Posted: Jun 22, 2009 08:40 pm EDT
Bad weather has been punishing climbers in Baltoro valley. Nanga images show serious avalanches on the peak and conditions on K2 are even worse than on Broad Peak according to the French climbers, currently on yet another summit push.

Last week ExWeb ran a number of interviews and climbers paid tributes to lost friends. Only two expeditions remain on Greenland while outside Somalia, Pirates are changing their ways.

Broad Peak summit push Ludovic Giambasi, Eli Revol and Antoine Girard planned to set off towards Broad Peak’s S and SE ridges today Monday, for another summit push.

Iran for a new route Arash Mountaineers Club’s climbers led by Kiyoumars Babazadeh and supported by Abbaas Mohammadi, the new head of the Iran Alpine Club, hope to open a new route on Broad Peak's SW side.

2008 South Korean K2 expedition back to Karakoram Last year, Go Mi-sun and Korean leader Kim Jae-soo summited K2. On descent, 5 of their expedition members perished. Three of the former expedition members are now returning to Karakoram. Following her Makalu-Kangchenjunga-Dhaulagiri triple this spring, Go and regular partner Kim are headed for both Gasherbrums and Nanga Parbat. With Annapurna in fall, Go hopes to bag no less than 7, 8000er summits this year.

The third member of the 2008 Korean K2 expedition Pasang Lama is also headed for both Gasherbrums, as a member in Altitude Junkies/Project-Himalaya team. Pasang summited Makalu and Lhotse this past spring.

More Gasherbrums The GIII/GIV team plans to establish an advanced base camp at 6000 meters and ventured up to 6300 meters last week to study the icefall in an attempt to determine the best way to make it into the cwm. Others who arrived BC on Sunday were happy to find the route through the icefall and up to camp one already fixed by Don Bowie, Bruce Normand, Guy McKinnon, William (Billy) Pierson and David Fält. An 11 member team from Tehran is on the way to GII, while recent Piolet d’Or winner Kazuya Hiraide is waiting in Hunza for Finnish Veikka Gustafsson before the two will set off towards GI in a few days time.

K2 A number of teams have reached K2 BC. Gerlinde and David survived a close call, when the team's Jeep rolled back and fell down a cliff. Chilean climber Santiago Quintero is en route, without porters or supplementary O2. Having suffered serious frostbite years ago, Santiago's project is called “K2 sin D2” (K2 without toes). Fredrik Ericsson and Michele Fait were denied permit to Laila Peak and went straight to K2. Nepal-based Rolwaing Excursion agency (founded by last year's K2 summiteer Chhiring Dorje Sherpa) sent a note that before Serap Jangbu Sherpa, two Sherpas summited K2 in 1997.

Gerfried & Co in Nanga Parbat C1 Gerfried Göschl and his team were first to arrive in Nanga Parbat’s BC this year and have set up C1. A pic of the camp shot by Giuseppe Pompili shows serious avalanche paths nearby. Portuguese Joao Garcia and South Korean Miss Oh’s team are among other arrivals in Nanga's BC.

Spantik: Pakistani lady climber Two Pakistani and a Dane make up the joint Pakistan-Danish Spantik expedition. “Remarkably, my fellow Pakistani mate is a girl – who may become the first local female climber to reach above 7,000 meters," team leader Mirza Ali told ExplorersWeb.

Farewell to friends: Fellow Australian climbers and expedition mates praised Australian Mick Parker's mountaineering values last week. Italian climber and polar trekker Michele Pontrandolfo submitted a tribute to Dr. Giuliano De Marchi, recently perished while ski-touring in the Dolomites. In Sichuan, the search for the third missing climber, Micah Dash, was called off last week. Fellow American climbers Eric DeCaria, Nick Martino, Steve Su, Pete Takeda, Nick Rosen and Mick Follari – who traveled to China to help coordinate search efforts - created a ceremony in Qongding for Micah, Jonny Copp and Wade Johnson.

ExWeb interview with Lena Laletina: the Russian view A bio-physicist and long time collaborator with ExplorersWeb; in an unique interview series last week Lena Laletina of RussianClimb.com unveiled the Russian take on climbing, politics, and media. Lena described the evolution from Soviet to Russian mountaineering; reflected on today's 'Brave New World'; and listed her own favorite climbers.

Greenland wrap-up: Danish Jesper Melin Ganc-Petersen and Erik Bruun Jørgensen were evacuated due to Jesper’s serious medical condition; in the process the rescue plane had to be rescued as well. The two teams left on the Greenland ice experienced Summer Solstice in 24-hour daylight, while the over-winter teams at the Science Stations on Antarctica celebrated Winter Solstice, or mid-winter, in total darkness on 21 June. The Emirates NBD team said they have brand new kites that perform well in low winds while Norwegians Hugo and Bjørn Einar announced a change in their finish point.

ExWeb interview on Greenland with Devon McDiarmid The Emirates NBD team Devon McDiarmid, Adrian Hayes and Derek Crowe have crossed the halfway mark on their 3500 km Greenland expedition and are well on their way to the North. Last week Devon called ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer from their satellite phone to give an update about crossing the Arctic Circle, kiting, weather reports and preparation.

Walking the Amazon Ed Stafford from the UK is walking the length of the Amazon River in South America from the source to the sea. He started on 2nd April 2008 at the Pacific coast and is expecting to finish in May 2010 at the Atlantic coast.

Somali Pirates: Changes in attack patterns and tactics Pirates are extending their area, an increased number of night attacks indicate change in patterns, while people traffickers start to play along.

Read these stories - and more! - at ExplorersWeb.com

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