Everest News posted another brief K2 update with the news that George Dijmarescu, Mingma Sherpa and Rinjin Sherpa climbed as high as Camp 2, where they were, as of Friday, waiting out a storm. They then hoped to proceed up to C3 to drop off supplies, before heading back down the mountain to base camp.
The weather forecast does not look great for them though, as a large storm is expected to move into the area early this week, making it difficult to make any progress over the next few days. The season is quickly coming to an end though, and any weather windows are going to be rare at this point.
The Everest News update ends with a bit of a chilling statement that simply reads: "They are now alone on the mountain." Everyone else has gone home, most following the tragic events that went down their just a few weeks back, but up until last week, there were still a few other climbers hoping to get a crack at the summit.
Hopefully we'll get more updates this week. With George, Mingma and Rinjin back in BC, they should be able to pop off a dispatch or two, with updates on the situation. Remember, there are no fixed ropes on the upper portion of the mountain, including the area into and above the Bottleneck, which means the team will have to set their own ropes as they go up. Likely to be a very daunting task with no one to share the duties with. They'll also have to break their own trail, as fresh snow has hit the upper slopes, which bring on the added risk of more avalanches as well. If they reach the top, it's going to be after one monumental effort.
Good luck boys! Climb safe!
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