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Climbers of the\u00a0winter\u00a0expedition\u00a0Mount\u00a0K2, which is the second-highest mountain in the world, have left the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu on Friday for\u00a0Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Thirteen of the world’s 14 peaks taller than 8,000-meters have been climbed in\u00a0winter. But one still remains unclimbed the 8,611 meters K2, the world’s second tallest in\u00a0Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Climbers say that avalanches are an ever-present risk, and in\u00a0winter\u00a0temperatures can fall to -50C. Winds blow up to 200km\/h that\u2019s equal to cyclone Fani, the most severe storm that travelled more than 900 kilometres from the Indian state of Odisha and blew nearly two dozen tents at Everest\u2019s Camp 2, at 6,400 metres in May last year.<\/p>\n
K2\u00a0is also considered to be a technically very difficult mountain to climb and has been dubbed \u201cKiller Mountain\u201d for the sheer number of climbers that have lost their lives on the mountain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the planet’s toughest and most dangerous mountain to climb,\u201d said Kami Rita\u00a0Sherpa, who has climbed Everest a record 24 times.<\/p>\n
Eighty-four climbers have died attempting to climb\u00a0K2, and only 306 have reached its summit. The death and success ratio is roughly one death for every three successful climbs.<\/p>\n
In contrast, 6,507 mountaineers have climbed Everest from the\u00a0Nepal\u00a0side since Tenzing Norgay\u00a0Sherpa\u00a0and New Zealander Edmund Percival Hillary first set foot atop the world’s highest peak in May 1953.<\/p>\n
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In the summer of 1954, Italian climbers Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli became the first persons to reach the summit of\u00a0K2.<\/p>\n
\u201cK2 is 237 meters lower than Everest, but it is much challenging to climb even in the best conditions. That\u2019s in summer,\u201d said Kami Rita. \u201cThe weather in\u00a0winter\u00a0is beyond imagination. The weather is good only for 2-3 hours a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kami Rita, who had climbed the\u00a0K2\u00a0in the summer of 2014, said as far as\u00a0K2\u00a0is concerned he is retired.<\/p>\n
But now a massive 55-member group of climbing veterans from around the world, including 27 Sherpas from\u00a0Nepal, has set its sight on one of the most daring missions on the planet, which many mountaineers still call an \u201cimpossible project\u201d.<\/p>\n
The extreme mission, that may cost more than Rs200 million, is being handled by Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks, which also devised the\u00a0expedition.<\/p>\n
Chhang Dawa\u00a0Sherpa, the youngest mountaineer to have climbed all the 14 highest peaks, is leading the\u00a0K2\u00a0winter\u00a0mission.<\/p>\n
Spanish climber Sergi Mingote, who has been attempting to climb all eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen within 1,000 days, is the co-leader of the\u00a0expedition. Mingote\u2019s plan had come to a halt, after seven successful summits, due to COVID-19 related restrictions.<\/p>\n
Nepali climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja, who smashed the record for taking the shortest time to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter-high mountains and had also announced his plans to climb bid\u00a0K2\u00a0in the\u00a0winter\u00a0of 2020-21, has joined the group. Through his website nimsdai.com, he has described\u00a0K2\u00a0winter\u00a0ascent as \u201cthe last great mountaineering challenge\u201d.<\/p>\n
Other climbers include Noel Hanna from Britain, Arnold Coster from the Netherlands, Atanas Skatov from Bulgaria, Waldemar Kowalewski from Poland, Antonis Sykaris from Greece and Luis Carlos Garranzo Ibanez from Spain. Slovenian, Romanian, Swiss, Italian, Chilen, American and Finnish mountaineers are also part of the 55-member mission.<\/p>\n
The two-month-long\u00a0expedition\u00a0will begin from December 21 and ends by February 28.<\/p>\n
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\u201cTen\u00a0Sherpa\u00a0climbers left for\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0on Sunday,\u201d said Thaneshwor Guragain, manager of Seven Summit Treks. \u201cThe remaining 17 climbers from\u00a0Nepal\u00a0are scheduled to join them on December 18 and others from around the world will join the\u00a0expedition\u00a0by December 20.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bid to climb\u00a0K2\u00a0in the\u00a0winter\u00a0has attracted mountaineers for long.<\/p>\n
The mountain has been attempted more than 30 times in\u00a0winter\u00a0but all expeditions have been unsuccessful with the highest point reached being 7,400 meters.<\/p>\n
Last\u00a0winter, Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikon, led one of the two expeditions to\u00a0K2\u00a0comprising mostly\u00a0Sherpa\u00a0climbers. But it was unsuccessful. Several expeditions have failed in past years, mainly because of unstable climate, mountaineers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe\u00a0K2\u00a0winter feat is very tough. If any member of the team climbs, it will be another milestone in the mountaineering history the first winter\u00a0ascent of the world’s second-tallest mountain,\u201d said Kami Rita. \u201cEven Sherpas who have climbed Everest multiple times are scared to climb\u00a0K2.\u201d<\/p>\n
K2\u00a0is a rocky mountain up to 6,000 meters and beyond it becomes an ocean of snow, according to Seven Summit Treks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult even to reach the base camp of\u00a0K2. We have to trek on the glacier for a week to reach the base camp and there aren\u2019t any lodging and fooding facilities on the way up,\u201d said Kami Rita, who has plans to lead two expeditions on Everest in spring next year.<\/p>\n
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According to Kami Rita, one spot in particular is infamous in\u00a0K2. That\u2019s Bottleneck, a perilous couloir about 300 meters below the summit, which was the site of a 2008 tragedy in which 11 people were killed in an avalanche.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinter brings with it a whole different level of danger and challenge. Numerous teams have attempted since 1987-88, but all have fallen short, Purja writes in his website describing it as a personal project.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only do the sheerness of the slopes and overall exposure create a technically challenging climb, but the weather is also always the great opponent on\u00a0K2\u00a0all year round.\u201d<\/p>\n\n