Friday, January 13, 2012

Winter Climb Update: Images From K2

While things begin to wind down in the Antarctic, they're just getting started in the Karakoram. The teams in Pakistan know that they have a lot of work ahead, and while the odds are most definitely stacked agains them, they're gearing up for potentially historic climbs.

There hasn't been much word from K2 the past few days, where the Russian Team continues to work the route. If all went according to schedule, they should have established Camp 2 a few days back and are now fixing lines above that point. The team did manage to share some images from the expedition thus far, and you can check out that very impressive gallery by clicking here.

Over on Nanga Parbat, Simone Moro and Denis Urubko took advantage of the good weather over the past few days and spent some time exploring the mountain and the surrounding area. They have already built Camp 1 and spent a night there, but a few days ago they descended back to BC as part of their acclimatization process. Today the weather has taken a bit of a turn however, with fog and snow settling in at altitude. They'll watch those conditions over the weekend and decide how best to proceed from there.

Two teams are now en route to Gasherbrum I as well, as they look to make the first winter ascent of that peak. The Polish squad hasn't shared many details of their journey yet, but they do note that they hope to leave Skardu for Base Camp tomorrow. Meanwhile, Alex Txikon and Carlos Suarez left Spain a few days ago, and have already arrived in Skardu as well. They plan to start the nine day trek to BC soon as well, and hope to be in place on the mountain by next weekend.

Stay tuned for more. Most of the teams are still getting settled and prepping for the real climb ahead. The weather situation will be what dictates the pace at which they'll be able to climb however.