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First ever winter ascent of K2 1/16/21
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krash
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Some would argue that history and the achievement have both been sullied.History has been written.Congratulations to the team and commemorate to the fallen Spanish climber and Seven Summits Treks' Co-Leader Sergi Mingote.
There is a reason why the Pols, Russians, Italians, Pakistanis, and everyone else kept failing year after year but never resorted to oxygen. The Nepali team exhibited lack of basic etiquette and respect.
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Vapour
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Could you elaborate?
Juggernaut_Flat_Plane_V8
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Lower snow cover due to Global warming means the ascent was probably easier than what it would have been 20 years back
HttpError
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Yup, true.
krash
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They used oxygen. Oxygen is the steroids of mountaineering. Climbing with oxygen is no where near the achievement that it is climbing without it. It cuts the climb by more than half. I'm trying to confirm the name but after knowing the Nepali plans to use O one of the more prominent climbers commented that climbing an +8000m peak with O is like climbing a 3500m peak without it. This is why when you do use oxygen your climbing certificate and history clearly states that you did. This is also the reason why whenever there is a record or a " world first" or a speed attempt on the line those who do not have the ability to summit without oxygen wait for someone to do it before them without it. It is the etiquette of climbing. Also the reason why after Everest's first winter ascent all the other +8000 meter peaks were not attempted with oxygen in the winter until someone had already claimed the first winter ascent without it. It is basic decency which apparently the Nepali team was completely blind to. And it's not as if they didn't know about this. Every climber who is worth his metal advised them against it,
“Oxygen climbing the 8,000’ers is like doing the Tour de France on an electric bike,” “The nature of the feat is completely different.” - Adam Bielecki on Seven Summit Treks use of oxygen before they started climbing. Bielecki knows a thing or two about winter ascents. He has the first winter ascents on both Broad Peak and Gasherbrum I under his belt. He paused his 2018 K2 winter attempt to go save two mountaineers on Nangaparbat.
Chamonix-based mountain photographer Jon Griffith wrote on FaceBook recently: “It’s 2020, and if you want to claim the prize, you should be adhering to modern ethics and styles. The whole point of these high peaks is the lack of oxygen.”
“I would find it a real pity if someone steals the first winter ascent of K2 by using supplemental oxygen,” concluded Ralf Dujmovits, who has been on K2 five times, including a no-O2 summit and three attempts that ended above 8,000m, all without supplementary oxygen. “The general public might see this ‘conquering’ of K2 as a great feat, but the first winter ascent should be left to those who can do it…in style.”
“You may find that you can’t play football with Messi or tennis against Nadal,” Romanian climber Minhea Radulescu wrote. “Your weakness is not an excuse for using O2: If you want to climb big mountains, get yourself to the height of the mountain, don’t bring the mountain down to your level.”
Jon Griffith recalls his experience on Everest and the difference oxygen makes:
“I’ve used O2 on Everest and I could not believe the difference it made. I went from feeling like I was at 7,500m (cold, bit weak, lightheaded) to feeling like I was running around in the Alps in summer. It’s not just the additional fuel it gives your muscles. It’s the cognitive ability and the warmth it also gives. It’s an amazing feedback circle. I think people massively underestimate the difference O2 makes, I certainly did.”
The matter is serious enough that climbers who do not want to climb with O do not even keep it with them for emergencies because it immediately changes your climbing strategy.
Kilian Jornet said recently on Instagram: “If someone in the team is carrying O2, the exposure disappears since if the non-O2 climber has a problem, he/she has immediate access to O2."
K2: The Oxygen Controversy
Should K2 be climbed in winter for the first time only without supplemental oxygen? Is it still a no-O2 ascent if you're going up fixed ropes set by climbers on O2? Climbers weigh in.
Mountaineering is an un-governed sport. In its beginnings it saw dozens upon dozens of unethical practices by those who wanted to claim the "glory". These practices resulted in horrific events e.g. leaving own team members for dead just to claim the ascent for one's self. Walter Bonatti and Amir Mehdi were forcibly denied their rightful first ascent of K2 when they were forced to bivouac at 8100 meters by Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni just so the later two wouldn't need to share the spot light with them (Every Pakistani should read about it and learn how a poor Pakistani hero was denied his due honor and was left to die. Also how the Pakistani alpine club and gov threw him aside and kept licking Italian boots). The mountaineering community has worked hard over the past half a century to weed out these unethical practices and turn climbing into a self-governed sport ruled by ethics. But then you still get posers like this Nepali team who are out their only for their own greed and 15 min of fame and with their complete disregard for the sport and the mountain. Do people actually think that the teams before them who had the decency to reject oxygen could not have summitted K2 in winter just by switching to O? Instead of trying year after year unsuccessfully? Getting injured and even losing lives?
Purja has now claimed that he did not use oxygen. Even if we believe that it is true, the rest of his team was all junked up on O. They fixed the ropes he used, they carried the gear he used, they cleared the path he climbed through. Apart from the fact explained above that just having O in your backpack is a different climb altogether. He knows it himself too and is already presenting justifications,
"There are many cases, where climbers have claimed no O2 summits but followed our trail that we blazed and used the ropes and lines that we had fixed. Some of which are widely known within the inner climbing community. What is classified as fair means?" - Purja
K2 Winter | Update 11 - With or without O2 | Nimsdai
K2 winter was a beast of a challenge. I firmly believe that a feat of such caliber is never possible if you don’t have a purpose or if it is only aimed for your own self glory.
www.nimsdai.com
The saddest thing is that not only did they defile the biggest achievement in mountaineering ever, they disrespected all those before them who had the balls to attempt it without O and stole the credit and recognition from the guy/girl who is going to eventually summit K2 without oxygen in winter for the very first time. None of these twittering bandwagon jumpers will ever tweet about him/her.
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krash
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This Pakistani is Muhammad Ali Sadpara, a national hero and one of the best climbers in the world today. And like most of our national heroes, no one knows his name. He claimed the first winter ascent on Nangaparbat!!! I cannot emphasize how big an achievement that is. IMO, it is still the most impressive feat yet achieved in mountaineering, keeping my above rant in mind. He did it with his teammates Alex Txicon and Simone Moro. He waited a few meters below the summit for Txicon and Moro to join him so that they could summit together. According to them both, he led them to the top and there was no way they could have done it without him. Txicon and Moro are two of the best and most celebrated climbers today.
I've been following Ali Sadpara's climbs for years now. His story is of a textbook Pakistani climber. In fact, exactly the same as almost all of our climbers. As his name suggests he was born in the dirt-poor village of Sadpara. He started portering for foreign teams because you don't have many economic opportunities in his region. He carried massive loads for foreigners across glaciers and to higher camps for peanuts. He did this while wearing something like this,
As he climbed higher and higher with the foreigners, he realized he loved it and was quite good at it. He could not afford his own equipment so he would climb using discarded and donated gear left behind by foreign expeditions. Such was his ability and sheer talent that foreign climbers started noticing him (Not the first time for a Pakistani high altitude porter. The village of Sadpara is full of these guys). Then, they started offering him spots on their teams as an equal member and not just a lowly porter. This meant that his climbs were now funded by foreign sponsors that the foreign teams had arranged and that he would have equal opportunity at the summit.
His first +8000 meter ascent was of Gasherbrum II in 2006. In 2008 came Gasherbrum I and Nangaparbat. Nangaparbat again in 2009 and 2011. In 2016 came Nangaparbat yet again but in winter!!! In 2017 he did Broad Peak, Nangaparbat's first ever autumn ascent (Not as celebrated as the other firsts), and Pumori's (7,161m. Nepal) first winter ascent. In 2018 he completed the Pakistani circuit of the five +8000 meter peaks by summitting K2. But he wasn't finished here. He now wanted to become the first Pakistani to climb all the 14 eight-thousanders (It's a pretty big achievement). So in 2019 he summitted three of them in Nepal; Lohtse, Makalu, and Manaslu (Sponsored by the Pakistan Army). He has now climbed 8 out of the 14 +8000 meter peaks in the world. He would've had 9 had his winter attempt on Everest with Txicon not failed in 2018. It would've also made him the 2nd person ever to climb Everest in winter without O2. I cannot wait for the day when he finally summits the fourteenth. In total, the man has successfully summitted +8000 meter peaks twelve times. He also has a bag full of winter attempts on various Pakistani +8000 meter peaks.
He did all this without any support from the gov or the Alpine Club of Pakistan. This man became the most accomplished mountaineer in Pakistan's history on 'hand me downs'. The corrupt, self-serving degenerates in the gov and ACP don't care. The Pakistani people don't care either. Thankfully, the international community is more appreciative and cognizant of his achievements. The man is known as the Maestro of the 'Killer Mountain'. He is a legend.
Yes, he is currently on K2 with his son Sajid (youngest Pakistani and the 3rd youngest person ever to summit K2) and John Snorri (Iceland). I've been following them through Sadpara's twitter and Snorri's Garmin and Facebook pages. I've been waiting for him to attempt winter K2 since 2016. Was praying and hoping with all I had that his team would be the first to the summit. How fitting would it have been? The poor Pakistani porter rises yet again and takes what is rightfully his, just like he did on Nangaparbat. When the climbers attempting Broad Peak went missing a few days ago, Sadpara and Snorri paused their K2 attempt to help in the rescue. They are back on K2 now. Still praying for them to make it to the top. Didn't mention it in my last post because it would've made what I was saying seem biased. Maybe it even was.
They made their first summit push yesterday but failed due to the winds. They are now back in base camp and will attempt the summit again between the 3rd and 5th. When they summit, which Insha' Allah they will, I will probably bawl my eyes out like a little kid. May Allah protect them and grant them success. Ameen.
Btw, Elia Saikaly is currently filming a documentary on Sadparas' and Snorri's climb.
Muhammed Ali Sadpara,
Sajid Sadpara,
John Snorri,
PS: That twitter account you posted is fake. Also, the video is clearly from a summer attempt and I doubt it's on K2.
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