I watched another documentary on K2 last night, 'Two on K2' about a husband and wife making their way to climb it together. Started about them, then they start climbing. Unrolling a spool of line for fixed rope. No sherpas, just a team of 5. Camp 3 or 4, no sign of O2 bottles going up. Getting interesting... Camp 5(?) at 8000m and there's no oxygen being used (no suprise, but no stash waiting for them as I was wondering) and they'd continued through snow that Mr armchair climber know-nothing here thought seemed crazy - but they weren't on the normal route anyway, less avalanche risk maybe and clearly they knew what they were doing. Won't spoil the outcome but now I know that Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is an very impressive climber indeed

@jameso you got a link please?? Being lazy to simply google that reference you provided

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:35 pm https://www.ospreyeurope.com/osprey-blo ... ce=ometria

Looks like the first winter attempt has been completed (accomplished) without death. Well done that team (and osprey)... but mad mind you...

Wow. -65.... errrrrrr.......

htrider wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:24 pm

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:35 pm https://www.ospreyeurope.com/osprey-blo ... ce=ometria

Looks like the first winter attempt has been completed (accomplished) without death. Well done that team (and osprey)... but mad mind you...

Wow. -65.... errrrrrr.......

I think thatmust be the wind chill effect. Todays forecast for the summit appears to be -36ish with wind chill taking the real feel to about -57 totally mental what 'being first' at 'the impossible' makes you want to do... https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks ... casts/8612

htrider wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:24 pm

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:35 pm https://www.ospreyeurope.com/osprey-blo ... ce=ometria

Looks like the first winter attempt has been completed (accomplished) without death. Well done that team (and osprey)... but mad mind you...

Wow. -65.... errrrrrr.......

Add in high hematocrit levels way beyond 'legal' road racing limits and thus thick blood, thus bad circulation, further increasing the risk of frostbite.
Add in materials which fail at -40 °C 'already'.
Add in the atmospheric pressure shift come winter, causing even lower air pressure...
Add in that one must move slow to protect the lungs. No heavy breathing possible, but above 5500 m one has to adapt with hyperventilation, even if fully acclimatised and another but... one needs to move to stay warm.
Add in besieging the mountain in high Karakoram winter for many weeks.
Add in short days (10 h of daylight).
Etc.

Without knowing any further details besides 'sleeping' in a shallow crevasse, or more suitably put by Alan Arnette "took cover" (haven't read any piece about it, except for the stuff on Alan Arnette's page), I'm sure they had to adopt unusual techniques to make this incredible feat happen. What an achievement...
It compares to nothing.

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:36 pm

htrider wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:24 pm

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:35 pm https://www.ospreyeurope.com/osprey-blo ... ce=ometria

Looks like the first winter attempt has been completed (accomplished) without death. Well done that team (and osprey)... but mad mind you...

Wow. -65.... errrrrrr.......

I think thatmust be the wind chill effect. Todays forecast for the summit appears to be -36ish with wind chill taking the real feel to about -57 totally mental what 'being first' at 'the impossible' makes you want to do... https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks ... casts/8612

I too believe it must have been -65 °C (and less and more) with windchill (given current weather on mountain-forecast), but the article on Osprey says "still air temperature well below -65 degrees".

Anyhow. Even climbing at -45 °C at that altitude is mind-boggling.

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:35 pm without death.

Well, at least in their team. The BBC reports states that a Spanish climber died, as there's many out this year trying the same thing. Phenomenal achievement.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55684149

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:09 pm @jameso you got a link please?? Being lazy to simply google that reference you provided

It's on Amazon Prime, dunno about Youtube sorry!

jameso wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:35 am

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:09 pm @jameso you got a link please?? Being lazy to simply google that reference you provided

It's on Amazon Prime, dunno about Youtube sorry!

I'll be looking that up tomorrow morning. I like a mountain film to start the day

Ta.

FLV wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 5:57 pm

jameso wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:35 am

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:09 pm @jameso you got a link please?? Being lazy to simply google that reference you provided

It's on Amazon Prime, dunno about Youtube sorry!

I'll be looking that up tomorrow morning. I like a mountain film to start the day

Ta.

I watched it today. It’s a good film without the usual hype and dramatics.

This one's not quite K2 but the exploitation of Everest if anyone might find it interesting...

I think the star of the show is the son of the sherpa that accompanied Edmund Hilary (sorry, I forgot his name). Talks alot of sense. Unfortunately it discusses the queue and one of the 'operators' who think there's space for 2000 people up there (just needs a little punch).

I can't wait to try my Everest bid (but on the bike... obviously)