Winter Climb Update: Alex Still Alone in BC?

Now that spring has officially arrived, the winter climbs in the Karakoram are officially over and nearly everyone has gone home. But Basque climber Alex Txikon may be the only one left in Base Camp as he patiently waits for a helicopter to finally come pick him up.

As you may recall, Alex was on Gasherbrum I where he was part of an international team that had hoped to open a new route while achieving the first winter summit on that mountain. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and teammates Gerfried Goschl, Cedric Hahlen and Nisar Hussein all went missing on that expedition.

While those three were making their summit bid, Alex first attempted to follow along behind, but when that proved impossible, he switched his attention to the nearby Gasherbrum South. Conditions weren't right for that summit either and ultimately he ended up back in BC. But while he struggled to make his climb he managed to catch frostbite on several fingers and toes, which would have made the trek out to civilization a lot more painful. With that in mind, he decided to stay in Base Camp and wait for a helicopter to pick him up instead, but the weather hasn't been all that cooperative so he has waited in BC with just a skeleton support crew, while the rest of the team made their way home.

In a blog post yesterday we received word that the weather forecast called for better conditions today and they were expecting two helicopters to be sent to Gasherbrum I at last. One of those helicopters would pick-up Alex and fly him to safety while the other would conduct one last search for the missing climbers. There is no word yet on whether or not this has happened, but as you can probably imagine, Alex is anxious to head home. He has been way from Spain since December and it has been one long and trying expedition to say the least.

Hopefully as I write this he is already off the mountain, but if not it should be soon. His departure will put an end to the winter climbing coverage and now we turn to the spring season, which promises to be as active as ever.

Everest 2012: Conrad Anker Leads Nat Geo/North Face Expedition

As I mentioned a few days back, we're just a few short weeks away from the start of another spring climbing season on Everest. Even now there are climbers across the globe who are busily packing their gear, making last minute arrangements and preparing to set out for Kathmandu. One of those climbers is Conrad Anker, who will lead an expedition sponsored by National Geographic and The North Face.

Anker and his team, which will include Corey Richards, Kris Erickson, Hilaree O’Neill, Emily Harrington and Sam Elias, will be taking on the West Ridge, which is a more technically challenging climb. The expedition looks to celebrate the first ascent of that route back in 1963 and Richards will film the entire climb for a documentary film project.

In support of the expedition, Nat Geo has launched a new website that has everything you would want to know about Everest and then some. That includes a great piece on how the gear used to climb the mountain has evolved over the past fifty years. The site's blog will also provide insights into the climb leading up to its start and will host dispatches and progress reports directly from the team starting around mid-Apriil. Even more extensive coverage will be available in real time directly from the National Geographic Magazine iPad app, which will be released on April 16. That is likely about the time that they'll be establishing Base Camp on the mountain.

In addition to climbing the mountain and documenting the ascent, the expedition team has some other goals in mind as well. They'll be working closely with a team of geologist who will be in BC throughout the expedition as well, taking samples from the region and exploring the unique geography and geology of the region. Some of that work will also be applied directly towards developing a new curriculum to be used with fifth graders.

This will be yet another exciting expedition to follow this season. The fact that Conrad is a part of this and Corey is filming means that we should get a good look at the West Ridge route, which is seldom seen and not nearly as well known as the routes along the North and South Faces, which are used so commonly.

Watch for updates from the team starting soon.

Winter Climb Update: Search Called Off on GI

On Monday of this week I posted a story about three climbers who had gone missing while attempting a new route on Gasherbrum I. At the time, a number of mountaineers were gathering in Base Camp to begin searching the mountain for their missing friends, but bad weather was preventing the use of helicopters to aid in the search. Now, just a few days later, that search has been called off altogether and all hope is lost for the missing trio.

Last Thursday, Gerfried Goschl, Cedric Hahlen and Nisar Hussein all set off for the summit of GI in good weather. They were hoping to not only complete the new route but also the first winter ascent of the mountain and they even called home to say that they were only 450 meters from to top and that they felt confident that they would make it. The worst was behind them, or so they thought. What happened next will likely remain a mystery. The support team never heard from them again, although they held out hope that the battery could have simply died on their sat-phone.

The following day the talented Polish team that had also been working the mountain accomplished their goal of claiming the first winter summit of Gasherbrum I. When they returned, Adam Bielecki, Janusz Golab and their two Pakistani guides, Ali Sadpara and Shaheen Baig, claimed to have spotted Gerfried, Cedric, and Nisar from the summit. They said the three men were still climbing after they appeared to have bivouacked high on GI the night before. Presumably the tree men met an untimely fate after that.

Over the past couple of days, climbers have gone as high as Camp 2 on the normal GI route and have seen no sign of their companions. Had they been successful on the summit, the team was expected to descend along that path. Eventually the weather did clear, allowing the helicopters to join the search at last, but they too have turned up no trace of the missing men. So it was with heavy hearts today that the search teams announced that they were calling off the operation. They have accepted that Gerfried and company have succumbed to the mountain.

My condolences to the friends and families of these three men.

Everest 2012: A New Season Is Nearly Here!

Spring. Who doesn't love that season? It is a time for renewal. A time to put away the trappings of winter and prepare for the warmer months ahead. Of course, if you happen to be a blogger with a penchant for adventure, it also means a time to look to the Himalaya and the start of another climbing season. And while the start of that season is still a few weeks off, climbers and guides across the globe are busily putting the finishing touches on their preparation for an early April launch to their expeditions.

Of course, the mountain that is the biggest draw is also the tallest. Everest always holds an undeniable allure for mountaineers of all types, including the armchair variety. With that in mind, over the next few months we'll be hearing a lot about the teams climbing that peak, as well as a number of others in the region.

One of the expeditions that I'll be following closely this year is the First Ascent team that will attempt to recreate the 1963 American expedition that not only completed a traditional climb up the South Col, but also pioneered a new route along the seldom visited – and much more challenging – West Ridge. That expedition not only put the first American, Jim Whittaker, on the summit, it also featured the first traverse of an 8000 meter peak.

Later this spring, Dave Hahn and Melissa Arnot will guide Leif Whittaker, the son of Jim, to the top of Everest via the South Col route. Meanwhile,  Jake Norton, Brent Bishop, Charley Mace, and Dave Morton will be tackling the West Ridge, which remains the most challenging climb on the mountain to this day. If successful, Hahn will notch his 14th summit of Everest, extending his record for the most climbs of the mountain by a non-Sherpa. Arnot can make history of her own, as a successful summit on her part would bring her total to four, the most by any non-Sherpani in history as well.

The two teams, along with many others, will be setting out for Nepal before the end of March. You can learn more about their plans by clicking here and follow their dispatches on the First Ascent blog.

Video: The Conquest of Everest

We all know the story of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay becoming the first men to summit Everest, but this video is still just too great not to share. It is an hour plus long documentary that was put together not long after that historic climb and it is as much fun to watch for the nostalgia as it is for learning about the actual climb. This is definitely a throwback to a different era and well worth watching in its entirety. Great stuff!

Winter Climb Update: Climbers Still Missing On GI

Last Friday seemed like a triumphant day on Gasherbrum I, as the Polish team that has struggled on that  mountain for more than two months, notched the first winter ascent of the mountain. But the joy of that climb has been tempered with the fact that three climbers from another team have gone missing and there has been no news on there whereabouts for the past two days.

Late last week Gerfried Goschl, Cedric Hahlen and Nisar Hussein were the first to set out from Base Camp on GI to take advantage of a weather window that could give them access to the summit along a new route. Late in the day on Thursday they called home to report that they were just 450 meters (1476 ft) beneath the summit and that they felt good about their prospects of topping out. Their support team hasn't heard from them since.

When the Poles went to the summit along the normal route the following day, they reported that they saw the three climbers continuing their ascent along the mountains East Ridge. That was the last anyone has seen of the men and what has become of them after that remains a mystery.

The brief weather window has now closed and high winds and bitterly cold temperatures have returned to  the Gasherbrums. Those conditions have made if very difficult to launch a search and rescue mission at the moment, as all helicopters in the region have been grounded. There are a number of climbers standing by to begin the search, but for now they are waiting for a some kind of break in the weather. That break may not come for another few days.

Alex Txikon, who was part of the missing climbers' team, is back in Base Camp after his attempt to summit went awry late last week as well. He and Tamara Stys gave up on their GI climb but attempted to summit nearby Gasherbrum South, which wasn't successful either. It seems likely that the Basque climber will now try to lend some aid to finding his missing friends, but all further attempts to climb Gasherbrum I are done.

Finally, the Poles have posted a summit report from their successful climb last week, which you can read here. They also posted the video of the climb, which you can see below. It gives us an indication of how challenging the final push was and what kind of weather they were dealing with even at the end. Congrats to that team on a job well done.

Lets keep our fingers crossed for Gerfried, Cedric, and Nisar that they are found alive and well.

Winter Climb Update: Summits on GI But Climbers Still Missing

The last 24-hours have been a roller coaster ride of emotions on Gasherbrum I. We now have confirmed summits, the first ever on the 8080 meter (26,509 ft) mountain during the winter season, but we are still awaiting word on the whereabouts of one team that hasn't been heard from since yesterday morning.

We'll start with the good news. The Polish team that we've been following over the past few months successfully reached the summit of GI this morning at 8:30 AM local time. The two Polish climbers who made history were Adam Bielecki and Janusz Gołąb and they were joined by two Pakistani guides, Ali Sadpara and Shaheen Baig, as well. The team made the ascent along the "normal" Japanese route, and all the climbers are now reportedly safely back down in Camp 2 and will likely return to BC tomorrow.

Yesterday I posted the news that the international team led by Gerfried Goschl was last heard from when they were just 450 meters (1476 ft) beneath the summit. They seemed in good spirits and were confident that they would top out amidst improving weather, but after that report there were no further updates and those of us following along at home began to worry. Today we get the news that the Polish team spotted their tent from the summit and it appears that Gerfried and friends are still trying to make their way to the top.

The team is climbing a new route so they may have run into some unexpected problems that have slowed them down. The weather remains good, by winter Karakoram standards anyway, so hopefully they'll get the opportunity to complete the new route and stand on top as well. For now, keep your fingers crossed that all is well, and that they get back down the mountain safely.

There is no official word yet on where Alex Txikon is on GI, although his plan was to attempt the summit today as well. ExWeb is reporting that he and Polish climber Tamara Stys attempted to ascend Gasherbrum South, a secondary peak nearby, but were turned back along their chosen route. If that is true, they may be headed back to Base Camp as well.

Stay tuned for more updates as we get them.

Winter Climb Update: Summit in Sight on GI!

Today is the day that the climbers on Gasherbrum I have been waiting for. For the past few months, the teams on that mountain have struggled o fix ropes, build camps and acclimatize. They've also had to be very patient while they waited for the weather to cooperate. That may have finally happened, as a projected weather window has opened and teams are now moving towards the summit. In fact, as I write this, one group of climbers may have already stood on top and are already making their way back down.

According to ExWeb, and his own expedition site, Gerfried Goschl, who is leading a group of international climbers, which includes Alex Txikon, may have already topped out on GI. We're still waiting for confirmation, but the team's last dispatch indicated that they were just 450 meters (1476 ft) below the summit and that dispatch was sent hours ago. The group intends to descend on the opposite side from which they climbed, completing a traverse of the mountain, but that descent is expected to be a challenging one so we all wait with bated breath for news on their safe return.

Meanwhile, Alex isn't a part of this first summit team but according to his website he should have been in Camp 2 yesterday and move up to C3 today. That would put him in position to go for the summit tomorrow as well and since the forecast indicates lessening winds and clearing skies, as long as he's physically feeling up to the task, there is a good chance he'll stand on top tomorrow.

Finally, the Polish team on the mountain have reportedly moved to Camp 3 yesterday and should soon be on their way to towards the summit as well. Their plan is to leave late this evening and reach the summit in plenty of time tomorrow as well.

Stay tuned for news on each of these expeditions. We could be watching history unfold as the first winter climb of Gasherbrum I is successfully completed.

Adventurers Push Boundaries on Long Distance Equestrian Expeditions

Thanks to my friends at the Long Riders Guild, I've been made aware of two fantastic long distance expeditions that are gearing up to get underway, both of which will use horses as an integral part of their journey.

The first of those expeditions will be undertaken by Long Rider Filipe Leite, who is planning to travel 16,000km (9942 miles) on horseback from Toronto, Canada to his home town of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Filipe is calling his expedition the Journey America and he estimates that it will take him roughly 2 years to finish the ride, crossing through 11 countries in the process. Along the way, he'll be shooting a documentary of his experiences as he travels across North, Central, and South America. He'll take two horse with him on this trip which is slated to get underway later this spring.

The second expedition isn't scheduled to begin until May of 2013 but is even more ambitious than Filipe's journey. Dubbed One Steppe Ahead, this expedition will send Brits Matt Traver and Jamie Maddison on a 30,000km (18,641 mile) journey on foot, bike, rail, and horseback across the Eurasian continent. Their path will follow that of British explorer Howard Bury, who was the leader of the 1921 Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition which eventually paved the way for climbers like George Mallory and Sandy Irvine to visit that mountain. Bury's travels took him all over Asia however, and Matt and Jaime intend to explore much of the same territory, including the Jungar Alatau mountain range, the wilds of Eastern Kazakhstan, remote regions of Russia, and much more. It should be an exciting expedition to follow next year.

Because these two expeditions have the Long Riders Guild seal of approval you know that the horses that they use on these journeys will be treated well and cared for throughout their journey. They are amazing animals that can travel for many miles provided they are treated well along the way. The Guild's Hall of Shame is filled with the names of other riders who haven't been so kind to their mounts.

Good luck to Filipe and Matt and Jaime on their respective expeditions. Both should be amazing journeys to follow.



An Introduction by Matt and Jamie from Ugly Monkey Productions on Vimeo.