No one’s ever done it. Polish climbers will try to conquer K2 in wintertime
Polish group of leading climbers eyes to scale world´s second highest peak K2 in the winter season.
Due to high rate of winds, steep and icy slopes and high fatality rates for backpacker, it is considered to be one of the most deadly mountains on Earth in wintertime.
A thirteen-member team of Poland climbers have written a “beautiful chapter” of exploring peaks of more than 8,000 metres (26,247 feet), and scaling K2 in winter would “the last chapter of this book”.
During winter time, the K2 has not been accomplished by any mountaineers, despite first being summited in 1954.
K2 world’s second-tallest mountain located in the Karakorum along Pak-China border is one of the world’s deadliest peaks for high winds, steep and icy slopes – and high fatality rates for climbers.
Before this, the K2 has taken around 70 lives while climbing, many of them at the Bottleneck, where a wrong step can send a climber hurtling off the South Face, where bodies are unlikely to be recovered.
The Polish team comprises 13 mountaineers led by Krzysztof Wielicki, 67, who in 2003 headed a winter expedition of K2, which was unable to clear the 8,000-meter threshold.
The expedition is co-funded by Poland’s sports ministry. A team member of Polish climbers Adam Bielecki, 34, told media that the chance to make history is a “strong motivation” for the Polish group.
Another team member Wielicki told that his team would begin their ascent on Jan. 8 or 9 and, if successful, expects to return to base camp by mid-March. He said the group expects to be away from home for around three months.
“If you ask me what´s the hardest part of the expedition or what I fear the most, it´s actually the separation from my family,” he said.
Pakistan is a hot destination for climbers. It rivals Nepal for the number of peaks over 7,000 meters (22,966 feet) and in all; it has five of the world´s 14 summits higher than 8,000 meters.