Karakorum 2010: Bad weather on K2, Teams into C2 on Broad Peak

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More teams are now en route to K2, while those already on the mountain have gone up to Camp 1 and are reporting bad weather in the region.

Fredrik Ericsson posted a new update over the weekend with the news that he and his teammate Trey Cook have gone up to Camp 1, and had actually been planning on making the acclimatization trek up to C2, but weather conditions turned for the worse, so the pair have now made the descent, by ski no less, back to BC. They reported high winds and blowing snow, and thought better of pushing it up to C2 at this point.

Meanwhile, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner called her home team today to let them know that she is well into her trek to K2 BC. She, and her team, are expected to reach the Baltoro Glacier tomorrow, and will most likely be in camp on Friday. If everything goes as expected, and she makes a successful summit on this very temperamental mountain, Gerlinde would become the first woman to climb all of the 8000 meter peaks without supplemental oxygen.

The Field Touring Alpine Team is hoping to pull off a Karakorum double-header, nabbing both Broad Peak and K2. The team managed to fix the ropes up to C2 on Broad Peak over the weekend, and they are now in the midst of their acclimatization process, with everyone taking a turn at sleeping in Camp 1. The team is being led by Fabrizio Zangrilli, and counts Meagan McGrath as part of the team, as well as Brian Block, who is sending out audio dispatches to his blog. Brian is the owner of Ames Adventure Outfitters and a former Iowa Boy like myself.

Finally, Mike Horn and Kobi Reichen were making attempt on Broad Peak today, but were turned back due to heavy snow. The pair went has high as Camp 3 before resting, and then were prepared to make their summit bid, but got just another 200 meters up the mountain before they decided to turn back. Reportedly they were wading through waist deep snow and new that, at least for today, the summit was out of reach. They have now returned to Base Camp, and will await better conditions. 

Kraig Becker

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