Happily I’m now back at Base Camp safe and well, along with the rest of the team. It’s been a very testing last few days to say the least!
As I’m sure many of you will be aware by now there was a major drama on the mountain, and Soren, Kees and myself sadly experienced first hand the stark reality of the risks and dangers of climbing on these big 8000m peaks. What had started out as a potential summit bid abruptly ended just after we had arrived at Camp 2 when a huge avalanche swept down from high above carrying with it four climbers from the German Amical team who were en-route to Camp 3. Miraculously, three of them were dumped half-buried just 200m across from us at Camp 2, but the fourth was sadly lost. Even more miraculously, a seven-strong team of highly experienced Swiss climbers from the Kari Kobler team (including a doctor!) had also just arrived at Camp 2 besides ourselves, and together with several High Altitude Porters (HAPs) and Blair Falahey and Ryan Waters, two guides from Field Touring Alpine, we managed to affect a rescue.
The Swiss did a brilliant job in coordinating everything and without them I doubt any of the climbers would have survived. Special mention must also go to our two HAPs, Merhban and Jahan Beg, as it was they who first raced across to the scene without thought to their own safety and began digging them out. The German leader, Dirk, somehow managed to pretty much escape unscathed, but Hiro (a famous Japanese climber with nine 8000m peaks to his name, including Everest and K2) and another German climber were more badly injured. Regrettably, the German climber died soon after. With a bit of assistance Dirk was able to climb back down to Camp 1 the next day, but after an initial (and rather valiant) helicopter rescue failed (not really surprising given we were at 6500m), Hiro had to be lowered down the mountain to Camp 1 – a difficult and dangerous job which the Swiss carried out magnificently. In the event, I helped to bring back down the body of the German climber, which was also a tough and very sobering experience. He was later lowered to rest in a nearby crevasse, as was his family’s wish. Mercifully, on the morning of Friday 20th Hiro and Dirk were finally airlifted out by helicopter from Camp 1, much to the relief of everyone concerned.
Having been to Camp 2 twice, I have now decided to call it a day. The route from Camp 2 to Camp 3 is clearly suicidal and the mountain as a whole is in a difficult and highly unstable condition. I very much doubt that Gasherbrum II will be climbed this year – at least not by this route anyhow (we learnt this morning that an Italian team had summitted late last night via a new route on the North Face from the Chinese side of the mountain). Kees and a couple of others have also decided to do the same and all being well we will be trekking out in the next few days along with another team. The rest of our team are still hoping to try again, at least to climb to Camp 2 anyway as some of them haven’t reached there as yet and are quite keen to do so – it is in quite a spectacular location. It also possible for them to try another mountain, but time is short and as usual the weather forecast is not looking good.
It’s been one hell of an experience that’s for sure, but as I look around at this beautiful, yet savage, arena of mountains I am reminded of the words of Sir John Hunt, leader of the successful Everest Expedition of 1953:
“For Man should be humble before the greatest works of Nature”
Indeed so.
Signing off from Gasherbrum Base Camp,
Ian
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