ISLAMABAD – K2, in northern Pakistan on the border with China, remains theonly peak in the world above 8,000 metres that has never been climbed inwinter.
A team of Polish mountaineers attempting the first winter summit of K2, theworld’s second highest peak, have called off their bid citing bad weather,after a drama-filled expedition which made international headlines.
“Based on a deep analysis of the situation in agreement with the team Idecided today to end the mountain action on K2,” wrote the team leaderKrzysztof Wielicki on their Facebook page.
The expedition spokesman confirmed to AFP that the bid has been called offdue to bad weather.
The announcement comes days after one expedition member, a Russian-Polishclimber called Denis Urubko, broke away from the team after a dispute andlaunched what others called a “suicidal” bid to make the climb solo.
The high-altitude drama put the team in the international spotlight. Withindays Urubko had also called off his attempt, and is currently en route tothe capital Islamabad.
The Polish team arrived at the K2 base camp late last year, enduringsub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds.
But Urubko had become increasingly frustrated with their pace after aseries of delays, including the night-time rescue of French mountaineerElisabeth Revol on another Pakistani mountain, Nanga Parbat, in January.
Urubko had volunteered to go to Nanga Parbat as part of that rescue team,which saved Revol but left another climber, fellow Pole Tomasz Mackiewicz,on the mountain.
The K2 team’s part in that high-profile rescue also drew attention to theirwinter summit bid.
Everest has been summited by thousands of climbers young and old, but K2 isa much lonelier place. Around 300 have made it to the top since the firstascent 60 years ago. Many climbers have died trying, and on the descent.
Northern Pakistan is home to some of the world’s tallest mountains,including K2 in the territory of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Nestled between the western end of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush mountainsand the Karakoram range, Gilgit-Baltistan has 18 of the world’s 50 highestpeaks. – APP/AFP