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Summer in Karakorum

A season full of emotions

After a difficult spring in Nepal due to Covid, Pakistan and the Karakorum peaks experienced a quieter season in terms of health. But the slopes of K2 were filled with emotion this summer after the discovery of the bodies of Ali Sadpara, John Snorri and Juan-Pablo Mohr.

The three bodies found on the runway, tied to a fixed rope

Sajid Sadpara had promised to return to try to understand how his father and his two climbing partners could have disappeared last winter, high on the slopes of K2. The mystery is not entirely solved, but young Sajid can leave K2 with a sense of accomplishment.

There they were, on the classic Abruzzo Spur route, still clinging to the fixed rope. They were discovered on July 26 by the Sherpas in charge of equipping the route. First Juan-Pablo Mohr, about twenty minutes above Camp 4, below Bottleneck, then Ali Sadpara and John Snorri, further up, above the famous gully, the key pass of the route.

The February 5th mystery

What happened on that fateful February 5 when Sajid Sadpara turned around below the Bottleneck, leaving his three companions to continue to the summit? It is difficult to know, but early indications are that the three climbers (who were not wearing oxygen equipment) were descending because they were attached to the rope with their descenders (or a simple carabiner) and not with their self-locking handles that allow them to pull themselves down the rope.

Therefore, we can imagine that the three climbers, exhausted by the ascent and surprised by the wind, the cold and perhaps the night on the descent, did not find the resources to reach camp 3 (there was no camp 4 on K2 this winter). Did they reach the summit? Maybe the future will tell, as Sajid Sadpara was able to recover John Snorri's camera, phone and GPS beacon. Initial analysis at base camp yesterday failed to solve the mystery, but data recovery specialists may be able to tell us more in the coming weeks, as suggested by Elia Saikaly, who accompanied Sajid Sadpara on this difficult mission.

But for Sajid Sadpara, who wanted to reach the summit to pay tribute to his father, the most important thing was to give him a dignified burial. Retrieving the body from such a high altitude is too dangerous a mission, but with the help of Bolivian Hugo Ayaviri, young Sajid managed to get his father's body down to Camp 4 and bury him in dignity.

Ian Welsted and Graham Zimmerman, circumnavigating 7,000 meters on the West Ridge

Despite the circumstances, K2 had a fairly classic season, with some fifty summit passes. All of them via the normal Abruzzo route, as the alpine attempt by Americans Ian Welsted and Graham Zimmerman on the West Ridge ended at about 7,000 meters due to avalanche risk.

A wise decision since the other route attempt (on the southeast face) ended in tragedy with the death of the Scotsman Rick Allen, swept away by an avalanche before the eyes of Jordi Tosas and Stephan Keck, his two climbing partners.

Broad Peak-K2 double without oxygen for Niels Jespers and Hugo Ayaviri

Among the highlights of the season, the beautiful Broad Peak-K2 double, without oxygen and in ten days, achieved by Belgian Niels Jespers and Bolivian Hugo Ayaviri, who then helped Sajid Sadpara to transfer the body of his father.

Our little Frenchmen Boris Langenstein and Tiphaine Duperier gave up the summit of Gasherbrum I that they had hoped to descend on skis, a few weeks after having succeeded in descending Gasherbrum II with Aurélia Lanoe and Guillaume Pierrel: "We were able to do quite a few summits, it was a really magnificent expedition! The French route on skis on the G2 is really elegant. Then Tiphaine and I attempted the G1 in two days, but we gave up at 7800m! It's a shame, but it was still great to be able to ski the Japanese couloir," Boris recounted on his return to France.

As for Mathieu Maynadier, who left to attempt the southeast face of Pumari Chhish with Tom Livingstone, there was also some news. After three days of good weather, such suddenly worsened and the two men preferred to turn back at the foot of the summit mushroom of Pumari Chhish East, just 100 meters from the summit.

"Tom Livingstone and I have just returned from three weeks at base camp. It was a great trip to a magical place. After a light acclimatization (2 nights at 5200m), we decided to try our luck on the southeast ridge in the first good window. This climb, less steep than expected, offered us a fierce battle with the snow and some crazy ridge sections, typical of Karakorum," said Mathieu, visibly delighted with his adventure.

https://www.montagnes-magazine.com/actus-ete-karakoram-saison-chargee-emotion