in Camp 2 too, to further acclimatize. The team led by the old master Krzysztof Wielicki wants to succeed  the first winter ascent of K2. The mountain is the last remaining eight-thousander that has never been climbed in the cold season.

Tomek Mackiewicz on Nanga Parbat

Do you already have aching muscles from keeping fingers crossed? Your pain could become even stronger. Because the summit bid of the Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol that was expected already for Sunday is delayed. “We are in Camp 3, (it’s) windy (with speeds of)  about 100 km/h,” Tomek is quoted today on his Facebook page. “Tomorrow Camp 4, summit push (on) 25 January. Good weather (is expected for) that day.” In fact, the weather forecast for the summit at 8,125 meters predicts for Thursday the lowest wind speeds this week: between 15 and 25 km/h. Assuming this forecast is correct, it will be almost calm, however with minus 42 degrees Celsius quite cold, some clouds are expected. Mackiewicz and Revol climb without bottled oxygen.

Urubko first climber in Camp 2

K2

Meanwhile, the climbers of the Polish winter expedition are making progress on K2. According to the Facebook page “Polski Himalaim Zimowy 2016-2020” (Polish winter climbing in the Himalayas 2016-2020), Denis Urubko has reached Camp 2 on the Cesen route at 6,300 meters and will spend the night there. Artur Malek and Marek Chmielarski are in Camp 1 at 5,900 meters, it says. K2, with 8,611 m the second highest mountain on earth, is the only eight-thousander that has never been scaled in winter so far.

After Pumori now Everest

On Mount Everest the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” and the two Nepalese Nuri Sherpa and Temba Bhote returned from their ascent of the 7161-meter-high Pumori – in their backpacks this small, but nice video:

This winter, Txikon and Ali, two of the three first winter ascenders of Nanga Parbat in 2016, want to reach the summit of Everest at 8,850 meters without breathing masks.

Nanga Parbat

It’s time for the Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol this Sunday. According to Polish media information, the two climbers wanted to start at 2 a.m. local time (Saturday 10 p.m. CET) from their last high camp at 7,200 meters towards the summit. It will be their first and last attempt, it said. For Sunday, clear weather with temperatures of minus 33 degrees Celsius and wind speeds of about 60 kilometers per hour is expected for the highest point of Nanga Parbat at 8,125 meters. Mackiewicz and Revol are climbing without bottled oxygen.

Summit of Pumori reached

Txikon and Co. on the summit of Pumori

Meanwhile, the Spaniard Alex Txikon and the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” have scaled the seven-thousander Pumori vis-à-vis Mount Everest on Saturday. According to Txikons’ team, they reached along with the Nepalese climbers Nuri and Temba Bothe around noon local time the 7,161-meter-high summit. “The wind was very strong, but we all are fine,” Alex said. “A very technical and in some moments dangerous mountain.” After returning to the base camp, Txikon and Co. want to focus again on their actual goal, a winter ascent of Everest without bottled oxygen.

Polish climbers on K 2 above 6000 meters

On K 2, the second highest mountain in the world, the Polish winter expedition is slowly working their way upwards. On Saturday, a team of some climbers was busy securing the Cesen route above 6,000 meters with fixed ropes.

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.

Alex Txikon in Everest high camp (in the background on the right Pumori)

Alex Txikon is pleased with the progress made so far on his winter expedition on Mount Everest. On Sunday, the Spaniard and five Sherpas ascended from the base camp on the previously prepared route through the Khumbu Icefall, slept in Camp 1 at 6,050 meters and reached Camp 2 on Monday. “I am very happy, I did not think for a moment that we were going to reach Camp 2 at 6,500 meters in just one day and with a small team of only six people,” says the 36-year-old.

Foot off the accelerator

Alex (l.) and his comrades

“I think I have to take my foot off the accelerator and dose the speed. After all, this is not a 100-meter run but a long marathon. Six very hard days are behind us and we are very proud of them.” Txikon and the Pakistani climber Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” want to scale Everest without bottled oxygen. Together with the Italian Simone Moro, they had made the prestigious first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat in February 2016.

Waiting in K2 base camp

Wind vane on K 2

The jet stream is currently raging on Pakistan’s eight-thousander. For K2, wind speeds of up to 125 kilometers per hour were expected today on the summit at 8,611 meters, on the highest point of Nanga Parbat at 8,125 meters of up to 110 km/h. The storm is to calm down not before next weekend. That means for the winter expeditions on both eight-thousanders: Waiting in the base camp. On Sunday some climbers of the Polish team had ascended on the second highest mountain on earth up to 5,700 meters on the Cesen route. For today’s Tuesday it was actually planned to pitch up Camp 1 at 5,900 meters. However, there was no move shown on the GPS tracker of the expedition. K2 is the last remaining eight-thousander that has never been climbed in winter.

Nanga Parbat: Material depot at 6,700 meters

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

From Nanga Parbat, the Pakistani expedition operator “Alpine Adventure” informed that the Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol had returned to base camp because of the strong wind and extreme cold. Previously, they had deposited equipment at 6,700 meters. They would rise again as soon as the conditions permit, it said. That should be probably towards the end of the week.

Polish K2 team at Concordia

Three winter expeditions to eight-thousanders, three different phases. In Pakistan, the Polish team led by Krzysztof Wielicki today reached Concordia after trekking over the Baltoro Glacier and is expected on Tuesday to pitch their tents in the base camp at the foot of K2, the last remaining unclimbed eight-thousander in winter. Already six days ago, the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the Pakistani Muhammad Ali “Sadpara” and their Nepalese Sherpa team had reached the base camp on the south side of Mount Everest. They are fixing a route through the Khumbu Icefall. Like last year, Alex participates in the work (as the video below shows).

How high were Revol and Mackiewicz?

The latest information on the winter expedition on Nanga Parbat is not yet confirmed. The website “russianclimb.com” tweeted yesterday, the Pole Tomek Mackiewicz and the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol had already reached Camp 3 at 7,300 meters on the so-called “Messner route”. According to russianclimb, the information comes from an employee of the Pakistani agency that organized the expedition for the two mountaineers from the west.

Strong winds

Nanga Parbat

Tomek’s wife could not confirm this information to me. She had learned on Friday that Mackiewicz and Revol had ascended to an altitude of 6,600 meters and then returned to the base camp. There they wanted to wait until the strong winds calm down in a few days. That would coincide with the current weather forecast for Nanga Parbat. It predicted for today on the 8125-meter-high summit wind speeds of 80 to 90 km/h, for the next three days even from 100 to 135 km/h. The Polish-French duo had reached the base camp on the Diamir side of the mountain already before Christmas.

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.

On the Rupal side (© David Goettler/The North Face)

Over an out. The Russian winter expedition on Nanga Parbat is finished. Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval decided to go home. “Today is exactly the 45th day since we left St. Petersburg, and, unfortunately, the time for our expedition runs to the end. The mountain is clear at last, for the first time in two weeks, but there’re still snow flags on the top due to the strong wind“, the four climbers told Russianclimb via SMS. “We pack Base Camp and are going down.“ A few days ago, they had reached Camp 4 at 7,150 meters on the Rupal (south) side of the mountain, but had been forced back by storm and cold. Thus, only the climbers on the Diamir (north) side are staying on Nanga Parbat. Meanwhile, Italian climber Daniele Nardi reached above Camp 3 an altitude of 6,100 meters on the Mummery Rib. The team of Basque climber Alex Txikon and the three Iranian climbers have to do a lot of tracking work on the Kinshofer route. “Just managed to fix until 5,800 more or less. Snow was too deep“, Alex wrote in his blog.

Simone’s secret

Simone Moro auf der ISPO

“I’m surprised“, Italian climber Simone Moro said when we met at the trade fair ISPO in Munich today and talked about the end of the Russian expedition. “I really thought they could make it.“ If Nanga Parbat remains unclimbed once more this winter, it would be an option for him to try again, Simone told me. Moro has already failed twice on Nanga Parbat in winter: with Russian Denis Urubko in 2012 and with German David Goettler in 2014. Simone will travel to the Himalayas next week. Only then he wants to disclose the secret about his upcoming winter climb. At the ISPO, I failed prising the secret out of him. We still have to wait a few days more.