Winter Climbs 2014-2015: No K2 Expedition This Season After All

The ongoing saga of Denis Urubko's planned expedition to K2 took another strange turn today with the news that the entire expedition has been cancelled. Yesterday, Urubko and his teammates, which included Alam Bielecki of Poland and Alex Txikon of Spain, received word that the Chinese government would not issue them a permit to climb due to a high terrorist threat in the region they would be passing through. This was their second attempt at obtaining a permit, but this time the rejection has brought an end to their efforts.

The team had been preparing for an early January departure for China, where they had intended to climb the mountain from the North Side. Their original plan had been to set out for K2 – the second tallest mountain in the world – last week, with the intention of being in Base Camp by the start of the winter season on December 21. But just days before they were to fly out, Denis received word that their permit has not been approved. Undaunted, he, Adam, and Alex shifted to another logistics company with the hope that they could still get a permit. They seemed fairly confident that that would happen, but were forced to shift their plans by a few weeks.

Denis broke the news of the second rejection on his Facebook page where he posted the email note he had received from the team's logistical support crew in China. It indicated that the permit was cancelled due to terrorist activity in the Xinjiang region of China, an area that the team would pass through on their way to K2, but would not be spending any significant amount of time in. Back in November, a terrorist attack killed 15 people in the region, and wounded another 14. That has put the area on high alert, with a great deal of tension permeating the mostly-Muslim population there.

With the news that the K2 winter expedition is over, the mountain will remain unclimbed for another year. It is one of only two 8000-meter peaks that have yet to be summited during the winter, with the other being Nanga Parbat. That mountain will see no less than three teams attempting to climb it this year, while Urubko's squad was the only one heading to K2.

I'm sure the news of the cancellation of the permit was a crushing blow to Denis, Adam, and Alex. They had been planning this expedition for months, and were set to embark on what was surely going to be a difficult and demanding journey. Now, they'll be back home for the winter, and wondering what their next adventure will be.

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Winter Climbs 2014-2015: The Season is Underway!

This past weekend officially marked the first day of winter here in the northern hemisphere, which means it is time for the winter climbing teams to start their expeditions as well. While some are waiting until after the holidays to get underway, others are already making their way to the mountains, where they'll now face the daunting task of climbing some of the world's toughest peaks during the coldest, most treacherous time of year.

There will be no fewer than than three teams heading to Nanga Parbat this winter, and according to ExWeb the Russian squad of Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval left for Pakistan yesterday. They hope to be on the trail to Base Camp as early as tomorrow, with plans for reaching the mountain as quickly as possible. They intend to climb a variation of the Schell Route on the Rupal Face, establishing Camps 1-3, with an intermediate camp consisting of one small tent stationed between C3 and the summit. They'll start acclimating as soon as they arrive, and will then let the weather dictate their progress.

The Russians won't be alone in Base Camp. Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz is already there after acclimatizing in the Rupal Valley. He's sharing space with Elisabeth Revol and Daniele Nardi, although they won't be climbing together. Mankiewicz is attempting a solo summit of Nanga Parbat, while Revol and Nardi will try a new route.

Also heading to Nanga Parbat soon will be the Iranian team of Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmoud Hashemi. The trio of climbers remain at home in Iran at that moment, where they are currently putting the final touches on their planning and logistics. They plan to depart for Pakistan during the second week of January.


After sorting out the issues with their climbing permit on K2, Denis Urubko and his team, which consists of Adam Bielecki and Alex Txikon, will now depart for China in the first week of January. Denis posted to his Facebook page that they will have 40 days to climb once they reach Base Camp. He feels confident that they are a strong enough team to accomplish the first ascent of K2 in the winter. They will be climbing along a new route on the North Face of the mountain, where they hope to get some protection and respite from the dangerous winds.

Finally, we head to Alaska for an update on Lonnie Dupre's efforts to climb Denali in January. He was flown out to the mountain last Thursday, and has skied into his first campsite, which he's using as a base of operations until the expedition officially gets underway on January 1. In the meantime, he has started to shuttle gear up to Camp 1, located at 7800 ft (2377 meters) as also acclimatizes to the cold and altitude. He has a lot of work to do for his solo expedition, but with more than a week to go until the arrival of the new year, Lonnie is in good shape so far. He even reports that a raven has joined him on his expedition, and has followed him on his journey over the past few days.

For more on Lonnie's efforts, check out the video below.

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Winter Climbs 2014-2015: K2 Permit Issues Resolved, Three Teams Head to Nanga Parbat

With the winter climbing season now just a few days away from officially beginning, things are really starting to get interesting. It now appears that we will have a team on K2 after all, and no less than three squads are headed to Nanga Parbat. Meanwhile, in Alaska, the weather is still dictating the start of the action.

We'll start with an update on K2 today since things have started to improve there. Yesterday I posted the news that Denis Urubko, Adam Bilecki, and Alex Txikon had been denied their climbing permit by the Chinese, just as they were preparing to depart for the start of the climb. Reading Denis' Facebook page, it was clear that he was dismayed over the news, and looking for ways to continue with an expedition that has been planned for months. Fortunately today there is good news for the trio, as the Chinese officials have reissued the permit, although it does involve a two week delay in the start of the climb. This will allow the climbers to remain home for the holidays, and will only minimally alter their schedule. There is no word yet on when they will now depart for China. 

Meanwhile, there are three teams that will now be headed for Nanga Parbat, including a Russian squad that includes Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval which will depart for Pakistan on December 22, and an Iranian team consisting of Reza Bahadorani, Iraj Maani and Mahmoud Hashemi, who will start their climb in early January. 

Polish climber Tomak Mackiewicz is already in Pakistan, where he as been acclimatizing in the Rupal Valley. Mankiewicz has already knocked off a couple of 5000 meter (16,400 ft) peaks, and will be heading to Base Camp in time for Christmas. He'll be joined in BC by Elisabeth Revol and Daniele Nardi, who will bring a film crew along with them. While the trio will share space, Tomak hopes to climb solo to the summit of Nanga. 

There has been no news yet out of Lonnie Dupre, who is in Talkeetna, Alaska awaiting the start of his January expedition to Denali. Poor weather has delayed his flight out to the mountain, although he remains unconcerned at this point, as he doesn't intend to start the climb until January 1 anyway. For now, he sits and waits for things to improve so he begin his fourth attempt at the highest mountain in North America during the coldest, harshest, darkest season of all. 

Finally, lets not forget about Simone Moro. The Italian is also cooking something up for the winter, but he has yet to reveal his plans. We will probably learn more about what he has in store after the holidays as well. Knowing Simone, it should be something very interesting. 

The pieces are now falling into place for the start of the winter season. Things should really start to pick up beginning next week.  

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Winter Climbs 2014-2015: Chinese Deny Urubko and Company Climbing Permit for K2

The winter climbing season is set to officially get underway in just a few days, and as I write this, the teams that are planning major expeditions this year are busy putting the finishing touches on their plans. But one squad received bad news yesterday when they learned that the Chinese have denied them a permit to climb on K2 on the eve of their departure. Now, they are left wondering what they can do to salvage an expedition they have been planning for months.

One of the most interesting expeditions that was set to take place this winter was the attempt to complete the first ascent of K2 from the North Side of the mountain. The very experienced team of Denis Urubko, Adam Bilecki, and Alex Txikon were preparing to depart for China this week with the hopes that they could be in Base Camp shortly after the official start of winter. But yesterday Denis posted an update to his Facebook page sharing the news that they had been denied their permit, and as you can imagine, that was a devastating blow.

With no permit, it is difficult to say what the team will do now. They still have a few days before their flight to try to sort through the bureaucracy that prevented them from getting the permit in the first place, but it is hard to know why the Chinese denied their request to climb from the North Side. Perhaps the expedition can still be salvaged provided the communications from Chinese government is forthcoming with their demands.

The other alternative would be to attempt to jump to the Pakistani side of the mountain, although that doesn't seem likely either. This entire expedition hinged on a specific route that Denis had planned from the North Side. The small team was hoping to climb along a new route that would potentially shield them from some of the worst weather that K2 will throw at them in the weeks ahead. The trio of climbers was not training or preparing for the more exposed route along the "normal" path to the summit in Pakistan, which of course has not yielded much success during the winter in the past.

For now, we'll have to just wait to see what will happen. Clearly the team is heartbroken by this news, but hopefully they'll still be able to get something organized for this winter. Time is running short however, and the Chinese bureaucrats are not well known for being flexible. I'll post an update as soon as we know more.

Meanwhile, elsewhere teams are preparing to travel to Nanga Parbat for the first winter ascent of that mountain as well. Expect updates soon. And of course, Lonnie Dupre is already in Alaska, and waiting for the weather to clear so he can travel to Denali in preparation for his attempt at a January ascent of that mountain. The season is just about to really get going, so expect more updates soon.

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Winter Climbs 2014: Denis Urubko Talks K2 in Winter Prior to Departure to China

In just a couple of short weeks the 2014-2015 winter climbing season will get underway in the Himalaya, Karakoram, and beyond. This year, we know that there will be teams on both Nanga Parbat and K2, as climbers attempt to complete the first winter ascents of both of those mountains. Kazakh mountaineer Denis Urubko, a veteran of winter climbing on big peaks, will lead his team – which includes Adam Bilecki of Poland and Alex Txikon of Spain – to the North Face of K2, the toughest mountain in the world no matter the season. Prior to setting out, he sat down for a two-part interview with Medium.com that offers some insight into what the team has planned.

In the first part of the interview, Denis talks the logistics of K2 in winter, saying it will certainly be amongst his toughest projects while comparing it to the new routes he opened on Broad Peak in 2005 and Cho Oyu in 2009. He says that some of the biggest challenges of this expedition will be to stay healthy and patient, while waiting for the perfect weather window to give the climbers a shot at the summit. Urubko goes on to talk about why he wants to climb K2 in the winter, how he keeps these dangerous expeditions to the big peaks in perspective, and the minimalist approach the climbers will take above Base Camp.

In one interesting segment of the interview, Denis is pressed about the limits of his climbing abilities, to which he replies that he feels he is capable of climbing to 9500 meters (31,167 ft) of altitude without the use of supplemental oxygen. Of course, there isn't a mountain on the planet that reaches that high, so he is essentially saying that he can go up any mountain in the world without using O2. He adds that when he was younger, that limit was closer to 8600 meters (28,215 ft).

In the second part of the interview, the Russian climber talks about the mountaineers he admires (Vlad Smirnov, Eric Shipton, Reinhold Messner, etc.), the importance of every piece of gear that you have with you at altitude, and the importance of meeting the needs of sponsors in the modern age of exploration. He calls climbing on an 8000 meter peak in the summer months "a kind of tourism," and when asked who is the best mountaineer in the world today, he artfully dodges the question by saying you would first have to define the style of climbing, with great athletes attempting very different things.

All in all, both parts of the interview are very interesting and insightful to read. If you have an interest in the upcoming K2 expedition, I'd highly recommend them both.

Denis, Adam and Alex will depart for China on December 16. Once there, they'll sort their gear, work out the logistics and paperwork, and then proceed to the mountain. Winter officially begins on December 21, and they should arrive in Base Camp shortly there after. Stay tuned for plenty of updates on their climb.

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Winter Climbs 2014: And So It Begins...

The official start of the 2014-2015 winter climbing season is still a couple of weeks away, but teams heading to the big mountains are deep in preparation for their expeditions. Most will depart for Pakistan and China in mid-December, ahead of the official arrival of winter on December 21, but one climber has already started his acclimatization process, and isn't looking to waste any time.

According to a report on ExWeb, Polish climber Tomek Mackiewicz is already in Pakistan, and has been acclimatizing in the Rupal Valley ahead of his attempt on Nanga Parbat this winter. Tomek arrived there in November, giving himself several weeks to adjust to the altitude before heading to the Diamir Face of Nanga.

According to the report, Tomek arrived in Pakistan on November 12, and spent a week organizing his gear and handling administrative tasks in Rawalpindi before arriving in Lattabo on November 21. He has spent the time since then acclimatizing on Rupal and Laila Peak. Those two mountains, 5642 meters (18,510 ft) and 5971 meters (19,589 ft) respectively, will serve as a warm-up before the Polish climber joins his partners – Daniele Nardi and Elisabeth Revel – in Nanga Parbat Base Camp in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, Italian climber Simone Moro continues to press ahead with his plans for a winter climb, even though we don't know what he has in mind just yet. Simone tells Stefan Nestler that he is still waiting on his climbing permit before he announces what his objectives are. He intends to climb this winter, although he won't start until after the first of the year, which is later than usual for a big winter climb. We do know that the expedition will take place in China, as Simone has indicated that he's waiting for the Chinese to issue him the permit, but it is unclear if that his adventure will take him to China proper, or if it will take place in Tibet. Rumors suggested that he might try the North Face of Everest in winter, but officials have indicated that the mountain will be shut down from January 1 to March 31, so clearly that is not his objective.


A veteran of 12 winter climbing expeditions – including three first ascents – Moro is an expert on climbing big peaks in the coldest, harshest season of all. When asked why he isn't on Nanga Parbat or K2 this season, Simone says that his best climbing partners didn't want to accompany him to Nanga this year, and that he promised his wife that he would never climb K2 in the winter after she dreamt that he had perished on that mountain. So now, he prepares for this secret climb instead, and we all wait to see what exactly he has planned.

Moro goes on to say that winter climbing is "pure exploration," unlike any other expedition. He enjoys the fact that the mountain is empty, with no other teams climbing, and that the conditions are extremely challenging. It is a lonely time and place for mountaineers, unlike climbing those same peaks during the warmer months.

Other interesting elements in the interview include Simone's thoughts on how climbing will change on Everest in the wake of the avalanche that claimed 16 lives this past spring, how he has put the high-profile 2013 brawl with Sherpas behind him, and his work as a rescue helicopter pilot in the Himalaya. He also talks about his future in climbing, and at the age of 47, how many more years he has left on these daring expeditions into the Himalaya and Karakoram.

As usually, the interview is a good read, and definitely worth a look for those with an interest in mountaineering on this level.

While the winter climbing season is still a couple of weeks from truly starting, it seems we may have plenty of news to report leading up to it. Stay tuned for more updates.

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ExWeb Interviews Denis Urubko on Winter K2 Climb

Last week, Explorers Web posted an interesting interview with Denis Urubko, one of the climbers heading to K2 to attempt a winter ascent of that mountain. As you probably already know, K2 and Nanga Parbat are the only 8000 meter peaks that remain unclimbed during the winter, and this year, both peaks will see ambitious teams attempting to summit them once again. Urubko will lead an all-star squad of mountaineers to K2, where they'll attempt the North Face of the mountain from the Chinese side. Joining him will be Adam Bielecki and Alex Txikon, two very experienced climbers, as well as Artiom Braun and Dmitry Siniew.

In the interview, Denis discusses why they chose this route – he feels it offers better protection from the elements – and what conditions he expects to find there during the winter. There has been some discussion that this side of the mountain will be darker and colder than the South Side, but Denis disputes that, saying that they'll be climbing along a route that faces to the east, which should providing good morning sun, and when they climb out of the mountain's shadow they'll find plenty of light to help guide them on their way. He also says that while he expects the mountain to protect them from the harshest of weather conditions, they anticipate they could face -50ºC/-58ºF temperatures and 100 km/h (62 mph) winds. They hope to go to the summit when temperatures are at -40ºC/F, and with winds in a more manageable 50 km/h (31 mph).

Other portions of the interview touch on snow conditions on K2 during the winter, obstacles that the team will face on the route, and their approach to fixing ropes versus just climbing as light as possible. The team hopes to use snow caves at higher altitudes for their camps, and as shelter from the weather, and they plan on making an alpine style push once they are acclimatized and the conditions are right.

As you can imagine, Denis also touches on some important aspects of the climb that he is most concerned about as well, including an icefall that looks like it could be a very dangerous section of the climb, as well as knife edge ridge at 7500 meters (24,606 ft), and a rockfall at 8000 meters (26,246 ft) right below he summit. If the team hopes to reach the top, they'll need to overcome those challenges along the way.

The team will leave for China in just a couple of weeks, and will begin their winter attempt on the toughest mountain on the planet not long after that. I will, of course, be following this expedition very closely in the weeks ahead.

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Winter Mountaineering 2014: K2 and Nanga Parbat Take Center Stage

Earlier this week we turned out the light on the 2014 fall Himalayan climbing season by wrapping up the last couple of expeditions that were still ongoing. Now, there will be a bit of a respite on the big mountains, while most of the attention turns to the spring climbing season on Everest. But before that occurs, the winter climbing season awaits, and in just over a month's time, teams will begin heading to some of the most difficult peaks on the planet in an attempt to summit during the coldest, most demanding season of all.

As of now, there are just two 8000 meter peaks that remain unclimbed in winter, They are K2 and Nanga Parbat. This winter, teams have targeted both peaks in an attempt to knock off one, or both, of these incredibly difficult mountains.

While most of the winter climbing expeditions are heading to Nanga, the team that we'll be watching the closest will no doubt be on K2. As previously announced, a team consisting of climbing all-stars Denis Urubko, Adam Bielecki and Alex Txikon, who will be joined by Artiom Braun and Dmitry Siniew, has set its sights on a new route on the toughest mountain on the planet. The team will climb from the Chinese side of K2, up the North Face, along the Northeast Ridge. According to ExWeb, the squad will depart for the Karakoram on December 16.


Of course, this team has a great deal of experience climbing during the winter. Urubko was part of the team that put up the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum II a few years back, and Bielecki has two first ascents during the season under his belt as well – Gasherbrum I and Broad Peak. They'll need all of that skill, experience, and determination if they hope to reach the summit of K2 in a few months.

Meanwhile, ExWeb is also offering solid details on the plans for Nanga Parbat as well. They claim that Tomek Mackiewicz, Daniele Nardi, Elisabeth Revol and Roberto Delle Monache will all share Base Camp on that mountain, although beyond that point Tomek intends to make a solo summit bid. That will be a bold expedition to follow as well, as he attempts to go up the Mummery Rib. The group is expected to depart for Pakistan on December 20.

According to Russian Climb, Nickolay Totmjanin, Valery Shamalo, Serguey Kondrashkin and Victor Koval are also attempting Nanga this winter. They are planning on setting off for Pakistan on December 22 for their own winter 8000-meter expedition.

Finally, Simone Moro is up to something in the Himalaya this winter, but we're not sure exactly what yet. He has promised his wife he would not attempt K2, so he won't join his friend Denis Urubko on that expedition, and he has also ruled out Nanga Parbat. Apparently, the expedition is still coming together, and he isn't quite ready to reveal plans just yet. Hopefully we'll hear more about what he has in store in the days ahead. As usual with Simone, he generally has some big idea. Perhaps he'll bring his friend Ueli Steck along for the ride as well.

That's all for now. These expeditions will begin to take center stage in about a month, but until then, the mountaineering world will be a bit quiet. It is certainly shaping up to be an interesting winter in the big mountains though. Stay tuned for updates.

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Video: A Journey on the Trans-Siberian Express

The Trans-Siberian Railway is one of the most classic train journeys in the entire world, covering 9289 km (5771 miles) between Moscow and far-eastern Russia, with branches reaching all the way to Beijing. The video below charts filmmaker Stanislas Giroux's three-week long odyssey on the railway, as he passed through Russia, Mongolia, and China. It is three minutes of amazing footage from a three-week long journey that is unlike any other. Truly a fantastic way to see that part of the world.

Seat 22 — Trans-Siberian Odyssey from Stanislas Giroux on Vimeo.

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Video: Guilin and Yangshuo in China Captured by Drone

This video is brought to us by filmmaker Patrice Gaucher, who took his DJI Phantom drone with him to Guilin and Yangshuo, two UNESCO World Heritage sites located in China. As usual, the ariel photography captured by the drone is pretty spectacular, offering an amazing view of these beautiful landscapes.

DJI Phantom 2 Vision+ in Guilin and Yangshuo (UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China) from Patrice Gaucher on Vimeo.

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Largest Cave Chamber in the World Discovered in China

A team of cave explorers funded by the National Geographic Society has located the largest underground chamber in the world in a remote cave system in China. The group of spelunkers traveled to that country last year to measure the massive Miao Room, as the chamber is known in caving circles, using a sophisticated laser mapping system. The findings from that expedition were announced this past weekend, with some surprising results.

First discovered back in 1989, the Miao Room has long been considered the second largest chamber in the world, behind the Sarawak Chamber in Malaysia. Measured using standard methods, the massive room is 852 meters (2795 feet) in length, and 191 meters (627 feet) wide. But the new laser mapping system is able to take into account the full size of the room in three dimensions, and it revealed that Miao is larger than Sarawak in terms of total volume. In fact, the Chinese cave occupies about 10.79 million cubic meters (380.7 million cubic feet), which makes it approximately 10% larger than its Malaysian counter part. Sarawak does cover more surface area however, stretching out across an impressive 1.66 million meters.

Expedition co-leader Tim Allen told Nat Geo that finding out that Miao was bigger than Sarawak was akin to "discovering that K2 is larger than Everest!" It has long been believed that Sarawak held the title for the largest underground chamber, but Miao has now stolen its crown.

In order to reach the massive underground room, the explorers had to first descend more than 100 meters (325 feet) beneath the surface, then navigate an underground river. These obstacle were a hinderance to exploring the cave system in the past, which is why it has taken so long to get a more accurate measurement of Miao itself. In order to properly compare it to Sarawak, the same team used their 3D laser mapping system in the Malaysian cave as well.

It is important to point out that these caves are simply the single largest chambers. In terms of the longest overall cave system in the world, Mammoth Cave in the U.S. still holds that title. It stretches for more than 651.8 km (405 miles) with new chambers and passage still being discovered.

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Video: Himalayan Adventure from Delhi to Beijing

Ever wanted to take a road-trip through the Himalaya starting in Delhi and ending in Beijing? Then this video was made for you. It is a four-minute travelogue through India, Nepal, Tibet and China, that features sweeping landscapes, amazing cultural moments, and a grand sense of adventure. This looks like it was a fantastic journey, and one I would love to make as well.

India | Nepal | Tibet | China from Klaas on Vimeo.

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