ExWeb is reporting good news at last from K2 in their latest update from the Karakorum. A week ago, many of the teams on the second tallest mountain in the world were ready to pack it in and head home, thinking that they might never get their chance at the summit this year due to the awful weather conditions. This week, the ones who stayed are being rewarded with a predicted weather window set to open up this weekend, that may finally give them the opportunity to climb. The teams will meet on Friday to begin planning their final assaults.
Meanwhile, over on Nanga Parbat, the Walter Nones and Simon Kehrer saga continues. The pair lost their climbing partner Karl Unterkircher when he fell into a crevasse, and have now spent more than 10 days on the Rakhiot face, where they were hoping to put up a new route. The line was incredibly unsteady, and too dangerous to descend, so the two men climbed up to 7000m and moved over to safer route to make their descent, but have made little progress since then.
Today, Walter and Simon were expect to come down from their camp at 6600m, but extremely foggy conditions have made that impossible, and now the concerns are rising for the two men. They have gas and food for two more days, and their support team in BC is hoping for better conditions tomorrow so that they can make an attempt to airlift them off the mountain.
Both men seem to be in in good health, although Simon is reportedly suffering from headaches, but their situation has gone from one of quiet optimism to growing concern. It seems that conditions on the mountain continue to conspire against them and prevent them from making a safe descent.
Lets keep our fingers crossed that they make it down in one piece.
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