Climber attempts death or glory solo bid on K2
PAKISTAN: An acrimonious split in a team attempting to make the first ascent of K2 in winter has resulted in one of the climbers abandoning his companions and striking out for the summit alone.
Denis Urubko, a 44-year-old Russian, left his tent and walked out of Base Camp without telling the other team members; apparently determined to scale the world’s second-highest peak, known as the Savage Mountain, on his own.
His actions have triggered a furious debate among mountaineers, with some urging him on to glory and others accusing him of having put personal ambition before team unity. According to the expedition blog, Urubko camped above Camp 1 at 6050m on Saturday night local time and refused to speak to his Polish team-mates stationed there. He has taken no radio and has not been heard from since.
K2 has claimed the lives of 77 climbers, one in every four of those who have tried to reach the 8611m summit - a ratio far deadlier than Mt Everest. It remains the only peak above 8000m not to have been conquered in winter.
Urubko’s expedition, led by the Polish climbers, is the latest to
"Denis is world class. He can do it alone but if he gets in trouble he has few options."
Alan Arnette, veteran American climber
attempt to conquer one of the last challenges of Himalayan mountaineering but it has been dogged by tragedy and drama from the outset. Acclimatising on K2 last month, four team members, including Urubko, were diverted to a desperate rescue mission to save two climbers stranded high on the slopes of Nanga Parbat, 200km away. Airlifted high on to the mountain, they climbed another 1000m through the night, in temperatures of minus 35C, to save a French woman, Elisabeth Revol, but were unable to reach her Polish companion, Tomasz Mackiewicz.
They returned to K2 as heroes but the rescue had cost them valuable time. Tensions surfaced as bad weather further delayed their climb - and the mountain must be conquered by midnight on Wednesday, the last day of February, for it to be recognised as a winter ascent.
The Poles decided to scale back their ambitions to a more steady climb, with a summit attempt in early March, a decision that did not sit well with Urubko, according to Krzysztof Wielicki, 68, the expedition leader.
He wrote on Facebook: ‘‘Denis Urubko left the base without informing the expedition management, to attempt to enter the K2 summit before the end of February.’’
The Russian’s pedigree is not in question: he has conquered all 14 peaks over 8000m without supplementary oxygen and broken many records for speed climbing. By not taking a radio he has negated the possibility of seeking help from his spurned colleagues should he hit trouble. The coming hours could bring death or glory.
Winds in the ‘‘death zone’’ above 8000m can reach 160kmh, with the immense risks multiplied by the sub-zero temperatures and the fact that he is climbing solo.
‘‘Denis is world class,’’ Alan Arnette, a veteran American climber, said. ‘‘He can do it alone but if he gets in trouble he has few options.’’