Winter 2016 | Nanga Parbat Summit Push Update and an Eventful Day
Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol are back in C4 (at 7200m) after a tiring day on the mountain. “Tomek and Eli are fine, resting in camp 4. They are very tired, so for now, no questions,” says Arslan Ahmed. It was a busy day for other climbers as well.
Summit Push
Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol’s (original) plan for the day was to traverse from North Face - Northeast side to Kinshofer route, spend night below summit pyramid (at around 7500m-7600m) and launch the summit-bid tonight. By mid-day, however, reports emerged that the two climbers opted to go up the Saddle and trace Hermann Buhl’s first ascent route to the top. The reason for this is unknown at the moment.
Tomek and Elisabeth left C4 early. By 11AM, they were at around 7300m. From here, they communicated with Simone Moro, asking about weather forecast. The Italian climber’s meteorologist predicts strong wind, nearly 60km/hrs, for tomorrow.
The next communication with the duo took place at 8PM local time. They were safely back in C4, apparently without reaching the top. They were too tired to share the day’s story on satellite phone. “Tomek and Eli are fine, resting in camp 4. They are very tired, so for now, no questions,” wrote Arslan Ahmed. “[It’s] very cold in camp 4!”
The team’s plan for tomorrow is not known. As per communication from Base Camp, although they felt cold and tired, they still wanted to go for summit push tonight. The long walk from their current location to summit, amidst deteriorating physical condition and changing weather, will be a tough job.
Italians Back in BC
Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger went up from BC today. They intended to reach C3 for acclimatization, and if required, help Tomek and Elisabeth on descent after summit-bid. While still in C1, Simone received updated forecast showing bad weather from tomorrow. The two, hence, decided to come down to BC.
Kinshofer Route team in C2
Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara and Daniele Nardi reached C2 after a marathon ascent from BC. Having started the ascent at 4AM local time, they climbed 2000m in 11hrs and reached C2 (6100m) at 3:30PM.
“They had to fight deep snow in the initial slopes and made a big effort looking for the fixed ropes covered by that snow fallen in these previous days. Each of them has carried 200 meters of rope and 2 gas cartridges, so, as long as the weather is stable, they’ve got enough material for equipping up to C3 (6.700m).” wrote Alex Txikon’s BC team.
Rupal Team Peeps into Diamir Side
Diamir side action is being broadcasted live, thanks to constant communication from BC. The Poles on Rupal side have been silent since a while. They don’t have resources to send regular updates. Surprisingly though, Alex Txikon had a brief chat with Marek Klonowski today.
From team’s SPOT tracker, we know that Justice for All team reached C3 (around 6600m) couple of days ago. Today, they went up and established C4 at 7150m, above Mazeno Pass. From here, they could actually view and establish wireless link with Diamir side of the mountain. Hence, Alex and Marek were able to communicate over the radio.
“Indeed, they’ve established communication and had a short conversation with Marek Klonowski, who is at 7000m, although he will surely go down tomorrow. We don’t know who is with him.”
Summit Push
Tomek Mackiewicz and Elisabeth Revol’s (original) plan for the day was to traverse from North Face - Northeast side to Kinshofer route, spend night below summit pyramid (at around 7500m-7600m) and launch the summit-bid tonight. By mid-day, however, reports emerged that the two climbers opted to go up the Saddle and trace Hermann Buhl’s first ascent route to the top. The reason for this is unknown at the moment.
 |
| Tomek and Elisabeth would have descended into Bazhin Basin from Sadle and followed Buhl's route to summit. |
Tomek and Elisabeth left C4 early. By 11AM, they were at around 7300m. From here, they communicated with Simone Moro, asking about weather forecast. The Italian climber’s meteorologist predicts strong wind, nearly 60km/hrs, for tomorrow.
The next communication with the duo took place at 8PM local time. They were safely back in C4, apparently without reaching the top. They were too tired to share the day’s story on satellite phone. “Tomek and Eli are fine, resting in camp 4. They are very tired, so for now, no questions,” wrote Arslan Ahmed. “[It’s] very cold in camp 4!”
The team’s plan for tomorrow is not known. As per communication from Base Camp, although they felt cold and tired, they still wanted to go for summit push tonight. The long walk from their current location to summit, amidst deteriorating physical condition and changing weather, will be a tough job.
 |
| Tomek and Elisabeth during acclimatization; Source |
Italians Back in BC
Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger went up from BC today. They intended to reach C3 for acclimatization, and if required, help Tomek and Elisabeth on descent after summit-bid. While still in C1, Simone received updated forecast showing bad weather from tomorrow. The two, hence, decided to come down to BC.
Kinshofer Route team in C2
Alex Txikon, Ali Sadpara and Daniele Nardi reached C2 after a marathon ascent from BC. Having started the ascent at 4AM local time, they climbed 2000m in 11hrs and reached C2 (6100m) at 3:30PM.
“They had to fight deep snow in the initial slopes and made a big effort looking for the fixed ropes covered by that snow fallen in these previous days. Each of them has carried 200 meters of rope and 2 gas cartridges, so, as long as the weather is stable, they’ve got enough material for equipping up to C3 (6.700m).” wrote Alex Txikon’s BC team.
 |
| C2 on Kinshofer route at 6100m; Source |
Rupal Team Peeps into Diamir Side
Diamir side action is being broadcasted live, thanks to constant communication from BC. The Poles on Rupal side have been silent since a while. They don’t have resources to send regular updates. Surprisingly though, Alex Txikon had a brief chat with Marek Klonowski today.
From team’s SPOT tracker, we know that Justice for All team reached C3 (around 6600m) couple of days ago. Today, they went up and established C4 at 7150m, above Mazeno Pass. From here, they could actually view and establish wireless link with Diamir side of the mountain. Hence, Alex and Marek were able to communicate over the radio.
“Indeed, they’ve established communication and had a short conversation with Marek Klonowski, who is at 7000m, although he will surely go down tomorrow. We don’t know who is with him.”
 |
| Poles at Rupal BC; Source |
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