Deltagere: bl.a. danske Michael Pfeiffer
Noget så sjældent som en Nanga Parbat opdatering, den første i 24 år og dermed siden Allan Christensen og Mads Granliens bestigning i 1999 og den blot anden på den notoriske og vilde Kinshofer rute på Diamir siden af Nanga Parbat efter Anders Raphael Jensen i 1996).
En suverænt spændende ekspedition og en af de mest opsigtsvækkende i lang tid. Kudos til Michael og her en opdatering fra hans FB profil:
Nanga Parbat update:
Down from the mountain after 5 weeks, which has been “eventful”.
We were among the first to reach basecamp on 27th May, where the conditions were great. After a few days our team had fixed 400m rope above camp 1, all was looking good, then the snow hit us. After 3 days of bad weather we now had 1m snow at basecamp, and the fixed ropes above camp 1 were buried, likewise our deposit tent at camp 1.
More expeditions started to arrive at basecamp, but thankfully not nearly as crowded as K2 last year. Our team continued to fix the route, and did an great job fixing up to just below camp 3 👏
During this period I was busy acclimatising, both by going up and down to camp 1 & 2 and a good ridge 700m just above basecamp. I was in great shape and well acclimatised. The climb from from camp 1 to 2 is 1050m, pretty steep and the last 50-60m is the notorious Kingshofer Wall, a rocky very steep challenging wall. In all it’s an excellent climb and technically the most demanding section requiring all your energy, and takes 6-8 hours, some climbers took over 20 hours, some got stuck and needed help, it’s not to be taken lightly.
The first weather window was on 26/6, and I was ready and roaring to go. Shortly before starting the summit push it came to my notice of a total cock-up in basecamp regarding my climbing partner and some essential gear, which meant we could not leave for the summit… obviously I was absolutely furious, I’m still perplexed by the idiocy. During the first window 25 out of about 32 climbers made it to the summit.
The second window was 2/7, I was ready and still felt great. The afternoon before leaving (28/6), all hell went loose, I went down with severe diarrhoea. The next morning at 3 am, after hardly any sleep, doped with antibiotics and feeling really crap, we were about to leave, I only had a cup of tea, it didn’t stay down and I vomited several times, I was wasted… talk about perfect bad timing!!
I rested for the day and tried again late afternoon, hopefully I’d catch up with the others. Getting ready I felt very weak, my body just wouldn’t cooperate. I set off, but my pace was too slow, my feet were somewhat unstable, and I was in trouble. The 1000m face and Kingshofer wall up to camp 2 towered above but instead of exciting me as before when climbing them, they seemed daunting. I didn’t have enough energy and definitely not to climb the Kingshofer Wall.
Prior to other climbs where we’ve/ I’d had to turn back, I really struggled with the decision, luckily my climbing partner told me I looked like shit, was not at all myself, and suggested I return to basecamp, so I did… game over. On arrival at basecamp I discarded my gear in frustration and had a quick tantrum (luckily it’s not recorded 🙂 ) due to shear disappointment, but also angry that others idiotic misleadings cost me an attempt during the first window.
Safety & health first, the mountain won’t go away 😊