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the-south-asian.com January 2004 |
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January
2004 Hunza
and Balti Foreign
help to fight Sports Natural
Medicine People Short
story Books
Lehngas - a limited collection Books Between
Heaven and Hell
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Page 3 of 7
K2 - the Great Mountain
PIA
used to have an “Air Safari” about 10 years ago, which has been
discontinued. See an account of this in: http://www.the-south-asian.com/Nov2000/Karakoraair_safari1.htm
For
runners, there used to be a Skardu
Marathon that was organized by Sylvain Saudan of Chamonix, France. It
follows a route that the jeep track now takes. One goes up the Shigar
valley, north to Askole. Karakoram
Weather – Chamber of Horrors. The
Catch-22 of K2 and Nanga Parbat climbing: Up
to about 6000 meters K2 is mostly rock. After that it turns into a sea of
snow. The Abruzzi ridge has been described by one climber as This,
together with the erratic, rather schizophrenic weather with three major
weather systems intersecting/ affecting it [Monsoons, Central Asian and
Tibetan anti-cyclones/high pressure, plus the Jet Stream], and the geological
anomalies of three major earth
plates colliding nearby [ see Nanga Parbat Geology above ] has made it the
most difficult mountain to climb. Basically
in the winter and spring, the Karakoram area is affected by large-scale
weather systems. These originate from the Mediterranean or from the area of
the Caspian Sea-Central Asia. Storms
occur in the pre-monsoon season and then again from monsoon systems during
the summer. Even in the summer, some of the higher-level snow/rain
originates from westerly systems. In winter, the Tibetan plateau, at an
altitude of 15,000 feet, induces anticyclone/high
pressure flows that move out from Tibet towards western Pacific, Indochina
Peninsula, Australia, and southeastern Africa. In summer the reverse
happens. Cyclonic flows/low pressure converges to the Tibet region along the
reversed paths. In
addition weather in the mountains is also influenced by elevation, valley
orientation, aspect plus slope, and the height and number of upwind barriers
to the airflow. The resulting
impact of these Karakoram weather systems on climbing is summed up in a
simple single concept – what is called the Chamber of Horrors. Both
Nanga Parbat and K2 are considered more difficult to climb with their
combination of weird weather and difficult climbing approaches. Climbers are
offered a catch -22 situation -- Death by getting blown off the mountain [as
did Alison Hargreaves – the Scottish woman climber] - @ 140 + mph,
or death by getting buried in an avalanche. There are few places where both
wind speeds and humidity are low, and more importantly, there is really no
previous history/pattern present. These brief, low/low situations occur
early in the summer season, in the middle, and later on as well. On Everest,
there
are small pockets of good weather in end-May for the spring expeditions and
in early-October for the fall expeditions - the monsoonal transition, when
it happens, creates a weather window. It is a fact that most K2 climbers get
killed descending the mountain. To understand the winter Karakoram weather
read www.the-south-asian.com
June 2002 for a full account of Zawada’s abortive K2 winter ascent when
their expedition was snowed in for full two weeks. “The
frosty winds blowing from Concordia in the south caused many a problem for
us in the Base Camp. Meanwhile on the top of K2, winds were blowing from the
West and the North West. We started towards the Abruzzi Ridge on December 27
... Our progress was
interrupted by persistent spells of appalling weather. Hurricanes were
accompanied by thick clouds and heavy snow. During our winter climb of
Everest, the winds had been blowing constantly but at least there had been a
blue sky above and this made a tremendous difference to us." - K2
in Winter - Mountain Madness
Zawada
became the pioneer of Everest in winter -1987-88. Read the article in: http://www.the-south-asian.com/June2002/K2_Expedition.htm
by Andrzej Zawada – “A Winter expedition to K2” – 1997-98].
Although Zawada was unsuccessful in 1997-98 winter K2 expedition, his
account in this article is instructive: “The pressure of desperate situations and dangerous
conditions reveal a person’s real character. The weak blame others
…failure is very bitter but it makes you reflect more on the situation
than the euphoric state of victory …it is good that the mountains still
teach humility to human beings particularly in this day and age when people
think that we can conquer nature completely. K2 in winter still remains a
challenge.” Krzystof
Wielicki has carried on the work of winter expeditions with another winter
expedition in 2003. Zawada is no longer there; he passed away a few years
ago. Wielcki set a new winter altitude record -7630 meters. In 1987 under
Zawada they reached 7100 meters. Krzysztof Wielicki [born on January 5, 1950] in Szklarka Przygodzicka (Wielkopolska) to a teacher’s family is quite a character. Learning independence as a Boy Scout, he went on to study electronic engineering at the Wroclaw School of Engineering. He has completed 8000-meter summits 15 times. He climbed Nanga Parbat solo. During his first climb he fractured 3 lumbar vertebrae. Soon after this, to attend his brother’s marriage, he escaped from the hospital and cut his plaster corset with the help of some friends, just so that his mother would not stop his climbing. Later he got his certificate of climbing without the authorities knowing about his accident. He climbed the Tatras, The Hindukush, the Pamirs, the Alps, the Cuacasus, and fell again, getting his head stitched in the process. A member of the “Solidarity “movement, he went to Alaska working on gutting fish, where he made about $1500 - enough for him to build a small house. As a real working class hero, he worked as a painter, then in a Fiat car assembly plant. He has a son and two daughters. His story is a fascinating account of guts and glory and “those who dare win” type commando thriller. A rock avalanche shortened his spine in the Garwhal Mountains, India. Here is a Weilicki view: “Do you have to justify for having a passion? You can change
your hobbies, not your passion. With time, it fills all spheres of your
life.” His
comments on Wanda Rutkiewicz:
For further reading, an account of Weilicki’s life and his praise of Wanda Rutkiewicz is given in: http://www.russianclimb.com/k2/interview.html
Mountains and Men - Introduction & Early Surveyors Nanga Parbat - the Killer Mountain K2 - the most difficult mountain to climb Women on Nanga Parbat, K2, and Mt.Everest Pakistan's Hunza and Balti climbers Ecological Nightmare on Big Tops & Conclusion
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