Jul 13, 2009
(K2Climb.net) Lt Col(R) Ilyas Ahmad Mirza of Askari Aviation (”The Fearless Five”) in Pakistan told ExWeb in an email this morning that two helicopters were sent yesterday to retrieve Miss Go’s remains on Nanga Parbat but her body, earlier spotted on a steep slope, was missing from the location today. The helis are likely to return tomorrow to resume the search.

As climbers return to BC, more details are emerging about the weekend’s summit push and difficult descent on Nanga Parbat:

Wolfgang Köblinger lost balance in high winds and fell to his death shortly after reaching the summit. Another fall, on an unroped section between C3 and C2 took Miss Go’s life on Saturday.

No hopes for Köblinger

Gerfried’s Göschl’s home team stated all hope is out to find Wolfgang Köblinger alive. The team leader explained over sat phone the circumstances during which Köblinger disappeared. “Wolfgang was part of the group who attempted the summit from the Kinshoffer route,” Gerfried’s home team wrote.

“Hans Wenzl topped-out at about 2.30pm; Michaela Landl and Herbert Schütter turned around due to the late hour – but Wolfgang continued. He reached the summit together with a Korean expedition at 6:10pm. On descent, Wolfgang was behind the Koreans. Following a very strong gust of wind the Koreans glanced back with Wolfgang nowhere to be seen. His footprints ended at a steep slope at approx. 8060m. Louis Rousseau took pictures of the track and found some of Wolfgang’s belongings (backpack, a globe, a cap) and took them down to BC.”

“Meanwhile climbers in BC have helped some exhausted members of the summit group on their way down. Today (yesterday) at six, all our team members are safely back in BC.”

Details on Miss Oh and Miss Go

Giuseppe Pompili confirmed the late Korean Go Mi-Sun’s summit time, provided some details on her accident, and added a correction – stating Miss Oh Eun-Sun was first to summit that day, climbing on O2.

“I had mistaken the two Koreans,” Giuseppe Pompili noted. “Miss Oh was the one climbing on Oxygen – Miss Go was slowly ascending behind.”

“Miss Go topped-out at around 6.00 pm,” Pompili confirmed. “Shortly after she was forced to take shelter behind a rock for two hours due to the strong wind. She spent the night in C4. On the following morning (Saturday), while climbing down between C3 and C2 on a section without fixed ropes, she fell.”

“There are about 20 sections of double ropes along the three first camps, but also some unroped sections which are dangerous. Adriano and I were extremely careful when we had to climb down these passages – and definitely less tired than Miss Go.”

Sadness in BC

“Sadness – That’s the word to describe the feelings here in BC,” Pompili wrote. “Miss Go’s body was sighted down the Messner Couloir. Some people argue the rope in the section where she fell had been removed – others discuss the late departure hour from C4 (apparently about 3:00 am)…”

“One of Miss Go’s Sherpas has sustained severe frostbites in his hands,” Giuseppe added. “Today (yesterday) a chopper is scheduled to take Miss Oh to GI – I am not sure whether she’s finally taking it though.”

“Herbert (Schütter) is helped down by Gerfried and three others (Ed note: at the time of the report). He turned back without reaching the summit on Friday, but topped-out in a second attempt on Saturday,” the Italian climber stated.

Joao’s summit pics

One of the first to summit and also among the first climbers back in BC; Portuguese Joao García has sent a summit pic and a video report is expected soon.

Here is a preliminary summit list:

Friday, July 10th – Kinshoffer route summits:

Approx. 12:00pm: Miss Oh (probably on O2 – in her 12th 8000er) and at least one of her Sherpas.

Approx. 12:00pm: Joao (in his 13th 8000er), Ali and Amin.

2:30pm: Hans Wenzl.

6.00 pm: Miss Go (in her 11th 8000er, lost on descent), Kim Jae-Soo (his 11th 8000er), possibly other members in her team, and Wolfgang Köblinger (lost on descent).

Saturday, July 11th – New Route summits:

Gerfried Göschl, Louis Rousseau, Sepp Bachmair and Hans Goger.

Herbert Schütter joined the New Route group from C4 to the summit – he had previously climbed up the Kinshoffer route.

Others:

British Richard (Rick) Allen and Alexander (Sandy) Allan were quoted as summiteers – dates and route are still to be confirmed.

* Previous story  : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/karakoram/

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

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1. Go Mi-Sun, 41, (also spelled ‘Ko Mi-young’ by some of the local media) lost on Nanga Parbat normal route.

South Korean climber Ko Mi-young, 41, who went missing after a fall from a cliff in the Himalayas, was found dead in a ravine according to South Korean embassy in Pakistan, Sunday – Jul 12, 2009.

- Tragedy on Nanga Parba, 2009 climbing season : Korean star climber Miss Go lost on Nanga Parbat normal route.

2. Italian skier Michele Fait lost on K2.

On 23 June the Italian mountaineer Michele Fait lost his life skiing from Camp 2 on the Cesen route on K2.

- Tragedy on K2, 2009 climbing season.

3. Dutch climber Dennis Verhoeve lost on Cho Oyu.

Dutch Dennis Verhoeve reportedly fell to his death on the way down from Cho Oyu summit on June 2nd. His was the last team still remaining on the mountain this season.

- Tragedy on Cho Oyu 2009 – Dutch climber Dennis Verhoeve lost on Cho Oyu.

4. Polish climber Piotr Morawski lost on Dhaulagiri.

Polish ace climber Piotr Morawski has fell to his death on Dhaulagiri, local media have just reported – April 08, 2009.

Morawski was climbing together with Slovak Peter Hamor. The “Two Peters” hoped to summit Dhaulagiri via its normal route, as a preparatory climb before attempting a new route on Manaslu’s west face.

-  Breaking news: Piotr Morawski lost on Dhaulagiri. Piotr Morawski zginął na Dhaulagiri. /Version english and polish/

* My condolences to the friends and families of these climbers.

* Previous story  : – Tragedy in the Himalaya.

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

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(K2Climb.net) Go Mi-Sun has been confirmed dead after she went missing on Nanga Parbat Saturday.

Details are not yet clear on what exactly caused the accident. Fellow mountaineers on the peak such as Italian Giuseppe Pompili were impressed by the lady climber, reporting she climbed strongly and summited on supplementary O2.

Go reportedly fell on descent at around 6200 meters and went missing close to camp 2. Korean media reports state that her remains have since been recovered.

Record climber

Go Mi-Sun, 41, (also spelled ‘Ko Mi-young’ by some of the local media) became known as a “dark horse” in the quest for the first female to summit all 14, 8000ers. With 11, 8000ers summited in a very short time, after Nanga Parbat she would only have the “easy” Gasherbrums 1 and 2 plus Annapurna on the list.

Beside the “female” aspect however; Miss Go had a number of overall world records in Himalayan mountaineering.

ExWeb’s Himalaya statistician Rodrigo Granzotto Peron (Brazil) said in an email today that Miss Go was
- the first person to summit 3×8000ers in 3 consecutive years (2007, 2008 and 2009);
- had the fastest (72 days) ascent of 4 different main 8000ers (2009);
- and made the first ever triple-header in Himalaya (2009).

The climber further summited an astonishing seven 8000ers in 2008/2009: Lhotse, K2, Manaslu, Makalu, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri and Nanga Parbat.

Kim loses his mate

The fatal accident is a big blow to Go’s regular climbing mate Kim Jae-Soo. Except for her first 8000er (Cho Oyu), Go Mi Sun had always climbed with Kim.

The two survived K2 together last year, but the tragedies on the mountain affected Go. Afterwards she told ExWeb’s Karrar Haidri in Islamabad that her team Sherpa Jumik Bhote had called home to his pregnant wife over a satellite phone from the summit. After he died, the wife gave birth to a baby girl. “This was very upsetting to me,” Go told Karrar.

At the time, Go told Karrar that she hoped to climb all 14, 8000ers by 2011, but shortly after sped up her ambition.

Following her Makalu-Kangchenjunga-Dhaulagiri triple this spring, she was headed for both Gasherbrums and Nanga Parbat this summer, hoping to crown her list with Annapurna in fall.

A climbing champion

Miss Go’s success in Himalaya was neither luck nor an easy challenge. Yet as is the case with most Korean climbers, in spite of her stellar achievements Go made waves outside the established (western) climbing community.

”Dhaulagiri was Go’s 10th 8000er and Kim’s 11th”, Windhorse trekking’s Ang Karma Sherpa told ExWeb from Nepal by the end of this spring season. It was also the Korean lady’s toughest climb until then, she told Ang Karma in an SMS. “We climbed for 25 hours non stop from camp III to summit and back due to the bad weather and ice showers constantly hitting our faces,” Mi-Sun reported back then.

The former Asian Women Sports Climbing, Asian Women Ice Climbing and Korean Women Mountaineering Ski champion had only doggedly entered the world top-league of Himalaya climbers, Ang Karma said.

It was a life-consuming quest. The youngest of 7 siblings, after completing elementary school and middle school at her hometown, Go moved to In-Cheon (enrolling in In-Sung Girls High School) which offered better opportunity to practice mountaineering, reported ExplorersWeb’s correspondent in Korea, Kyu Dam Lee, in an email today.

No easy life

Korean climbers live under very different conditions than western mountaineers. South Korea faces constant threat from communist North Korea and most elders have fresh memories from the Korean War (1950-53) that killed 2.5 million people. It has provided Korea with mountaineers known for taking bigger risks but also achieving spectacular climbs such as Mr Park’s recent new route on Mount Everest.

Miss Go was in it less for the race, but more as a means to become something bigger than her destiny. Her records set a number of milestones for the world mountaineering community, in the end underlining the seriousness of Himalayan 8000+ meter exposure.

Miss Go’s life was a source of great pride and joy to her family. While her memory is bound to inspire in the future, at this time their loss is huge.

“Her father, 84, (currently staying with Miss Go’s elder sister’s house in Song-Pa, Seoul) only cries in silence, her mother is 71 years old,” Kyu told ExplorersWeb.

The Korean embassy in Pakistan confirmed Go Mi-Sun’s death today. Her body will be airlifted by helicopter tomorrow, and transported to Korea soon after her family has arrived in Islamabad. Go’s aunt, sister in law’ and sister Mi-Ran (48) are scheduled for Islamabad on Thursday together with members from supporting Kolon Sports.

Her uncle recalled Go’s last words upon departing on the summit push as, “please pray for my successful summit of Nanga Parbat.”

“Her father loved her so much,” the uncle added, “and always followed her.”

“All the members of her family are in deep sadness,” Kyu told ExplorersWeb.

Go Mi-Sun “Miss Go” (of Cheong-Ho Village, Ha-Seo city, Bu-An county in Jeon-La-Buk-Do/North Jeon-La Province) in Korea summited CH in 2006; EV, BP and SH in 2007; LH, K2 and MN in 2008 ; and MK, KG, DH and NP in 2009.

* see : – Tragedy on Nanga Parbat update: survivors in BC, summits and accidents’ details.

* Previous story  : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/karakoram/

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

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Summit push on G3 via a new route. A new line, summits and two fatalities on Nanga Parbat.

Young polar aspirant lost in Afghanistan, a new polar kiting distance record, a number of interviews and several special stories – here goes a review of the latest at ExplorersWeb.

G3/G4 Don, Bruce, Billy and Guy are at 7300m on a new route on G3 from the Cwm situated at 7000m between G4 and G3,” reported David Fält from Islamabad on Saturday. “They will go for the summit at midnight today, climbing via a new line on GIII’s NW flank. The forecast is looking good. Should they succeed, it would be GIII’s third or fourth ascent, and only the second route ever climbed up the mountain,” David said. Falt was injured in a crevasse fall and airlifted from BC earlier last week.

Nanga Parbat new route Gerfried Göschl, Louis Rousseau, Herbert Schütter, Sepp Bachmair and Hans Goger summited Nanga Parbat on Saturday via a new route, their website reported.

Korean star climber Miss Go lost on Nanga Parbat normal route Go Mi-Sun (’Ko Mi-young’) has been confirmed dead after she went missing on Nanga Parbat Saturday. Details are not yet clear on what exactly caused the accident. Fellow mountaineers on the peak reported she had summited on supplementary O2; Korean media reported she fell on descent at around 6200 meters close to camp 2. With 11, 8000ers summited in a very short time, Go, 41, became known as a “dark horse” in the quest for the first female to summit all 14, 8000ers. Read ExWeb’s Sunday special on the perished climber.

Austrian Wolfgang Köblinger lost on Nanga Parbat normal route From the Austrian team, Hans Wenzl, Rick and Sandy summited but Wolfgang Köblinger went missing. The climber reportedly reached the summit together with a Korean expedition around 6 pm but fell on descent. Traces in the snow indicate Wolfgang might have gone over a steep section at 8060m.

Nanga Parbat normal route more summits: Portuguese Joao Garcia summited Nanga Parbat in high wind Saturday, bagging his 13th 8000er. About 8 climbers topped-out, Joao’s home team reported, including Pakistani Ali and Amin. Giuseppe Pompili and Ariano del Cin turned back, meeting Korean Miss Oh (pushing for her 12th 8000er) about one hour into their descent. The Korean lady was still going up at that point, but very slowly Pompili reported. The Kinshofer route climbers reported clear skies but hard wind, very cold conditions, and a steep climb from C2 to C3, entirely on hard ice. Joao Garcia carried ropes to C3,”he’s a true Gentleman, who had to make two trips to C3 for it,” Pompili said, adding that Korean Miss Oh told him she had used O2 only on K2 and Everest, and that she regretted it. After she’s done with the 14×8000ers, she reportedly hopes to repeat both peaks without gas.

K2: “We are about 20 climbers on K2 this year, divided between the Cesen and Abruzzi routes,” reported Ecuadorian Santiago Quintero, climbing with Spaniards Martin Ramos (5, 8000ers) and Jorge Egocheaga (late Iñaki Ochoa’s regular climbing mate with 9, 8000ers summited). The three switched route to their original Abruzzi as they didn’t like conditions on the Cesen route. Field Touring Alpine’s commercial team (on Cesen), led by Fabrizio Zangrilli, reported a Japanese team of 7 climbers also on the Abruzzi route. Austrian sky-runner Christian Stangl, 43, hopes to break Benoit’ Chamoux’s 23 hours speed record on K2, according to Montagna.org and Christian’s website. After a failed attempt last year, two-time Everest summiteer Dave Watson is back to K2, hoping to climb and ski down (at least, partially) the Cesen route, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Kazakh Maxut and Vassily, teaming up with Russian Serguey Bogomolov, are sharing permit with Austrian Gerlinde and David. Many climbers were pushing for C2 or C3 end last week.

Gasherbrum II According to Kairn.com, Ueli Steck summited Gasherbrum II on 9 July. Philippe Gatta, Serap Jangbu, Phil Crampton & his team (Altitude Junkies), Jagged Globe, Spanish, Bulgarian and Iranian climbers all waited for conditions to improve by end last week.

Gasherbrum I (Hidden Peak) Spanish veteran climber Carlos Soria is attempting Hidden Peak at 70 years old. The team also includes Marta Alejandre, Luis Carcavilla, two Colombian climbers and a separate Spanish team. Veikka Gustafsson is also on GI, the last peak on his 14×8000ers list, climbing with Kazuya Hiraide. Reportedly the first climbers up on GI’s route this year, “there’s much more snow this year than in 2008, particularly from BC to C2,” Veikka said.

Broad Peak The Arash mountaineers club of Tehran team left 500 meters of fixed rope at the starting section of Broad’s SW face. News is expected from FTA and Eelco Jansen’s international team (normal route).

Exweb Week-In-Review is sponsored by HumanEdgeTech the world’s premier supplier of expedition technology. Our team helps you find ultra light expedition tech that works globally.

e-mail or call +1 212 966 1928

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

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Great news from the Karakorum today as word on successful summits have begun to trickle in, starting on Gasherbrum II where Ueli Steck has topped out yesterday and returned to BC today according to the Hardwear Sessions blog. Not many details are known yet on the climb, but it is being reported that Ueli was using this as a training climb for Makalu in this fall.

Meanwhile, ExWeb is reporting that Joao Garcia has summitted Nanga Parbat, claiming his 13th 8000 meter peak and leaving just Annapurna on his list. Joao’s climbing partner Amin Ulal also topped out as well.

Korean climber Go Mi-Sun also reached the summit of Nanga Parbat earlier today, but had to use supplemental oxygen to do so. Miss Go has generally climbed without the O’s, but perhaps her ambitious climbing schedule is getting the best of her. After resting, she’ll move on to the Gasherbrums to have a go at both G1 and G2 in her bid for a second 8000m Triple Header this year.

The summits aren’t quite done yet on NP however, as Gerfried Göschl’s team is moving up along a new route, and if everything stays on schedule, they should be topping out tomorrow. They’re climbing alpine style and established a fourth camp today where they are waiting for the winds to die down before proceeding up.

Moving over to Broad Peak, the Field Touring Alpine team is now in place and ready to begin their summit bid as well. All of their camps are established, and the climbers are finished with their acclimatization process, and now they are watching for a three day weather window that will give them access to the summit. Reportedly conditions are very good on the mountain, and it is only a matter of time before they move up.

The Gasherbrums are abuzz with activity besides just Ueli’s successful summit. The Jagged Globe Team set off on their summit bid a few days back, while the Altitude Junkies are in BC and keeping an eye on the jet stream, hoping for a window. Don Bowie and his team have their sights set on G3, and their latest update has them all at 7000 meters and waiting for the winds to die down as well.

Jumping over to K2, it seems that weather has cleared up enough for teams to begin establishing the route to C2. Most of the teams have spent a night at C2 at this point, and are anxious to get higher on the mountain, but conditions have been really dicey so far.

Finally, Kazak climbing legends Maxut Zhumayev and Vassiliy Pivtsov have arrived in Pakistan are reportedly in Skardu. They’ll begin the trek to K2 soon and are expected in base camp around the 22nd of the month. I’m not sure what their plans are, but they will no doubt be making some spectacular attempt, alpine style, on the mountain. Stay tuned!

* Source : – http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/

** Previous story  : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/karakoram/

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

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A first aid kit, much like car insurance, is one of those things that we buy and hope we never have to use. It’s one of those 10 essential items that we should always have in our pack when we head out on the trail, and yet, it’s one of the items that gets the least attention. We stuff a few band aids in a box, maybe some ibuprofen and thats about it. Well, I”m here to tell you that the first aid kit is one item that you shouldn’t scrimp on, but fortunately Adventure Medical Kits is here to make it easy on us all.

As their name implies, Adventure Medical Kits provides top notch, pre-made med kits that are ready to go in our backpacks and stay there until we need them. The kits come in a variety of sizes and specialities, for what ever your outdoor pursuits happen to be. For instance, their Paddler Series comes with everything a kayaker would need out on the water, and it’s all sealed up in a nice drybag, while the Mountain Series is designed for longer alpine expeditions.

My AMK comes from the Ultralight line, which is specifically marketed for multisport athletes such as adventure racers. The kits are perfect for races where a med kit is standard equipment, and any race above a sprint probably does require one, because they are small, compact, and light weight, yet still carry everything you’ll need and more. For instance, I have an Ultralight .9 which comes pre-packed with several varieties of bandages in different shapes and sizes, trauma pads, gloves, moleskin, duct tape, safety pins, splinter packs, antihistamines, ibuprofen, a plethora of wound care items, and a lot more. All of that is packed into a waterproof pack, and it all sits nicely inside a backpack.

In addition to all the great stuff that comes in each of the medical kits, the AMK website has some great supplemental gear that you can add to your kit to enhance its usefulness in the backcountry. For instance, they have a variety of insect repellants, hygiene products, blister protection, and other essentials. There are even repair kits that allow you to fix your broken gear, even while on the go. Put all this stuff together, and you have everything you ever need to cover medical issues no matter where you are.

I have to say that I am throughly impressed with the Ultralight .9 pack that I have. It lives up to its name, barely adding any weight to your pack and despite its size, the kit remains very versatile and useful. While AMK recommends it for adventure racers and other outdoor athletes, I believe that it is equally useful for backpackers, long distance trekkers, and even travelers in general. It really is a nice piece of gear that will fill most people’s needs right out of the box. Add in a few extra items that may be essential to you specifically, and you have the perfect customized med kit that is always ready to go when you are.

All of the kits from Adventure Medical are also very affordable, which means that we don’t have any excuses to not have one with us in the backcountry. Select one of the kits that works best for you, and you won’t want to ever leave it behind either. You might even think that it’s essential.

* Source : – http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/

** Previous story  : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/equipment/

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

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Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009.

Jubileuszowa wyprawa Ryszarda Pawłowskiego.

Cel:

Celem wyprawy jest wspinaczka na Broad Peak (8047m) – w 25 rocznicę zdobycia tego szczytu przez Ryszarda Pawłowskiego.

Termin realizacji :

Wyprawa startuje z kilkudniowym opóźnieniem (miała się rozpocząć 5 czerwca). a  rozpocznie się 12.06.2009 i potrwa do 01.08.2009

Opis wyprawy:

Wejście na szczyt jest przewidziane drogą normalną, drogą pierwszych zdobywców.

Dla Ryszarda Pawłowskiego będzie to swoisty jubileusz ponieważ 25 lat wcześniej zdobył Broad Peak i był to wtedy jego pierwszy ośmiotysięcznik.

Dla Piotra Snopczyńskiego to już kolejny ośmiotysięcznik do zdobycia.

Natomiast pozostali uczestnicy wyprawy będą zdobywać Broad Peak jak swój pierwszy ośmiotysięcznik, choć należy podkreślić, że wszyscy oni mają już doświadczenie z wielu wypraw  na inne szczyty organizowanych właśnie przez Ryszarda Pawłowskiego.

Uczestnicy :

Ryszard Pawłowski - Lider
urodzony w 1950 roku, zodiakalny Rak, ale Tygrys według horoskopu chińskiego, inżynier elektryk, instruktor alpinizmu, przewodnik górski.

Wziął udział w ponad 200 wyprawach w różne góry świata jako uczestnik lub organizator. Zdobył dziesięć szczytów ośmiotysięcznych, m.in. K2 (8611 m n.p.m.) płn. filarem. Jest jedynym Polakiem, który trzykrotnie stanął na szczycie Mt. Everestu (8848 m n.p.m.) 5/13/94, 5/12/95, 5/18/99.

Sylwetka himalaisty :

- Ryszard Pawłowski the famous Polish climber. /Version english and polish/

Zespół : Agenor Gawrzyał, Andrzej Życzkowski (KW Gliwice), Henryk Szczęsny, Piotr Snopczyński, Ryszard Zawada.

Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009 – relacje z wyprawy.

10.07.2009 – relacja : R. Pawłowskiego

Znowu wróciliśmy do bazy bo w nocy wiało i padał śnieg. Czekamy na nową szansę. Pozdrawiamy.

09.07.2009 – relacja : R. Pawłowskiego

Doszli do nas Heniu i Piotr. Tak, że naszą 4-ką jesteśmy w 3-ce na 7200m. Jeszcze do szczytu nie idziemy bo dużo śniegu, a inni nam nie pomagają.

07.07.2009 – relacja : R. Pawłowskiego

Jesteśmy w 2-ce z Jędrkiem, a Piotr z Heniem w 1-ce. Jutro chcemy wyjść do 3-ki. Pogoda na razie dobra. Pozdrawiamy.

02.07.2009 – relacja : R. Pawłowskiego

Na razie czekamy na warunki w ścianie i wypoczywamy:)

Organizator wyprawy :

Źródło : – http://www.patagonia.com.pl/

* zobacz też :

- posty o wyprawach Ryszarda Pawłowskiego, kliknij – Ryszard Pawłowski.

- Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009. /Version english and polish/

- Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009 – relacje z wyprawy cz.1.

- Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009 – relacje z wyprawy cz.2.

- Polish Silver Broad Peak Expedition 2009 – relacje z wyprawy cz.3.

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

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(K2climb.net/Madrid) Portuguese Joao Garcia summited Nanga Parbat in hard ice and high wind conditions today – thus bagging his 13th 8000er.

“Only about 8 climbers have finally topped-out Nanga Parbat, on a 24 hours-long summit day.” Joao’s home team reported.

The Portuguese climber teamed up with Amin Ulal and Ali – a second local climber who wanted to attempt the mountain after the Iranian expedition he was working with called the expedition off. It is yet unclear whether Amin and Ali may have summited as well.

“After topping-out we will descend for the night to C4,” Joao said yesterday. “The mountain is overloaded with snow – attempting to climb back down to BC in the day’s latter hours would be too risky.”

News is still expected from other teams joining the summit push on Nanga’s Kinshoffer route – namely, Korean Oh Eun-sun’s and Go Mi-sun’s expeditions, Italians Giuseppe Pompili and Adriano Del Cin, and a large Austrian team. They all departed C4 around midnight today towards the summit.

Strong winds in C4 yesterday

Should everything go according to plans, Miss Oh would bag her 12th 8000er (thus equalling Edune Pasaban and Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner on the 14×8000 ranking). Naga would be Mis Go’s11th.

Kinshoffer teams arrived in C4 yesterday after six hours climbing in steep terrain and loads of snow, according to Giuseppe Pompili. “We helped to fix the route on the way, and arrived in C4 with Adriano first in line, breaking trail in caterpillar-style,” Giuseppe reported. “Skies were clear, but it was windy and very cold. We’ve decided to attempt the top along with the Koreans, in spite of not being completely acclimatized.”

New Route team aiming for a Saturday summit

As for the “New Route Team”, Gerfried and his three mates needed six hours to climb 600 vertical meters in deep snow and rather strong wind yesterday. Climbing in alpine style and without porters, they pitched their tents at 6,900 meters, and re-scheduled their summit plans: now they expect to reach the top on Saturday.

“Despite the delay – we are happy to realize that every step we take is on new terrain,” Gerfried stated over sat-phone.

Louis rousseau’s home team noted the climbers are setting up a fourth campt today, and hoping for the wind to decrease by the team they reach the upper slopes on their way to the summit. Once on top, they’ll descend via the normal route.

* Previous story  : – http://himalman.wordpress.com/category/karakoram/

* Read these stories – and more! – at ExplorersWeb.com

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By Audrey Billerbeck / siliconvalleynovel.com

Climbing readers can enjoy an adventure and save the life of another person somewhere else in the world. It’s people saving people by reading a book.

Un-Tied Artists is a small publisher with a big heart. We donate our proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. Each book sold saves a life, buying medicine for people in underprivileged countries. Doctors Without Borders won the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize. Their work assists people in 60 nations across the globe, from New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina) to the Gaza Strip (refugee camps).

Everest is Hollow by Idigo Jones breaks ground as an adventure novel, mixing realistic climbing scenes on Mount Everest with exploration of a lost civilization inside the world’s tallest mountain.

Yahoo.com chose Everest is Hollow as one of the top ten books kids would love as a gift. The appeal of Everest is Hollow extends to adventure readers of all ages, from teens through grandparents.

Opening lines to Everest is Hollow:
Inside the world’s highest marketplace, Trouble darted between tables of gold bracelets and t-shirts, crouching low to hide from his pursuers. He could smell the strange men chasing after him, a weird blend of coriander, body odor and wet leather. They cursed in high-speed grunts, sounding like strangled cats.

The entire first chapter of Everest is Hollow is available on our website – siliconvalleynovel.com

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(K2Climb.net) “Die Welt von morgen gehört dem, der heute eine Vision hat!!“ The world of tomorrow belongs to the person who has the vision today. …

These words were posted on Gerfried’s board – as the Austrian climber fights his way up a new route (image) up Nanga Parbat.

On G3/G4, Don, Guy, Billy and Bruce have reached the cwm at 7000 but David sustained a knee injury and was evacuated.

Nanga Parbat

“The New Route Team (Günther, Louis, Hans, Sepp and Gerfried) has reached 6,300meters after leaving the most difficult sections behind,” Göschl’s wife Heike reported yesterday. “We had to climb 800 vertical meters in 50&60º steep ice – it was exhausting,” Gerfried told Heike over sat-phone.

The climbers’ plan was to climb another 1000 vertical meters today, but they had to settle for 600. We’ve pitched our tents at 6,900m,” Ger said in a later call, “we now expect to reach the summit on Saturday.”

Meanwhile, the climbers on the Kinshoffer route reached C3 yesterday. “The climb from C2 to C3 was steep, and entirely on hard ice,” Giuseppe Pompili reported. Tomorrow the Koreans’ Sherpas will fix the route to C4, with Miss Oh and Miss Go following. “As agreeded in a meeting on July 5th, it was Joao Garcia’s task to carry ropes to C3 – he’s a true Gentleman, who had to make two trips to C3 for it,” Pompili said. Joao, climbing with Pakistani Amin Ulal, is also aiming for a Friday summit, wind permitting.

“As for us, our third camp s a bit lower than usual,” Pompili noted. “Tomorrow (today) we’ll have a tough climb to C4’s 7,200m.”

K2

“On Tuesday we made a13.5 hr round trip from Base Camp to Camp 2,” Sean Wisedale reported. “It was my first push up to 6450 meters – an altitude gain of 1350 meters. Fabrizio was fixing line as we went, breaking trail too. There’s a lot of snow and it’s exhausting getting through it. Camp 2 is now established and we have a healthy cache of rope, hard wear, tent and stoves up there.”

Gasherbrum III/IV

“Don, Guy, Billy and Bruce have reached the cwm at 7000 and are contemplating their next move,” home team Camilla Tengborn-Fält told ExplorersWeb. “If the weather forecast stays stable they will attempt a top-out G3 or G4. David sustained a knee injury at a crevasse-fall – he has been evacuated to Skardu.”

Gasherbrum I

Bulgarians Nikolay Petkov, Doychin Boyanov, Boyan Petrov and Nikolay Valkov set up Camp 2 (6500m) on GI on Tuesday, Peter Atanasov told ExplorersWeb. On Wednesday, the climbers hoped to climb further up to 6,700m before returning to BC.

That’s exactly what Veikka Gustafsson and Kazuya Hiraide did. At the end of the day they reached BC for a 3-4 days-long rest before launching the final summit push.

Gasherbrum II

“Gordon, Ian and myself decided to climb to camp one and descend later the same day,” Phil Crampton reported yesterday. “Upon reaching camp one, Gordon, John Furneaux from the Canada West expedition and myself proceed to break trail to the start of the fixed ropes that lead to camp two. Both Gordon and John are professional ski patrol guys and have extensive avalanche experience. We found a suitable steep slope and dug an avalanche pit to assess the snow pack conditions. Both the experts decided that the conditions required a few more days to consolidate.”

“Our Sherpa crew and Jagged’s HAP’s plan to dig ut buried fixed ropes tomorrow,” Phil added. “If the ropes are buried too deep the crew will re-fix the route where necessary. We are expecting the jet stream to make a dramatic appearance tomorrow for a few days. If all goes to plan, it will leave as suddenly as it arrived and allow us to get high on Gasherbrum II with manageable wind speeds.”

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