“On 10 July at 11:30 a.m. local time, we stood on the summit of Nanga Parbat after climbing it via a new route in alpine style,” Denis Urubko wrote yesterday to the Russian mountaineering portal mountain.ru. “Maria and I are happy.”
Urubko and his Spanish wife Maria “Pipi” Cardell had already travelled to Pakistan at the beginning of June to acclimatize for their project on the 8,125-meter-high Nanga Parbat. Their goal: a new route through the Diamir Face, the western flank of the ninth highest mountain on earth. In alpine style, i.e. without bottled oxygen, without fixed ropes, without fixed high camps and without high altitude porters.
Back at base camp
According to a message sent to mountain.ru, they wanted to set off for their summit attempt on 5 July and estimated four to five days for the ascent. The descent went much faster: “We are enjoying a salad at base camp, where we have just descended after our overnight stay at 7,350 meters,” wrote Denis in his message yesterday.
Always without bottled oxygen
Born in the Russian North Caucasus, Urubko is a living eight-thousander legend. He has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen, some of them several times. It is not entirely clear how many eight-thousander summit successes he achieved including his recent one on Nanga Pargat. The figures from various sources vary between 26 and 28.
Urubko achieved two first winter ascents of eight-thousanders: of the 8,485-meter-high Makalu (in 2009 with Italian Simone Moro) and of the 8,034-meter-high Gasherbrum II (in 2011 with Moro and American Cory Richards).
In 2019, he opened a route through the Southwest Face of Gasherbrum II, climbing solo. It was the last first ascent on an eight-thousander – until Urubko and Cardell’s new route on Nanga Parbat. The two will no doubt soon announce details of their route.
Broad Peak: Waldemar Kowalewski seriously injured in an avalanche
Meanwhile, an avalanche was reported yesterday from the 8,051-meter-high Broad Peak in the Karakoram. Three people were reported to have been injured.
One of them was the Polish mountaineer Waldemar Kowalewski, who has already scaled twelve of the 14 eight-thousanders. He had broken his leg and was now waiting for help with two friends in a tent at 6,500 meters, it said. Bad weather has apparently prevented a helicopter rescue so far.
Update 13 July, 5 p.m. from Broad Peak: Three Sherpas have climbed up to Kowalewski and have started to bring him down. The group is expected to arrive at base camp tomorrow, Monday. The rescue operation was organized by the Pakistani operator Lela Peak Expedition.
Update 13 July, 11.45 pm from Broad Peak: Kowalewski is already at base camp – thanks to the Nepalese rescuers Dawa Sangay Sherpa, Pasang Tenje Sherpa and Mingtemba Sherpa.🙏
Update 15 July: Click here for details of the “Niezabudka” (Forget-me-not) route on Nanga Parbat by Denis Urubko and Pipi Cardell.
