One by one, the nine climbers who held in C6 and C7 yesterday reached the summit through today. Left in image (top to bottom): Victor Volodin, Vitaly Gorelik, Eugeny Vinogradsky and Gleb Sokolov. Middle: Pavel Shabalin. Right (top to bottom) Gennady Kirievsky, Iljas Tukhvatullin, Nick Totmjanin and Alexey Bolotov (click to enlarge).
Camp with a view this morning... Live image from K2's West Face BC courtesy of the expedition (click to enlarge).
LINKS
|
K2 West Face Jackpot: Jannu and Everest North Wall climbers SUMMIT!
Posted: Aug 22, 2007 12:08 am EST
(K2Climb.net/story updated 12:30 pm Aug 22) We should have guessed. Once they broke through on Jannu and Everest North Wall, the Russians just would not stop. Today, we have an encore on K2's West Face: One by one, the nine climbers who held in C6 and C7 yesterday, reached the summit.
Jannu climbers Nickolay Totmjanin and Alexey Bolotov topped out at 10.45 am this morning. Gleb Sokolov followed 11.10 am. Everest North Wall summiteer Eugeny Vinogradsky topped-out at 11:50 am.
Twenty minutes later Victor Volodin, Gennady Kirievsky and Vitaly Gorelik summited as well; and finally, Pavel Shabalin and Iljas Tukhvatullin closed the summit group at 3 pm, local time.
Summiteers safely in higher camps for the night
It's plain incredible that also Everest North Wall legend Shabalin made it after such a long time high up in the deathzone (4 nights between 8200 and 8400 meters): Pavel lost 3 toes and 5 fingers to frostbite a couple of years ago in an alpine-style ascent of Khan Tengri’s North Face with Iljas Tukhvatullin.
It took a while for the five last summiteers to report, since their radio set froze up during the ascent.
All climbers are currently resting in higher camps. By night fall (at 6:50 pm, local time), Shabalin, Tukhvatullin, Sokolov, Vinogradsky and Gorelik were in C6; Tomjanin, Bolotov and Kirievsky had reached C5. Yesterday's summiteers Mariev and Popovich are staying in C1 for the night.
Earlier reports today
After the first radio contact from the mountain (8.15 am) today with expedition leader Victor Kozlov, Lena from RussianClimb reported that nine climbers left high camps early this morning - heading...up.
Shabalin and Tukhvatullin were preparing to start their push in C7.
Totmjanin, Bolotov, Kirievsky, Volodin, Sokolov, Vinogradsky and Gorelik began their ascent from Camp 6 at 5 am.
Summiteers Mariev and Popovich had begun their descent. Shamalo and Penzov are now both descending from ABC to BC.
Come hell or fire - nothing could stop the Russians. August 20 at 12:50 p.m., local time, cutting through an inferno of red clouds - Vadim Popovich and Everest North Wall summiteer Andrew Mariev delivered a much deserved victory to the K2 West Face team. A new route, for the first time in 10 years, is a fact on the Mountaineers' Mountain and only 2 faces (The East and the North) now remain unclimbed.
The West Face has finally been completed - by the world's most accomplished high altitude mountaineering team - after months of relentless work through storms and whiteout, extended stays in the death zone without supplementary O2, and technical difficulties up to the very top.
|
