1st Report – Int. K2 North Pillar Expedition 2011
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner & Ralf Dujmovits
Dear Friends,
Today we’ll get from our base camp, located at 3900 meters.
Since we landed in Bishkek, a lot has happened.
Darek we already met at our stopover in Moscow, Maxut and Vassiliy then in Bishkek at breakfast in the hotel, where we could make a little fresh. After the two had her Chinese visa, we were able to drive off towards the Chinese border, first to Tash Rabat. A few lonely yurt were located at about 3000 meters our sleeping quarters. Yuri and his wife are the summer up there to entertain people passing by. A very nice couple Kyrgyz. The next morning we tried yet fermented mare’s milk from the neighboring small horse farm. A bit strange sbedürftiger taste, but should be said to be very healthy!
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Only 14 peaks in the world raise up over 8000m into what today is known as “the dead zone”. All are situated in the Himalaya range spread over countries like: Nepal, India, Pakistan and Tibet.
The beginning
The first expedition to set foot on a 8000m peak was achieved by a French expedition in June 3th 1950, when the guide Louis Lachenal from Annecy together with Maurice Herzog from Lyon, set foot on the summit of Annapurna. As a first time ever achievement, Lachenal and Herzog climbed the dangerous peak of 8091m without the use of supplemental oxygen. A big French success, as just the logistic problems transporting the gear and equipment from France to Nepal in 1950, was a major and expensive obstacle, to what you can add climbing up into unknown conditions. Maurice Herzog was the first to reach the summit, followed closely by Louis Lachenal, though reaching the summit, and especially without the use of supplemental oxygen, they were forced to pay the price: Herzog’s decision to opt for lighter boots, and the loss of his gloves near the summit allowed frostbite to set in quickly, resulting in extensive amputations on both hands and both feet.
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What makes the French expedition to Annapurna special is not only the fact that it was the first 8000+ meter peak climbed, it was also the first that was scouted and climbed entirely in one climbing season, a feat not easily repeated, especially in the golden era of mountaineering.
Since Annapurna in 1950, Climbers have learned from the experiences made, and what was in the beginning heavy National expeditions, are now light international “low budget” expeditions. At the end of 2011, only 24 people have climbed all 14 8000, and the latest to join “the club” is Japanese climber Hirotaka Takeushi, who summited his last 8000m peak: Dhaulagiri May 26th at 05:30PM local time.
Alpinism is often infused with the fundamental question of puritanism. In this spirit, climbs being made without the use of supplemental oxygen, nor porters and hence in alpine style, are regarded as the ultimate human engagement confronted with a 8000. And in this game, there are only a small club left of 13 climbers in the world, having completed this achievement.
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North Ridge - The north side of K2
K2 the second-highest mountain
Altitude 8616m
To the mountaineer, K2 can be regarded as the ‘mountain of mountains’. Its allure arises from the combination of its isolation, extremes of weather, great altitude and technical climbing demands; K2 is a very serious and compelling objective. Our challenging route takes us onto the well documented Abruzzi Spur. This is one of six fine ridges that form a classical summit pyramid of rock and ice.
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Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner & Ralf Dujmovits
Int. K2 North Pillar Expedition 2011 root
Dear Friends
Apologies for not having been in touch for such a long time but the last few months were packed with presentations, endurance training and a two-week climbing holiday in Croatia, during which I also had the time to recharge my batteries.
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Stick’em up everybody……this is a hold up!
Since the first presentation at the Outdoor Retailer, we have continued the development of the Immelman.
Latest product information concerning the Immelman.
The technical key issue in the Immelman is the combination of articulation and a compartment system, that fixes the insulating down exactly where it is designed to be. To raise the performance of the Immelman, we have increased the total number of body side and inner sleeve compartment from 6 to 9. This increase in lateral compartments, offers a better guarantee that the insulation is maintained in the correct place, once the arms in movements and raised up.
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