K2 is, as we all know, a mountain that has haunted climbers since the first expedition attempts. “The savage mountain”, has always resisted as if no man was allowed to enter it’s domain. Human tragedy is deeply rooted in it’s image, forcing climbers to take every little event into serious consideration: You just do not fool around with the BIG SCARY BROWNIE.
In the April issue of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 2012, a brilliant article describes the International Amical Alpin climb of this big pile of rock and ice. Rightly they based the assent from the North side (North pillar), properly offering more stable conditions.
Naturally one could look at this climb, as the last in the line of Gerlindes 14 non ox climbs. It is, but it’s also a bit more: This climb represent a human manifestation of outmost will, determination, faith and profound trust. Confronted by this, K2 opened up the closed door and offered 15min to Gerlinde alone on top. No wind, Sun down light from a clear blue sky and surrounded below by all the 8000 she had formerly climbed in the area. An alpine blessing on her final 8000.
Old friendships are important, so I had the pleasure to meet with Ralf Dujmovits who introduced me to his new wife Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner at the 2012 winter ISPO show in Munich. Ralf reached his last 8000m peak (Lhotse) in 2009 and became the first German on the 14 8000 and number 16 in the line:
Ralf is a strong and dedicated DAV Guide, and his record contains numerous successful expeditions, guiding clients to a 8000m summit. A true pillar in German High Altitude climbing, and a great man.
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is a Austrian climber, out of the “old school”, extremely attached and sensitive to the notion of “The mountain”. August 2011 Gerlinde and Ralf engaged a climb of the Japanese route of the North Pillar of K2. Here Gerlinde summited her final 8000m peak and became the first woman to complete the 8000m without supplemental oxygen:
1998 — Cho Oyu,
2001 — Makalu,
2002 — Manaslu,
2003 — Nanga Parbat,
2004 — Annapurna I,
2004 — Gasherbrum I,
2005 — Shisha Pangma,
2005 — Gasherbrum II,
2006 — Kangchenjunga,
2007 — Broad Peak,
2008 — Dhaulagiri,
2009 — Lhotse,
2010 — Mount Everest,
2011 — K2.
A full report of the K2 climb 2011, will be published in a 32 page report in NATIONAL GEOGRAFIC, translated and published worldwide, and due to appear in April 2012.
“Billli, where exactly are you?” Russell called me over the radio. “I am about 10 minutes away from the real summit,” I replied from the point everyone calls the “rock tower”. I had been climbing for exactly eight hours and as Russell was determined that I should make it back down to Camp II after the summit, he wanted me to hurry up. Most of my climbing mates, who had been using supplementary oxygen, had already made it back down to Camp IV, where they were re-hydrating and getting ready to descend to the safer altitudes of Camp II. “I am already on my way down to base camp,” I heard Herbert say over the radio, who probably could not wait to get some proper food after hardly having eaten for three days.
Austrian mountaineer, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, has just become the first woman to climb the world’s 14 highest peaks without the use of supplementary oxygen. She finished this amazing feat with an impressive climb up K2 using a different, and not very often climbed route – the North Pillar. Gerlinde and her husband, Ralf Dujmovits, were climbing with a team of four other mountaineers and during their expedition they had to overcome extreme difficulties. They had to deal with avalanches, rock fall and breaking trail through hip-deep snow at dizzying altitudes above 8,000m. On 23 August at 6.18pm, Gerlinde together with three other climbers, stood on top of the second highest peak in the world and with this achievement, she certainly wrote mountaineering history.
After having been on the mountain for more than two-and-a-half months, the couple arrived in Germany on Saturday, 3rd September and instead of getting a rest at home, Ralf and Gerlinde went straight to ‘das aktuelle Sportstudio’ to share their remarkable experience.
Gerlinde and Ralf, Maxut, Vassiliy, Darek and Tommy had a very long day yesterday as they went all the way down to Chinese Base Camp, where they arrived late and exhausted.
But before they switched off the base camp lights, they were able to send as the summit photos we have so eagerly been waiting for!
