Daniela Teixeira and Paulo Roxo set off for Skardu by road just hours after arriving in Islamabad. Image of the Portuguese climbers at the airport courtesy of Daniela's Gasherbrum blog (click to enlarge).
Image of Cristina Castagna, currenty heading for BP and GI, courtesy of Montagna.org.
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Pakistan wrap-up: flights cancelled - climbers hit Karakoram highway
Posted: Jun 10, 2009 10:33 am EDT
(K2Climb.net) Cancelled flights and mounting waiting lists have forced several Karakoram-bound teams to hit the bumpy and exposed KKH for a 25 hour ride to Skardu.
Summit push on Broad Peak goes on in heavy snow fall.
Broad Peak
“We’re at 5,800m despite loads of snow,” Eli Revol texted yesterday. The French climber is pushing for Broad Peak summit together with Antoine Giraud and Ludo Giambasia.
Philippe Gatta: flights cancelled - time to hit the road
“Today we woke up at 5am to go to the airport to take the flight to Skardu,” Philippe Gatta reported. “We checked-in, passed the security check and waited several hours...until told that the only flight of the day was cancelled."
"That has happened 3 times in the past 4 days. The waiting list is growing and with no guarantee that we could fly tomorrow, we have all decided to drive to Skardu. A few other teams are doing the same. The rough drive should take around 25 hours so hopefully we will be in Skardu tomorrow night.”
Daniela and Paulo: KKH ahead
“We’re finally in Islamabad, after a long line of flights and airport transfers,” wrote Portuguese Daniela Teixeira yesterday. “We haven´t got time to rest though. Tonight we’ll set off towards Skardu by car, along the Karakoram Highway – which, by the way, is actually anything but a highway.”
Nanga Parbat: Joao’s plan
Portuguese Joao Garcia celebrated his 42nd birthday on the plane to Islamabad. Following an unbroken series of victories lately, Joao now hopes to turn Nanga Parbat - which he attempted already in 1996 - into his 13th 8000er. Teaming up with Pakistani Amin Ulla, his K2 mate two years ago, "we're climbing buddies, no more," Joao told ExWeb. "We are each carrying our own gear and Amin makes his own climbing decisions."
Even with all his recent summits, the veteran mountaineer knows not to take anything for granted. “Nanga Parbat can get quite dangerous due to avalanche and rock fall,” Garcia told Record.pt. Joao has fought to keep his acclimatizion from Manaslu, sleeping in an altitude tent during his brief visit home in Portugal, a strategy that could lead to shorter exposure once on Nanga Parbat. “I just need to climb to C2 (6,000m) once, and then I’ll be ready to attempt the top,” he said.
Castagna and Casarotto for BP+GI double header
Italian climbers Cristina Castagna and Giampaolo Casarotto are flying to Pakistan today, headed for Broad Peak and GI.
Christina is back to high altitude climbing after months of recovery from a trashed knee-ligament. If the double lucks out, she would count six 8000ers, adding to her previous summits of Shisha, GII, Dhaulagiri and Makalu, Montagna.tv stated.
Links to climbing teams in Pakistan 2009
Broad Peak:
Elisabeth Revol
Antoine Girard
Ludovic Giambasi
Eelco Jansen's blog
Field Touring Alpine
Karrar Haidri's Saltoro Summits
Serap Jangbu Sherpa
Adventure Tour Pakistan
K2
Fredrik Ericsson
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner
Maxut Zhumayev
Fabrizio Zangrilli's blog
Nick Rice
Nanga Parbat
Gerfried Göschl's blog
Louis Rousseau
Gasherbrums
Daniela Teixeira & Paulo Roxo
Philippe Gatta
Altitude Junkies' dispatches
Valery Babanov
Kinga Baranowska
Colombian Camilo & Anna
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