Bad weather has stalled the progress of alpine-style climbers from the 6,000-meter peaks of the Karakoram Range to K2. Most are spending their time acclimatizing and waiting at base camp. One secretive team has finally revealed their goal.
Hiraide Kazuya and Nakajima Takeo remain at Advanced Base Camp at the foot of K2’s west face – the highest elevation they have reached so far is 6,700 metres – and they are hoping the weather will improve in time for a solo summit ascent before their planned departure on 23 July.
“The weather is awful!” complained Matthew Meinadier after spending several weeks under heavy cloud cover on Pumari Chishu. He and the Ladevant brothers and the local base camp team have been trying to make ends meet by training on nearby crags and playing baseball with snow shovels.
Playing baseball at base camp while the mountains are hidden by clouds. Photo: muizz.din
The plan was announced
Helias Mileliu and Yannick Graziani revealed their goal: the southeast ridge of Trivole (approximately 7,600m above sea level). After two days of acclimatization, they were waiting for the opportunity to summit at base camp. They also summited the 1,200m snowy couloir that leads to Camp 1 at 5,960m.
“Ahead of us is an impossible ridge, with complex terrain and a very steep snow cornice that will be difficult to cross,” said Milleriu, noting that the route ahead is full of uncertainty. “The snow cornice up to the M4 will definitely be a challenge.”
The altitude of Trivole varies depending on the source and ranges from 7,577 metres to 7,640 metres. Photo: Wikipedia
Meanwhile, Aleš Cesen and Tom Livingston have not yet revealed which mountains they want to climb, but have posted photos of them acclimatizing in the Gasherbrum region. Last year, they attempted Gasherbrum III. At the beginning of the season, the climbers were said to have summit permits for Broad Peak and K2.
The other teams have no outside connectivity apart from InReach or satellite phones so we will have to wait for news about them. This includes the international team of Joshua Hallin from Calung Co and the Spaniards from K7.
