Today I am feeling emotional and excitement towards the summit push, we have been here for long time. Could they have expected to summit and get back before too late? A 30-minute documentary of Alan’s 2014 K2 Summit, 2018/19 Kazakhstan-Russia-Kyrgyzstan and Spanish/Galician Team 2018/19: poor conditions. How are you doing handling this story? Find out more at www.alanarnette.com. He climbs to raise money and awareness of Alzheimer's disease. And Mingma G also talked about how once they formed the all Nepalese team, they were dead set on being the first ones to summit. Nims suggested they speed up their ascent attempt so the others couldn’t catch up (since they were the ones setting ropes above camp 2) but Mingma G talked him out of it and wanted to go at their own pace for reasons of safety and maximising their chances at summit. How safe is it for no one to be using oxygen that high up? Ali Sadpara was liked and respected by all the Sherpas and no doubt Nims was ready to work with others but in the end they decided to 10 man push and not wait for others and I can’t blame them. They are said to be descending now. There are very few. High winds hit the mountain in early February, and one member, Vitaly Gorelik, suffered from frostbite and pneumonia. I’m sure I am not alone. I share my deepest condolences to all loved ones of the fallen climbers. A minor correction, if i may, re: “1980 Reconnaissance: Pol Andrzej Zawada and Canadian-resident Polish national Jaques Olek”. 1st team at the height. We will rest there over night. First K2 Winter Team at Base Camp - from Alan Arnette on his detailed blog Mt Whitney - Sierra Nevada - CA -- Pictures from Calicokat ( Jim P ) - Smugmug and Facebook New Page on Personal Websites in the Forum of the General Section at Summitpost.org In the last eight days, we recorded a total of more than 80cm of snowfall. This is the first I have heard about a Sherpa expedition being higher on the mountain than the Sadpara/Snorri group and them passing each other. 2011/12 Attempt: nine climbers from Russia / made Camp 2, 2014/15 Near Attempt: Denis Urubko and team lost permit from the Chinese side, 2017/18 Polish/International: Abandoned due to conditions and team dynamics, Also Spanish with no summit, But discourse within the team caused the Eastern European members to leave except for Kazakh climber Denis Urubko. I’ve been visiting your page every hour. I spoke to the base camp and explained that my teammates were trying to reach the top and that the next day we would descend together. Perhaps not 100% but they got the job done. Thanks Alan, spent the last 4 hours refreshing and checking everyone’s social media accounts who is out there for news. K2 remains the only 8,000-meter mountain not summited in the winter. March 1 at the North Pole compared to being on the equator are very different. The K2 2018 summer season came to an end when the Austrian operator Furtenbach Adventures declared the weather window had closed and they spent too much time on Broad Peak, thus missing their K2 opportunity. When talking about the “purists” you talk most often about no o’s. My father Trevor Newland went to base camp on that trip and I would love to see any pictures, information, memories or accounts of that time. Feb 5 – Sajid’s leaves C3 for a brief search for his father and the missing climbers but sees no evidence or even headlamps in the dark. As you follow someone on their Everest summit, what are you most concerned about? To BC on Sunday. The Sadpara’s and JP are not climbing with supplemental oxygen. Sajid Ali Sadpara made this statement from Skardu where he was flown by an army helicopter. Fewer than 400 people have summited the peak, ... An Icelander currently leading a three-person team told Alan Arnette that he thought nobody would notch the winter summit this year. I like their commitment to summiting as a group – shade of the first ascent of Everest. Some of them already left, but most of them are still on the mountain. He completed his 7 Summits Climb for Alzheimer’s project to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research. He went up with the helicopter to approximately 7800 meters but found not signs of the missing climbers: (thanks to Desnivel for the translation). By Alan Arnette | August 1st, 2018 K2. Kazakstan alpinist Denis Urubko was part of the team. FANTASTIC NEWS. Delighted to see the very experienced Pem Chirri among the group. 361 talking about this. Photo: Alan Arnette Climbers with experience on K2 pointed out online today that Camp 2 is particularly exposed and that tents are regularly destroyed there, even in summer. Not always, especially for professional climbers but a sat phone, usually. If you cant climb on, then please post on, so many read your work. I was a little surprised to see no Sherpa on winter first ascent. 4. There is no general rule or turn-around time on K2 like there is on Everest, Jordi Corominas reached it at midnight in an epic ascent through the magic line a few years ago and descended just fine. However, it’s a choice not to use o2 which some pro athletes make to make the whole expedtion even a bigger challenge. I just checked and that earthquake does not list Pakistan/Karakoram area as affected (it does list Nepal) – so who knows, what they mean by affected .. maybe internal shockwaves did reach .. My only assumption is a freak accident (whether on the way to summit or on return) – i have my doubts them reaching the summit just by time calculation of it being in the night, after sunset – or if they did – that’s caused the turn of events – turning back in the night. We will inform you through his official accounts for any news. He has completed over 30 major expeditions including four Everest climbs, with a summit in 2011, and a summit of K2 in 2014. I lost my mom, Ida Arnette, and four aunts to Alzheimer's. They planned a summit attempt on February 21, but one member developed cerebral edema, and the rotation, and soon, the entire expedition, was called off. Meanwhile, Sergi Mingote’s tent appears to have been lost at Camp 1. The reality is, it depends on where you live and the local customs and definition. who lead the last Polish K2 attempt in 2003. Approaching K2 Summit 2014 © www.alanarnette.com. Summiting K2 is obviously no joke, and doing it in winter is Russian roulette with only one empty chamber. The three along with Ali’s 22-year-old son, Sajid Ali Sadpara left Camp 3 around 23:00 Thursday night. They may have a chance at the end of January or into February. Maybe good to mention that all summiteers were heavily dependent on Oxygen. Where you like to climb a 20,000'/6,000m mountain? An international team of 13 Poles, seven Canadians, and four Britons made the first attempt on K2 via Abruzzi Ridge. If they were at the bottleneck at 10am, were they behind schedule or moving slowly? In Finland and Sweden, they use temperatures to define seasons. (pick 2), I lost my mom, Ida Arnette, and four aunts to Alzheimer's. You can find our story about that here.. UPDATE, January 15: Alan Arnette reports that a new all-time winter high point has been attained—7800 meters—by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and Seven … I guess I just want to say that I wish you well and I’m sure your other readers do as well. I wish Imtiaz and Akbar the best as they climb K2 in search of Ali, John, and JP. K2 was first climbed 66 years ago by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli; there had been six previous attempts in winter on the mountain, none of them successful, The Guardian reported.