Dry, drier, Karakoram

The eight-thousander Broad Peak in Pakistan (in 2004)

“Two days ago, above base camp, Ismail Akbarov from Azerbaijan was hit by a stone. This was his first ascent, and it also marked the end of his expedition. The impact damaged his tibia so that he had to be flown by helicopter to Skardu,” wrote Lukasz Supergan from Poland, who is attempting the 8,051-meter-high Broad Peak in the Karakoram in Pakistan this summer, on Instagram yesterday. He himself decided to start in the middle of the night rather than in the morning so as not to kick rocks loose and endanger those climbing below him.

Not only from Broad Peak, but also frp, neighboring K2 and the other eight-thousanders in Pakistan, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and Nanga Parbat, exceptionally dry conditions on the mountain are currently reported, accompanied by an increased risk of falling rocks. The usual precipitation has largely failed to materialize so far. Nevertheless, light snowfall is expected in the Karakoram in the coming days.

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New route on the 7000er Kabru, death on Makalu, Everest rope-fixing team at South Col

The Kabru massif

The veterans are still rocking it at over 60. Italian couple Nives Meroi and Romano Benet, both aged 63, and 60-year-old Slovakian Peter Hamor opened a new route through the virgin West Face of the 7,412-meter-high Kabru on the border between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim.

“No one had previously attempted to reach this peak from the western, Nepali side – the face had remained untouched until now,” Hamor’s home team announced on Facebook. Following their summit success on Sunday, the three climbers are back at base camp safe and sound. Initially, it didn’t look like they would succeed. The trio had to endure two weeks of bad weather with heavy snowfall and strong winds at base camp.

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Summit success on 6000er Sharphu IV in eastern Nepal – first ascent or not?

Sharphu IV
Sharphu IV

The spring climbing season in Nepal has only just begun when the first summit success is already being reported. The commercial Nepalese expedition operator Xtreme Climbers has announced that a four-person team has made the first ascent of the 6,433-meter-high Sharphu IV not far from the eight-thousander Kangchenjunga in eastern Nepal.

The guides Lhakpa Chhiri Sherpa and Ngada Sherpa as well as the Nepalese Purnima Shrestha and the Chilean Hernan Leal had reached the highest point at 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday, it said.

Lhakpa Chhiri (Sonam) Sherpa, born in 1974 in the village of Pangboche in the Khumbu, is very experienced. He has scaled Mount Everest twelve times. Purnima Shrestha made headlines in spring 2024 when she reached the summit of Everest three times in 13 days – with bottled oxygen and Sherpa assistance.

Continue reading “Summit success on 6000er Sharphu IV in eastern Nepal – first ascent or not?”
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