The Pakistani rope-fixing team from the expedition operator Karakorum Expeditions reached the 8,051-meter-high summit of Broad Peak yesterday at 10 p.m. local time -via what they describe as a new route variation in the upper section of the eight-thousander. “The route is complex, but beautiful,” Ahmad Baig reported by radio to base camp. “We’ve opened a new corridor. This is for every Pakistani climber and for everyone who believed in us.”
A more direct route to the summit
Expedition leader Mirza Ali reportedly scouted out the route toward the summit, which is more direct than the normal route. According to initial reports, the route variant leads above Camp 3 (7,100 meters) through the West Face to the so-called “Rocky Summit,” a slightly lower secondary summit at 8,028 meters. In this area, Mexican climber Carlos Carsolio had already opened a variant in 1994.
Ahmad Baig, Rizwan Dad, Waqar Ali, Mansoor Karim, Nawaz Ali Khan, and the Argentine Juan Pablo Toro reportedly made it to the summit, while Mirza Ali and Zaman Karim reached the Rocky Summit, Karakorum Expeditions informed.
Second summit attempt on Gasherbrum II
On Gasherbrum II, an eight-thousander not far from Broad Peak, an initial summit attempt failed on Saturday – “due to deep snow and a shortage of rope,” according to Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the expedition operator Imagine Nepal. A second attempt is scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, in collaboration with the team from Nirmal Purja’s company Elite Exped.
Update 21 July: According to Imagine Nepal, a six-member team of the operator reached the summit of Gasherbrum II today.
Update 22 July: Karakorum Expeditions has released further details about the alternative route variant. According to a press release from the tour operator, it leads directly to the main summit: “The Mirza Ali Legacy Route is shorter, more direct, and significantly safer, greatly reducing exposure to rockfall and avalanche hazards.
With the new variation, climbers can reach the summit from Camp 3 in approximately 7–8 hours, while the descent back to Camp 3 can be completed in 2–3 hours under normal conditions.”
According to initial reports, it had appeared as though the route led to the slightly lower secondary summit, the so-called “Rocky Summit.”
https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201212832/Broad-Peak-8047m-west-face-partial-new-route-and-tragedy
The graphic in this article shows the 1994 variation by Carlos Carsolio, which appears to be more or less identical with the variation opened now, only that Carsolio went to the foresummit and then continued along the ridge to the main.