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- Nepali mountaineers achieve historic winter first on K2
- A team of 10 Nepali climbers reached the 28,251-foot summit of K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, on Saturday, January 16th, according to several reports on social media. This long-sought acheivement adds a stunning new chapter to mountaineering history.
Located in Pakistan’s part of the Karakoram range, K2 is the last of the world’s 14 tallest mountains—all higher than 8,000 meters—to be climbed in winter. It is considered by far the most difficult and dangerous because of the technical climbing required to reach the top.
The achievement is the result of a remarkable collaborative effort between Nepali climbers affiliated with multiple teams: one led by Purja, the other by Mingma G Sherpa. In the days before last night’s summit push, the two groups combined forces, deciding on a joint strategy for fixing ropes on the upper mountain and hoping to summit together. One Sherpa from a commercial expedition, Sona Sherpa, also joined the effort.
For both Purja and Mingma G, summiting K2 in winter represents the chance to make a statement of national pride and homegrown Himalayan mountaineering prowess. “All 13x8000 peaks have been climbed in winter by our international climbing community so it would be a great feat for the Nepali climbing community to make history,” Purja wrote recently from base camp.
“This Nepalese Winter K2 Expedition is for the nation,” Mingma G wrote on social media. According to Purja’s social media post, the whole team waited just below the summit to form a group, then stepped on top together, singing the Nepali national anthem. Along with Mingma G, Purja, and Sona, the other summiters are reported to be Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa, Pem Chiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Dawa Tenjin Sherpa, and Kilu Pemba Sherpa.
The ascent highlights a new generation of Indigenous climbers who are succeeding on ambitious high-altitude climbs relying on sponsorships, social media, and GoFundMe pages to finance their efforts rather than just carrying loads for commercial expeditions.
K2 in winter has become an increasingly sought-after objective, as the other 8,000-meter peaks succumbed to mountaineers in the coldest season. Despite the coronavirus pandemic this year, more than 60 people congregated at basecamp on Pakistan’s Godwin Austen Glacier, including a large commercial expedition with 22 paying clients and 27 Sherpa guides.
Yet unlike Mount Everest and other popular high-altitude summits, K2’s extreme steep faces demand strong technical skills while simultaneously exposing climbers to frequent rockfall and avalanches. While more than 4,000 people have reached the summit of Everest, only 367 people had climbed K2 as of June 2018. But none had done so in winter conditions.
To reach K2’s summit, the team endured temperatures in excess of -58 degrees Fahrenheit and gale-force winds while ascending the Abruzzi Spur on the mountain’s southern flank. “You cannot imagine how much more difficult it is [to climb K2] in winter compared to spring or summer,” Alex Txikon told National Geographic when he attempted the feat in 2019.
Several tents and a cache of equipment left in preparation for the summit push were blown off the mountain just last week. “Our team reached Camp 2 today and it was a wreckage site... We have lost everything,” Purja wrote. “I am devastated to be breaking this news. Now, I have to reassess and replan everything.” After frantically sourcing more gear in base camp, Purja’s team was forced to resupply their camp before beginning their summit push.
National Geographic - Freddie Wilkinson
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