Just a quick update from Pakistan today to keep everyone posted on the progress there. The teams are on the move once again and after the travel disruption of last week, things appear to be returning to normal now. There are numerous climbers now making their way to Base Camps across the region, particularly on K2 and the Gasherbrums, as well as some of the smaller peaks throughout the area. They’ll have to get to work as soon as possible if they hope to make up some of the time they missed while waiting for the government to reopen travel to Skardu, but provided the weather remains cooperative they should still have an opportunity to achieve their goals this summer.
The biggest news at the moment is of a pair of summit bids. First, we knew the German team on Broad Peak was preparing to begin their final push and they should be on their way to the top of that mountain today. The weather was expected to improve as the week went along and if those forecasts turn out to be accurate, we should receive word on successful summits in the next day or two.
The other team that should be close to launching their summit bid is the Romanian squad on Nanga Parbat. The team is on the Rupal Face and wasn’t anywhere near the Diamir camp, which is where the brutal murders took place last week. The last report had the Romnians wrapping up their acclimatization efforts a few days back and they’re just waiting for a weather window to open so they can proceed up.
Elsewhere, Mike Horn and his climbing mates have arrived in Base Camp on K2. They’ll soon start working their way up as they acclimatize and build their higher camps. They hope to not only summit the extremely tough mountain this year but also paraglide from the summit.
Base Camp on Gasherbrum I and II have started to welcome more teams as well as those who have been trekking for a few days are now starting to arrive. Jon Kedrowski is one of those making that trek and while he’s been on he trail for several days, he still has about 40 miles (64 km) to go before he arrives. Also on that same trek is Chris Jensen Burke who has her sights set on a Gasherbrum summit as well.
We’re in a strange place at the moment. We have a couple of teams about to attempt the summit and then wrap up their expeditions and we have a host of others who are still making their way to Base Camp. Traditionally K2 summits take place in the first week of August however, so the climbers still have plenty time to get everything together before the season wraps up.
Stay tuned for more.
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