Winter 2015 | Nanga Parbat Summit Push Begins
Around Tuesday/Wednesday next week, there appears to be a small summit window on Nanga Parbat. Wind speed is predicted to remain around 20-30 km/hr. However, Forecast shows snowy conditions, lack of visibility and intense cold. Climbers will also be tested by changed route conditions after snowstorm, excessive snow dumped at camp-sites, reopening the tracks and digging up previously established camps.
Reopening the Tracks
The Kinshofer route climbers have been waiting for summit window for past two weeks. Their strength and patience was tested by continuous snow and extreme cold. “Conditions have become really hard after this three days of heavy snow (layer is now about five feet),” Igone Mariezkurrena wrote from Diamir BC, “we needed to take it out with shovels just for getting out of the tents.”
On February 26th, Alex Txikon, Muhammad Khan, Iraj Maani and Ali Sadpara went up from BC to partially refresh the route towards C1. They opened the track till moraine. They were also encouraged to witness that snow accumulated in upper parts of route was lesser than Base Camp.
C1 Again
After working for eight hours on the route and three hours digging up the tents, climbers are spending the night in C1. They left BC at 6am and reached the camp at 2pm. “In some parts, it was up to our waists,” Alex Txikon told BC about snow conditions.
Apart from excavating two previously installed tents, Muhammad Khan retrieved a third one from Daniele Nardi’s previous C1 (which he used for his attempt on Mummery Rib).
Daniele Nardi’s team wrote, “The situation found in Camp 1, however, was better than what was expected. They will spend the night there and tomorrow morning will start to Camp 2. The weather on Nanga Parbat is cloudy.”
The Way Forward
All climbers - Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Muhamamd Khan, Daniele Nardi, Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmood Hashemi - were expected to leave Base Camp together. They may want to proceed jointly towards the summit. However, due to different acclimatization levels and provisioning of high camps, they may eventually split into subgroups.
In a previous post, Alex Txikon wrote that Muhamamd Khan will perhaps accompany them till C3. He hasn’t been above C2 yet and lacks the acclimatization for summit-bid. Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, and Daniele Nardi have spent a night at 6700m and will probably form the first summit push group. Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmood Hashemi are also expected to go for the summit.
However, the formation of summit party will be decided by conditions on the mountain and health of climbers. “So, the idea is to advance day by day, from one camp to another one,” summarizes the strategy of the team.
Reopening the Tracks
The Kinshofer route climbers have been waiting for summit window for past two weeks. Their strength and patience was tested by continuous snow and extreme cold. “Conditions have become really hard after this three days of heavy snow (layer is now about five feet),” Igone Mariezkurrena wrote from Diamir BC, “we needed to take it out with shovels just for getting out of the tents.”
On February 26th, Alex Txikon, Muhammad Khan, Iraj Maani and Ali Sadpara went up from BC to partially refresh the route towards C1. They opened the track till moraine. They were also encouraged to witness that snow accumulated in upper parts of route was lesser than Base Camp.
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| Nanga Parbat Base Camp under snow; Source |
C1 Again
After working for eight hours on the route and three hours digging up the tents, climbers are spending the night in C1. They left BC at 6am and reached the camp at 2pm. “In some parts, it was up to our waists,” Alex Txikon told BC about snow conditions.
Apart from excavating two previously installed tents, Muhammad Khan retrieved a third one from Daniele Nardi’s previous C1 (which he used for his attempt on Mummery Rib).
Daniele Nardi’s team wrote, “The situation found in Camp 1, however, was better than what was expected. They will spend the night there and tomorrow morning will start to Camp 2. The weather on Nanga Parbat is cloudy.”
 |
| Summit Push begins; Source |
The Way Forward
All climbers - Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, Muhamamd Khan, Daniele Nardi, Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmood Hashemi - were expected to leave Base Camp together. They may want to proceed jointly towards the summit. However, due to different acclimatization levels and provisioning of high camps, they may eventually split into subgroups.
In a previous post, Alex Txikon wrote that Muhamamd Khan will perhaps accompany them till C3. He hasn’t been above C2 yet and lacks the acclimatization for summit-bid. Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara, and Daniele Nardi have spent a night at 6700m and will probably form the first summit push group. Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmood Hashemi are also expected to go for the summit.
However, the formation of summit party will be decided by conditions on the mountain and health of climbers. “So, the idea is to advance day by day, from one camp to another one,” summarizes the strategy of the team.
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| Opening trail to C1; Source |
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