The survivors are back at home, letting the bitter or sweet experience sink in.
The successful Nepali summiters, who all work in the mountain tourism industry, have finished their celebrations and are now focusing on the upcoming spring season.
Information about the climb itself is still surprisingly thin. Mingma G is has provided some details during media interviews. In his own article, he also gives details of the first stages of the summit climb, including the secret agreement to join forces with Nirmal Purja and SST’s Sona Sherpa to form an all-Nepali team. He describes the first part of the summit climb, in particular how they managed to skirt a wide crevasse before the Bottleneck. Climbers who went up two weeks later, including Snorri, Mohr, and the Sadparas, were not informed of this obstacle or the way around it, “sources” have told ExplorersWeb.
We have heard no details about the Bottleneck, the traverse, and the final sections. Nor is it clear how some managed to wait a considerable time for others at -45ºC in order to step together on the summit. “No group picture confirms that all 10 were up there.”
Mingma David shared a photo, below, on Instagram recently, showing young Gelje Sherpa on the Shoulder, 150 to 200m below the Bottleneck.
Gelje Sherpa approaches the Bottleneck on K2. Photo: Mingma David Sherpa
Gelje is clipped to a yellow rope, which confirms that ropes were fixed on the way up (along the entire route, Nirmal Purja has said).
Some days ago, Nazir Sabir of Pakistan openly accused the summiters of retrieving ropes as they descended, and Magdalena Gorzkowska of Poland confirmed the competition/tension by reporting that the Sherpas said that “If someone followed them during the summit push, they would cut the ropes because they wanted the summit only for themselves.”
Meanwhile, the Seven Summit Treks clients are digesting the events on K2 themselves, especially the traumatic arrival at Camp 3.
Two climbers were severely frostbitten, and one of them is still in the hospital. Their stories are filling some gaps, but opening new questions.
Source: Angela Benavides – EXPLORERSWEB
Notes:
The Western climbing establishment is dismissing the recent accomplishments of the Nepalis on the climbing scene (the 14x8000m and K2 winter summit).
It seems that they perceive Nims and the other Nepalis as publicity-seeking and not real climbers which, in their eyes, lessens their successes.
There were many arguments on O2 use and style. This resentment will cause the Nepalis to be even more bitter towards their former clients and “foreign friends”.
Given the fight about route fixing on Mt. Everest few years ago involving Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and the Sherpas of Everest, we can’t automatically dismiss the statements from the people present. I think that the SST team members going for the summit that day and Mr. Sadpara’s son can easily confirm whether there were fixed ropes left by the Nepalis or not. This should end the speculation and accusations.
According to the Mingma G interview in Outdoor Journal:
“When we started climbing the big wall below camp four, we found a huge crevasse which was impossible to cross but we didn’t lose our hope. We scouted more to the right side but it was still the same. Then we descended back a little and tried to find our way on the left side. Again it was the same so we descended all the way back just above camp three and then branched out even farther. There we finally found a narrow crevasse covered by some fallen ice where it was possible to cross. … The way from camp three to camp four usually takes two to three hours but we took more than eight hours to find our way and fix the way to camp four.”
He’s saying they fixed ropes along the alternate route that bypasses the crevasse, and appears to be referring to a different crevasse covered by an ice bridge. Snorri’s team should have been able to follow the fixed lines up the alternate route, unless they didn’t put any gear in until the next anchor.
Mingma G gives that interview in January and it was published on 21 January, so for sure it is not something that they wanted to keep it in secret. There is no reason to blame the Summit Team of 10 of any wrongdoing.