Agreeing when winter ends may be mountain too high
NEWS this week from the Himalayas, where an elite team of Polish climbers have abandoned an attempt to complete the first winter ascent of K2.
Bad luck, dismal weather and drama forced the team to retreat from the world’s second-highest peak – but mostly it was down to an argument many have been replaying on the streets of Britain this week: when does winter actually end?
One of the Polish climbers, Denis Urubko, insisted that, for a winter climb to stand, they had to reach the summit by the end of February and the meteorological start of spring. The other climbers remained steadfast that the end of winter should come at the spring equinox, on March 20.
Urubko was so infuriated by his team-mates’ insistence to the contrary that he walked out of base camp without oxygen, a radio or a word to his colleagues and struck out alone. After a night shivering at 23,600 feet (7,200m), he abandoned his “suicidal attempt” and returned. Now, the rest have followed suit, leaving one of the last great mountaineering challenges intact.
So, should we abide by the meteorological or astronomical start to spring? The meteorological calendar makes it far easier to make annual comparisons as the dates are always uniform, but there is more of a sense of romance about the astronomical version: a whiff of the old druids, if that can ever be a good thing.
In Britain this year the argument seems rather academic because winter is very much still here. Expect wind and rain in the South for several days yet. Further north, people should be braced for yet more ground frosts.
Much as we are all longing for some sunshine, such are the vagaries of the seasons that it seems we must wait a little longer. And like the unexplored winter peaks of K2, it is good to keep some mystery in this world.