Analogy of events: As it happened already on Gasherbrum I two weeks ago, Alex Txikon’s winter expedition on Mount Everest has now also suffered a fall into a crevasse, which fortunately ended relatively mildly. The Spaniard Jonatan Garcia was carrying latters to secure the route through the Khumbu Icefall when an ice bridge collapsed below him. Jonatan fell twelve meters deep into a crevasse. Alex Txikon managed to bring his companion back to the light. Garcia suffered rib injuries and was to be flown out by helicopter. This ist most probably the end of the expedition for him and Alex has lost an important companion. Last week, Txikon and Garcia had stood together on the summit of the 6,814 meter high Ama Dablam.
Two weeks ago on Gasherbrum I in the Karakoram, the Italian Simone Moro had fallen into a crevasse. His team mate Tamara Lunger had managed to stop the fall with the rope. During the action, however, both had suffered injuries that made a further ascent impossible.
Kobusch’s foot is still aching
According to Alex Txikon’s team, they have fixed about 2,000 meters of rope through the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 1 at 6,050 meters. On Tuesday they want to ascend to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters.
Meanwhile, the German climber Jost Kobusch, who like Txikon foregoes bottled oxygen and wants to climb solo over the West Ridge, has been staying in base camp due to problems on his left foot. “I’m afraid my foot isn’t really any better. At first, I thought it was an overuse of the muscle. Unfortunately, the foot still hurts at certain angles, so for the moment it is advisable to rest it,” the 27-year-old wrote on Facebook yesterday. “Fortunately, February still has a few days to go.”
The climbers of the winter expeditions to K2 and Broad Peak may think the same. Both teams are currently waiting in their base camps for the strong winds to slow down on the two eight-thousanders in the Karakoram.
