Shared Summits on Nanga Parbat

The Shared Summits Team, who were on K2 last year and had their climb documented by NBC's Jeep World of Adventure Sports, is back in the Karaorum again this year, climbing on Nanga Parbat. The team is blogging about the experience here with several dispatches from the mountain already, and a nice online photo gallery in place as well.

The team notes that they will be climbing the Kinshoffer Route on Nanga Parbat's Diamir Face, which was first conquered back in 1962. They are currently in base camp at 13,800 feet and preparing for the climb, which will be a challenging one to say the least. The mountain is the 9th highest in the world, topping out at 8126 meters. It is also one of the most dangerous to climb, as the news earlier today demonstrates.

There are already three videos up from the Shared Summits team, than you can view here. The first video introduces the team and talks a bit about the mountain itself, while the second two videos get into the climb itself and discuss some of the aspects they are forced to consider when approaching the more technical aspects of the climb.

Karakorum 2008: Death on Nanga Parbat

Sad news in the latest Karakorum update from ExWeb today, where it is being reported that Italian climber Karl Unterkircher has died on Nanga Parbat after falling into a crevasse. Karl was reportedly climbing with Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer and attempting to open a new route on the Rakhiot face. According to the story, Karl was leading the trio above 6000m when an ice ledge gave way under him, causing him to tumble into the crevasse. Walter and Simon then spent the night trying to rescue him, but all their efforts went to no avail, and now the two are forced to climb up to 7000m to exit the face because of the unsteady nature of the route they are on.

In other news from the region, word from K2 is that the weather there is even worse than the teams were anticipating. There was a projected weather window for the 18th of the month, but that no longer looks possible, and the shifting jet stream has caused high winds to hit the upper portions of the mountain. Because of that, the spirits of the teams still on the mountain are a bit low, as they wait and hope for an opportunity to go up.

On Broad Peak, it's a different story, where a number of teams are said to be moving into position to make their bid for the Summit, including the Spanish and Italian teams, as well as Valeriy Babanov and Victor Afanasiev who are attempting a new route, and have already moved up over the 7000m mark.

On GII, the Field Touring Alpine team called off their summit bid on Monday due to poor weather conditions, with high winds and blowing snow on the summit. Over on the Distaghil Sar the climb is finished. Don Bowie and was climbing the mountain with Bruce Normand determined that it was unsafe around the main summit and elected to come down from the mountain and return home. Meanwhile, Simone Moro has returned to the Karakorum to give Batura II a shot. The 7762 meter peak is located in the Batura Massif and forms part of the Batura Wall, and while not well known, is certainly a challenging peak to climb.

Reinhold Messner Interviewed

The Times Online posted an interview with Reinhold Messner a week or so back, that's still worth a read, as it's a personal account of the events that went down on Nanga Parbat back in 1970, when Reinhold and his brother Günther summitted their first 8000m peak. The climb ended n tragedy however wen Günther died on the descent, and Reinhold found himself at the center of a mountaineering controversy that has followed him ever since.

In 2005 he got a measure of closure when after all those years, Günther's body was found in the retreating glaciers some 3.5 kilometers from where he was believed to have died. Later some of his belongings were found as well, and Reinhold finally discovered what became of his brother, as he was apparently swept off the mountain by an avalanche.

Messner has been called the greatest mountaineer in the world, and he has accomplished a lot in the mountains. He climbed Everest without oxygen at a time when people thought it was impossible, and he topped out on all 14 8000m peaks before anyone else as well. He's a living legend if there ever was one, but it's obvious from this interview that he has carried the burden of his brother's death with him on every mountain since Nanga Parbat.

Karakorum 2008: Gasherbrum Traverse - 2 down, 1 to go!

I hit ExWeb earlier to start to get back up to speed with what's happening in the world of mountaineering and came across this story with all kinds of news from the Karakorum.

The big news, which tops the article, is that Peter Hamor and Piotr Morawski have completed 2/3's of their Gasherbrum traverse, having reached the summit on both GI and GII, with their sights firmly set on GIII next. They'll have to wait their turn however, as the article notes that they are currently camped at 7400m while a blizzard rages on the mountain.

Meanwhile, the French Team has topped out on Broad Peak, which is their acclimatization climb before having a go at K2 in Alpine Style. After summitting over the weekend, the climbers are now said to be at 7000m and also waiting out bad weather. When the blizzard clears, they'll descend rapidly and move over to K2 to begin the climb that they really came to do.

Speaking of K2, climbers on the Cesen route had their climb aborted due to the inclement weather over the weekend, but they managed to drop supplies at C4 before heading back down the mountain. Most of the teams are now back in BC, and planning their strategies. Some will join forces to make their final summit bids, once the weather window opens.

Rafael Merchan and his team arrived on Broad Peak over the weekend as well, fresh from their successful climb on Nanga Parbat. The other climbers have already begun their climb to C1, but Rafael was forced to stay in BC after taking a nasty fall on the hike into camp. He appears to be ok, but is resting and taking it easy for a bit.

Finally, Don Bowie and Bruce Normand are focusing on Distaghil Sar, one of Pakistan's lesser known peaks. The 7885m mountain is the 19th tallest in the world, but only the 9th tallest in Pakistan! Bruce describes the upper portions of the mountain as "a maze of ice towers and water hewn crevasses" that's going to take every ounce of their skill to successfully climb. In fact, it sounds like it only gets worse from there. It should be interesting to hear about their climb as they make their final summit bid, and it just goes to show that not all of the action is on the 8000m peaks.

Karakorum 2008: Dodo Knocks Off Both Gasherbrums!

ExWeb posted an update from the Karakorum yesterday with the news of the first 8000m summits of the season and more teams arriving on K2 and Nanga Parbat.

The big news is that Dodo Kopold had topped out on both Gasherbrums, reaching the top of GI along with Italians Roby Piantoni and Marco Astori and Vlado Plulík. Dodo and Vlado then went on an alpine style assault on GII, with Dodo making a solo summit. These climbs on the Gasherbrums are part of the Baltoro Express Expedition that will also see the two Slovaks attempt Broad Peak and K2 as well. Dodo has put himself into position to pull off a Karakorum quadruple header. Impressive stuff.

Meanwhile, Japanese climber Hirotaka Takeuchi and Fin Veikka Gustafsson, long time climbing partner of Ed Viesturs, have joined the Amical team on GII. Both men are en route to BC, and Hirotaka is going back to the mountain where he was nearly killed a year ago when he was caught in an avalanche at C2. It is also noted that Veikka, who is hailed as a national hero back home, only has the two Gasherbrums and Broad Peak to go before he is finished with the 8000m peaks.

Over on K2, BC is beginning to get crowded. Two new teams have arrived on the mountain, one Korean, the other Serbian. There has already been a meeting with the teams already on K2 to plan the sharing of resources and working together to fix ropes at the higher altitudes where the Cesen Route and the Abruzzi Spur come together.

News from the other peaks include a Basque team which hopes to make a Broad Peak/K2 double header. On Nanga Parbat, the Italian team has shuttled it's supplies up to 6800m and are now preparing to make their summit bid, and finally, Don Bowie has arrived in Pakistan where he'll attempt to climb the Distaghil Sar, a 7883 m (25,863ft) mountain located in the remote Hispar Range region. Don will be joined by Bruce Normand whom he climbed K2 with last year.

Karakorum 2008: Expedition List At ExWeb

While the focus has been squarely on Everest and the Himalaya of late, it won't be long before the Karakorum begins to see traffic as well. ExWeb has posted their first 2008 Karakorum Expedition List which gives us a glimpse into what we can expect this Spring and Summer in Pakistan.

At the moment there are four teams prepping for K2 this year. In addition to the mixed team of Americans, Australians, and Swedes, there are also teams from Singapore, Korea, and the Netherlands. K2 is obviously the crown jewel of the Karakorum, and no matter what season it is, it's always a difficult and challenging climb.

But the second highest mountain on the planet isn't the only one to see action in Pakistan in the months ahead. Broad Peak already has three teams scheduled, one of which will attempt all three Gasherbrum Peaks while they're in the neighborhood as well. There are also three teams set for Nanga Parbet and yet two more gunning for GI and GII as well.

Away from the 8000m peaks, there are a slew of teams going for a wide variety of mountains, including a shot at K7 and Mustagh Tower by two different Slovenian teams. And we can't forget about the ladies either, as Patricia Deavoll of New Zealand will go for the First Ascent of Bekka Brakki by a woman.

It's shaping up to be a good year in both the Karakorum and Himalaya with some very interesting climbs. It should be fun to watch these expeditions unfold in a few months time.

The Ten Deadliest Mountains In The World

Here's a late entry in all those year end top ten lists. It's the Ten Deadliest Mountains in the World according to Men's Vogue. (Yeah! Who knew?!?)

The site has far too much advertising, and the pages are cluttered with all kinds of crap, plus the the information on each peak is spread out over multiple pages. All that said, the article does have some great photos, and there is a nice profile of each mountain to give you a little more background on them. I generally don't like to post the entire list in my blog post, but I'm going to make an exception so you can jump directly to a mountain that may interest you, and cut through some of the extraneous stuff:

1. Annapurna
2. Nanga Parbat
3. Siula Grande
4. K2
5. Kangchenjunga
6. The Matterhorn
7. Everest
8. Mt. Washington
9. Denali
10. Mt. Fuji

Pretty interesting list. Some of them are fairly obvious like Annapurna and K2, but I had no idea on Mt. Washington. Very interesting. All in all, not a bad little article, even if it is stuffed with some superfluous stuff.

Thanks to The Goat for the link to this one.

Best Hike Brings Us More From Banff!

As I mentioned in a post earlier today, Rick McCharles from BestHike.com and the always well done Best Hike Blog, has been spending the past week at the Banff Film Festival. He's made a couple of posts on what he's seen there that I thought you might find interesting.

First, he posted a list of award winning films from the festival with some very interesting titles getting a nod, including 20 Seconds of Joy that I mentioned earlier, as well as Into The WIld which we've discussed at length here already. The Grand Prize Winner was Death On Nanga Parbat, a film about the tragic death of Reinhold Messner's brother back in 1970, and the controversy that has swirled around Messner since.

There really are some films that sound very interesting on that list. Fortunately, the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour will be coming to my area next April, and hopefully I can catch one or two of these films. Be sure to check the schedule to find out when it's in your neighborhood.

The other posting that Rick made was a review of Joe Simpson's The Beckoning Silence, another film I've mentioned more than once on the blog recently. The film is based on Simpson's book of the same name which recounts a tragic climb on the Eiger back in 1936, mixed in with Joe's own tales of facing that great wall. Rick sums up his thoughts on the films quite simply:

"The Beckoning Silence is excellent. It’s a must see for anyone interested in the history of mountaineering."

Pretty high praise indeed. I'll definitely have to add this to my list of movies to see soon. Especially, as one of Rick's commenters notes, there is a *ahem* torrent already available.

Thanks for the reviews and thought Rick!

GreatOutdoors.com Profiles Colin Haley

GreatOutdoors.com has posted an impressive profile of climber Colin Haley, who, at the age of 22, is already putting together a fairly impressive resume of climbs.

Haley, who lives in Washington state, has had a particularly impressive year in the mountains. He's put together a string of summits that range from the first ascent of The Entropy Wall on Mt. Moffit in Alaska last July, to his summit of Denali, via the Denali Diamond route, which consists of a 3500 foot granite wall, in June. In between, he knocked off 15 other peaks in various locations. Others on his list include The Sentinel in Yosemite Valley, Cerro Torre in Patagonia, and a first winter ascent of Mt. Huntington in Alaska.

Colin seems to have a rare combination of outstanding rock climbing skills and mountaineering ability. He's tackled some amazing walls, and summitted a number of high peaks. He's done much of his climbing in the Cascade's of the Pacific Northwest, but has ventured to Alaska numerous times, taken a crack at Nanga Parbat, and is currently off in Pakistan making an attempt on Ultar Sar's Southeast Rib/Pillar, 7,388 meters mountain that has seen just three previous attempts and no summits.

It sounds like Colin has quite a future ahead of him in mountaineering. He's certainly gotten off to a great start for someone just 22 years of age. Hopefully we'll hear something of his success in Pakistan soon, but I have no doubts we'll be hearing even more from this talented climber in the future.

K2: Here We Go!

K2Climb.net has posted an update from Pakistan with news of summit pushes getting underway on K2. The weather reports indicate that a weather window will open at the end of the week and may last through the weekend, so teams have started to move up and into position.

The Shared Summits Team has moved up to C2, but report that high winds and avalanches are still making the mountain a dangerous place to be right now. They described the conditions at C2 as "brutal" but hope to move up one camp per day until Thursday when they hope to make their summit bid. They aren't the only team moving up however, as word has it that two Korean teams and a Portuguese team are moving up the Abruzzi Spur, while an Italian team is attempting the Cesen route. If the weather window opens as expected, we should see some serious attempts at the summit in a few days time, but K2 is notoriously dangerous at the top, with avalanches being common place, so even though the weather may cooperate, it will still be plenty dangerous up there.

On Broad Peak, climber Dirk Grunnert was separated from his team and they feared for his safety, but thankfully he arrived in Base Camp yesterday, much to the relief of his friends, who were afraid that they would have to organize a search party once the weather improved. On Gasherbrum, Japanese climber Hiro Takeuchi has moved up to C2 and hopes to make his bid on GII tomorrow. And finally, the Chilean team already at C4 on Nanga Parbat have decided to wait for their countrymen from the other Chilean team on the mountain, to join them so they can all summit together. They hope to go up on Wednesday.

Seems like the rest of the week should be a busy one in the Karakorum. Lots of summits ahead. I just hope everyone climbs safely and gets back down in one piece. Especially the teams on K2 where things can get dicey in a hurry.

Summits On Nanga Parbat!

K2Climb.net posted a report that Piotr Morawski, Peter Hamor and Dodo Kopold have summitted Nanga Parbat. The three went up from C4 yesterday and topped out 1:40 PM local time amidst strong, cold winds and very deep snow on the summit push. The climbers were safely back at C4 last night, and are expected back in BC today.

Their work in the Karakorum isn't over however, as they'll be heading over to K2 next, where they will attempt a new route on the Western Face where they will be going alpine style up that unclimbed face. Nanga Parbat was an acclimatization climb before going after the real prize.

The article also notes that Kinga Baranowska and Roberto "Gorri" Rojo were also in C4 and were preparing to make their summit bids today. Congrats to Piotr, Peter, and Dodo on a job well done, and good luck To Kinga and Roberto. Climb safe.

Karakorum Update: More Summits On Broad Peak

ExWeb has all the skinny on what's happening in Pakistan once more today, beginning with this story that nearly 40 climbers topped out on Broad Peak yesterday.

It seems the wind was quite nasty for those that went up to the summit, be despite all that, there was great success on the mountain. Marco Confortola finished off a successful 2007 season by summitting BP, as well as Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma. I think he's earned a well deserved rest. Italian Simone La Terra also had a successful summit on Broad Peak, but that only puts him a quarter of the way to his goal, as he has plans to move on to K2 and both Gasherbrums before he leaves the Karakorum.

Speaking of K2, word is that the Kazakh Team, consisting of erguey Brodsky, Serguey Bogomolov, Andrew Puchinin and Malik Ismetov, on the Northwest Ridge have established C1 at 5700 feet. The first step in conquering that massive wall. Meanwhile, over on Nanga Parbat, nasty weather has moved in, delaying summit bids there. Dodo Kopold's team is at C4 and plans to stay there through the weekend due to high winds during the day and thick fog at nights. The Chilean Team has also set off from C3 to climb up to C4 to wait for their chance to go for the summit as well.

Swiss climber Ueli Steck also reports in on his Annapurna climb from back in May. Ueli acclimatized on Cholatse and Pumori before going for Annapurna, but was struck on the head by a rock as he climbed, ending his chances at the summit. He had intended to go up solo and alpine style and reports that he was feeling very strong, but has no memories of what happened when the rock struck him somewhere between 5800 and 5900 meters. He recalls waking up face down in the snow, and being completely lost on the mountain. He vows to go back and try again, as a freak accident like this can be hard to predict. The article is a good read, and offers some nice insights and details.

Finally, there is word that 10 Chinese, Tibetan and Pakistani climbers summitted Gasherbrum I, also known as "Hidden Peak". Amongst them was JiJi Zaxi, the widow of Rena Zaxi. Rena was killed on the Karakorum Highway by a massive rockslide back in 2005 as he was preparing to climbing Hidden Peak. I'm sure it was both a painful and glorious experience for Jiji to go up the mountain.

Karakorum Update: Summits on Broad Peak!

K2Climb.net is reporting that there have been a number of summits on Broad Peak with Silvio 'Gnaro' Mondinelli, Marco Confortola, Ivan Vallejo, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Ralf Dujmovits, Fabio Iacchini, Edurne Pasaban, amongst others, all topping out on the mountain. For Mondinelli, it's his 14th 8000m peak, putting him into the exclusive club of men who have summitted the 8-thousanders.

It was a good day for the ladies as well, as Broad Peak with the 10th 8000m peak for Gerlinde and the 9th for Edurne, marking them as amongst the best female climbers in the World. Nives Meroi is also at 9 officially as well, as the women race to see who is the first to get all the peaks.

Meanwhile, things are looking up on the other mountains in the area as well. The Shared Summit Team is preparing to make another run at K2, with reports that a weather window should open up early next week. K2 also happens to be the next stop for Gerlinde and husband Ralf.

We should see summits tonight on Nanga Parbat as well, as the joint Polish-Slovak team, lead by Dodo Kopold, are already in C4 at 7100m and will go for the top tonight. On Gasherbrum, the FTA Team has already made a run at the summit yesterday but were forced to turn back at 7700m. Their second team will attempt to go up today, hopefully with better results.

It looks like Summit Season in the Karakorum has begun. Congratulations to everyone who has already topped out, and be safe coming down. As for those still waiting, good luck and climb safe.

ExWeb Posts Complete Pakistani Expedition List

ExWeb has done a nice service for all of us climbers, adventurers, and arm chair mountaineers stuck at home during this Karakorum season. They've posted a complete list of all the Pakistani expeditions that are going on even now on the various mountains in the area.

The article breaks down each peak and briefly discusses each team's expectations on the mountain this season. Some are sticking to the traditional routes, while others are trying to climb something completely new. Like the Russians on K2 who are attempting a direct route on the unclimbed West Face, where Dodo Kopold and his teammates Piotr Morawski and Peter Hamor are also climbing, in Alpine Style no less.

The other mountains in the area, including Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, and the Gasherbrums are also seeing their share of bold climbers. Like French extreme skier Jean-Noel Urban, who intends to summit Nanga Parbat, then ski back down the mountain. Similarly, there are teams going for double summits on GI and GII. Curiously though, Veikka Gustaffson, who had announced plans to go after both Gasherbrums, and Broad Peak, his only remaining 8-thousanders doesn't seem to be in Pakistan at all this Summer.

The whole article is a nice read, and one that will catch you up on all the stuff going on in the Karakorum this Spring. Hopefully we'll start hearing more on each of these expeditions in the coming days as they start to make their summit bids. If the weather cooperates, things should get very busy over the next few weeks.

Things Heating Up In Pakistan

With the last team now off Everest, we can finally close the book on the Spring Season and turn our eyes over to the Karakorum, where things are really starting to heat up. K2Climb.net has posted an update on some of the things happening now in Pakistan.

The Russian's on Broad Peak are reporting that they have established Camp 3 and will soon be making their summit bid. The team returned to BC for some rest, but will be heading back up this week as long as the weather holds out. Over on Nanga Parbat, the story is similar, as the Chilean team there has established Camp 1 at 4920m, but have yet to see any neighbors move into the area. The reports are that the weather had been great, and they began establishing the route up to C2, but since then the weather has taken a turn for the worse, and they have retreated back to BC.

Over on K2, there has been some snow storms as well, but the Russians on the West Face have begun moving up the mountain anyway. They have established Camp 1 at 6000m and have also started to put down fixed lines up to 6500m. There is still a lot of work to be done on the World's second highest mountain, but so far, the progress has been good.

Over the next few weeks, we should really be hearing a lot more about the Karakorum climbs. Many of the teams haven't even arrived on site yet, so things should be picking up. However, these mountains aren't like Everest, and we won't be seeing 100 summits in a single day. You can count on that.

Himalaya Update: Summits on Everest!

ExWeb has all kinds of climbing updates again today, with this one from Everest topping the headlines. David Tait is reporting that the Chinese team has placed 17(!) people on top of Everest this morning in what is described as very windy conditions. As of this writing, we're still awaiting official confirmation, but Tait has a good handle on what's going down (or up as the case may be) on the North Side. He hasn't forgotten about his historic double traverse of course, and the word is that he'll make his first summit attempt around the 16th of May.

Meanwhile, over on Dhaulagiri, there is news that Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner will be heading to the summit on her own. When she and her climbing partner Lucie Orsulova proceeded up the mountain to make their first summit bid, they arrived at Camp 1 to find that all the gear they stowed there was missing. Someone found their stash and cleaned it out. The pair soldiered on however, making it to C2 the next day and the proceeding to C3 the following. But the exertion of climbing was too much for Lucie, who began suffering from altitude sickness. The summit attempt turned into a resuce mission as they proceeded back down the mountain. Now, Gerlinde will make the bid on her own. She is a strong climber and has topped out on nine of the 8000m peaks, so things look good. Still, a solo climb on a mountain like this one is never easy.

Finally, things are starting to heat up in Pakistan as well, with teams starting to arrive on Nanga Parbat. The climbing season is a bit different in the Karakoram, and while Everest teams are nearing their big push, the logistics of the climb are still being worked out. Dodo is at home right now, fresh off his double header of Shisha Pangma and Cho Oyu, but he'll only take a short rest before going to Pakistan for a second double climb, this time on Nanga Parbat at K2. This guy sure know how to make us all feel like slackers. Hey Dodo! How about you stay home, sit on the couch, and watch some TV for a change? Please?!?

Dodo Kopold Goes For Himalayan Double - Double!

MountEverest.net is reporting that Dodo Kopold will go for two double summits in the Himalaya this year. The Slovakian climber is already in Kathmandu with one team to attempt Spring climbs of Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma. The plan is to attack the big wall on Cho Oyu first, where the intend to spend four days climbing with just the bare minimum of equipment that won't even include a tent. From there, they'll move to Shisha to complete the Spring "two-fer".

In the Summer, Dodo will join Piort Morawski and Peter Hamor for Nanga Parbat and a new route on K2 this summer. The plan being that they'll train and acclimatize on Nanga Parbat before moving over to the tougher, and more deadly, K2 by about mid-July or so.

Seems like a very ambitious schedule for Dodo. I guess he'll be well acclimatized by the Summer attempt on K2. It would be pretty amazing to see him summit all four in a matter of a few months, but this will be not small feat regardless. It should at least be interesting to watch him give it a try.

2007 Pakistan Himalaya Expedition List

We've already seen their 2007 Everest and Himalaya Expedition List and now we can take a look at ExWeb's preliminary expedition list for Pakistani Himalaya for 2007 as well.

The list isn't nearly as full as the one with Everest on it, but does have a several groups going for K2, including a team on the West face, and another going for a new route on the North side. Other teams on K2 will try to do a "double dipper" going for the summit on Broad Peak as well. One of those teams is a massive Russian expedtion with 17 team members. With the Russians alone, it's going to be crowded in Base Camp.

Other 8000m peaks will have their own expeditions as well, with teams set for Nanga Parbat and G1 and G2. Mixed International teams will shoot for summits on Masherbrum and Kunyang Chhish, lower, but still challenging peaks in their own right. K6 will see an American/Slovenian mixed team in the Spring, and K13 will see a Japanese team as well.

You can find even more information on the Karakorum teams here.

Updates From The Mountains

ExWeb has a number of mountaineering related updates today, that may be of interest.

First up, over on Nanga Parbat Simone Moro and his team have established Camp 3 on the mountain, and have retreated back down to Camp 2. Forcasts look rather nasty over the next few days, but after that, they'll be looking for a weather window to make a summit push. Simone is known for making winter climbs on the big peaks, but Nanga Parbat in Winter is impressive none the less.

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the first ascent on Broad Peak, and it looks like there will be quite the celebration. Right now, more than 25 climbers are preparing to summit the mountain this Summer to commemorate the anniversary. Even more impressive is that 10 of those climbers will move on to K2 afterward. Talk about a "twofer"!

Finally, Mark Inglis and Peter Hillary have announced plans to create an Everest rescue trust to raise money to conduct high altitude rescues on Everest. Inglis was on the mountain last year with the Himex team that walked past David Sharp, while he lay dying. The hope is that this fund will eventually have the cash and resources to fund rescuse and avoid similar situations. I suppose the efforst have to start somewhere.

Poles Abandon Winter Attempt On Nanga Parbat

I posted an update on the Winter attempt on Nanga Parbat by a Polish team a few days ago, and now MountEverest.net is reporting that the climb has come to an end. In the previoius post, I noted how the team had established Camp 3 on the mountain, but were unable to climb any higher due to nasty winds, and extremely cold temperatures.

The Team got as high as 6000m, but was turned back by -20F temperatures, winds ranging from 40-60 mph, and a climate that was described as a "freezing hell". After retreating to Base Camp, the team watched weather reports and determined that there was little chance of a window opening soon. Figuring that discretion was the better part of valor, they elected to leave the mountain rather than risk injury or death.

The Poles say they learned a lot during this attempt however, and haven't ruled out the possibility of returning in the future. If they do return, they promise to have a larger team, more high altitude porters, and attempt the climb in a more "siege" style that would be more effective in the Winter.

Edit: Check out these awesome photos from the expedition on their website.