Posted on 09/21/2017 10:25:31 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Polish climbers hope to pull off one of the last big feats of mountaineering in coming months by scaling K2, the world's second highest peak and the only of the 14 exceeding 8,000 meters (26,246 ft) yet to be conquered in wintertime.
If successful, their ascent will also mark the culmination of an era for the Poles, who pioneered winter climbing on the world's highest mountains in the 1980s.
Krzysztof Wielicki, a small and wiry 67-year-old who will run the 10-person expedition from its base camp, was the first to scale the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, in the winter, nearly four decades ago. It took him four attempts to climb K2 in the summer, each time with months of preparation.
(Excerpt) Read more at channelnewsasia.com ...
Best wishes.
Sitting here with temps in the high 80s every day in late September, I’d go for some cooler. My electric bill is a monster, just to keep the house at 78 in the afternoon.
Errr..ah. I am leaving the obvious punch line alone.
Climbing Annapurna in winter MIGHT be more dangerous.
I don’t think this is going to go well and plus no way to evacuate if things fall apart.
Ed Vestress would say. “Reaching the top is optional...coming back down is mandatory”
These people have a death wish. K2 has a 25% death rate.
And just when I was thinking of the Poles as sane people.
I guess every country has it’s share of insanity.
Wonder how many Frozen Poles this little endeavor will produce?
True but as Zathras pointed out, Annapurna is even more dangerous with a 41% death rate. I heard one climber say of Annapurna that the whole mountain is nothing more than a giant avalanche waiting to happen.
If the climbers wish to risk their lives for this, fine. The ones that I feel for in these dangerous adventure schemes are the professional rescue personnel who have to risk their lives to get the adventurers out of trouble.
The story of the first K2 climbers in National Geographic circa about 1979 had a big effect on me. It was harrowing to a 13 tear old.
That was back before Nat Geo sucked leftist ballsack.
If the Poles succeed, look for Reinhold Messner to repeat their attempt next winter wearing only flip-fops and Bermuda shorts.
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