Alan_R Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 (edited) A team of 10 Nepalese have become the first people to scale K2 mountain during winter ever. 'the mountaineers mountain' widely considered more challenging than Everest. Amazing achievement! Nirmal Purja has now completed all the highest peaks and now the toughest in winter. Formally a gurka in the royal navy. This year has seen 70 teams attempt a winter summit. To be the orlds first. Many are still out there. Including Colin O'brady (USA , who trekked solo across the arctic) and a Romanian team who are trying to do it unaided without oxygen. Sadly Mingote of the Spanish team died today. I've been following it from the start. Incredible effort by all of them. The conditions look wild. Pelted with rocks and all sorts. https://amp.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3118032/first-winter-ascent-k2-achieved-nirmal-purja-and Edited January 16, 2021 by Alan_R Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankblack Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 That is one horrendous mountain. The number of people killed trying to climb it doesn't bear thinking about. Congrats to the team who made it, but you are taking one hell of a risk trying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greedy Jambo Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Achievement or stupidity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ri Alban Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Good to see the Nepalese are banning people from these mountains, who have no experience. And they now have to return to base with 15kg of rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_R Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 6 minutes ago, ri Alban said: Good to see the Nepalese are banning people from these mountains, who have no experience. And they now have to return to base with 15kg of rubbish. K2 is in Pakistan but I get your point. I've read a lot of Jeff Evans (expedition leader) and he was saying alot of these peaks have very rich people pay teams alot of money to get them up there without any experience in their part. Reckless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ri Alban Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 7 minutes ago, Alan_R said: K2 is in Pakistan but I get your point. I've read a lot of Jeff Evans (expedition leader) and he was saying alot of these peaks have very rich people pay teams alot of money to get them up there without any experience in their part. Reckless Big fines for the travel companies are coming. I think I heard the Nepal government charged 2 climbers thousands after they had to rescue them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boof Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Some achievement! Well done them. What was the 'pelted with rocks' story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_R Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 47 minutes ago, Boof said: Some achievement! Well done them. What was the 'pelted with rocks' story? Colin obrady and his climbing partner "dr jon" sorry forgot his full name. Were trying to progress and set their lines. Im not sure exactly the cause but the way they described it was as if rocks were gettibg swept off higher ledges , weather was horrendous. They both got struck, jon slightly worse than colin but other than being sore and bruised no major damage but they supposedly had several close calls. They ended up retreating to previous camp admitting it had knocked their confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_R Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Greedy Jambo said: Achievement or stupidity? Maybe but where do you draw the line. Backflips on a skateboard or driving extremely fast in an f1 car etc also pretty risky I dont have any aspirations to climb any of the big ones with ropes etc, slogging it out for days and barely a view. Folk go to everest base camp and its just a big rock with some spray paint. Nevis or some rocky ridges to scramble along will do me. That said i still find it interesting what folk are willing to push themselves too. Just finished jeff evans book: mountain vision. Its mostly about how he took his friend Erik weihenmayer (a blind adventurer) to summit everest. Inspiring stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bindy Badgy Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 7 minutes ago, Alan_R said: I dont have any aspirations to climb any of the big ones with ropes etc, slogging it out for days and barely a view. Folk go to everest base camp and its just a big rock with some spray paint. Nevis or some rocky ridges to scramble along will do me. Base Camp itself is pretty pointless. The hike there and the view from the top of Kala Patthar is brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boof Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, Alan_R said: Colin obrady and his climbing partner "dr jon" sorry forgot his full name. Were trying to progress and set their lines. Im not sure exactly the cause but the way they described it was as if rocks were gettibg swept off higher ledges , weather was horrendous. They both got struck, jon slightly worse than colin but other than being sore and bruised no major damage but they supposedly had several close calls. They ended up retreating to previous camp admitting it had knocked their confidence Ah...Mother Nature doing the pelting. I had visions of some local neds firing rocks at them as they were making their way through some village to get to base camp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_R Posted January 16, 2021 Author Share Posted January 16, 2021 8 minutes ago, Stokesy said: Base Camp itself is pretty pointless. The hike there and the view from the top of Kala Patthar is brilliant. Aye like if i won a trip or something id still be buzzing to do it. But for example one of my mates has it as a big dream of his to visit everest and base camp. It doesnt have same appeal for me. I fancy likes of Triglav in Slovenian . Something challenging but that i could theoretically get to the top of under my own steam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicjohnston Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 Read that earlier today. Some achievement. Just finished reading Nirmal Purja's book, "beyond possible". worth a read, he's some guy. And also talks alot about the rich and the push back he had from inexperienced climbers and Sherpas and the companies profiteering from folk going up. He's very much into climate change too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teato Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 4 hours ago, magicjohnston said: Read that earlier today. Some achievement. Just finished reading Nirmal Purja's book, "beyond possible". worth a read, he's some guy. And also talks alot about the rich and the push back he had from inexperienced climbers and Sherpas and the companies profiteering from folk going up. He's very much into climate change too. I've read it too. Quite the story. He's on a podcast with jake humphrey called the high performance podcast. He's very passionate about everything he puts his mind too. That's definitely worth a listen if you enjoyed his book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niblick1874 Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 8 hours ago, Alan_R said: A team of 10 Nepalese have become the first people to scale K2 mountain during winter ever. 'the mountaineers mountain' widely considered more challenging than Everest. Amazing achievement! Nirmal Purja has now completed all the highest peaks and now the toughest in winter. Formally a gurka in the royal navy. This year has seen 70 teams attempt a winter summit. To be the orlds first. Many are still out there. Including Colin O'brady (USA , who trekked solo across the arctic) and a Romanian team who are trying to do it unaided without oxygen. Sadly Mingote of the Spanish team died today. I've been following it from the start. Incredible effort by all of them. The conditions look wild. Pelted with rocks and all sorts. https://amp.scmp.com/sport/outdoor/extreme-sports/article/3118032/first-winter-ascent-k2-achieved-nirmal-purja-and My Dad never talked about the war. I found out that he fought with the Gurkhas. One of them came to see him when I was with my Dad in the hospital (the Royal). My Dad was in the hospital because of what happened to him during the war. I was seven. To cut a long story short. After he left, my Dad told me they were not of this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicjohnston Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 10 hours ago, Teato said: I've read it too. Quite the story. He's on a podcast with jake humphrey called the high performance podcast. He's very passionate about everything he puts his mind too. That's definitely worth a listen if you enjoyed his book. Brilliant, thanks for the heads up. Hadn't heard of this podcast, just had a look at other names on it as well nirmals. Looks great. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 21 hours ago, Alan_R said: Aye like if i won a trip or something id still be buzzing to do it. But for example one of my mates has it as a big dream of his to visit everest and base camp. It doesnt have same appeal for me. I fancy likes of Triglav in Slovenian . Something challenging but that i could theoretically get to the top of under my own steam I'd love to do some mountain-trekking - maybe not actually going for any of the major summits as they're pretty serious mountains - in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. Fantastic scenery and fascinating history and culture; the food's supposed to be great too. Don't know if it'll happen mind you: I'm fairly fit and active now but time's galloping-on... I've never been to Slovenia but fancy there too. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Austrian Alps, French & Spanish Pyrenees, and the Slovak / Polish Tatras though: all different, all spectacular, and all with their particular attractions and advantages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Governor Tarkin Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 On 16/01/2021 at 16:49, Stokesy said: Base Camp itself is pretty pointless. The hike there and the view from the top of Kala Patthar is brilliant. Kala Patthar as the sun is coming up is spectacular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucky Thompson Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 ITV news are just about to do a report on this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indianajones Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 Fantastic achievement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nucky Thompson Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 I was in the United Kingdom special forces, I was trained by the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Gin Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 I watched an everest climb in VR and that was enough for me. Absolutely mental what people are prepared to go through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graygo Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 On 17/01/2021 at 14:19, Auld Reekin' said: I'd love to do some mountain-trekking - maybe not actually going for any of the major summits as they're pretty serious mountains - in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. Fantastic scenery and fascinating history and culture; the food's supposed to be great too. Don't know if it'll happen mind you: I'm fairly fit and active now but time's galloping-on... I've never been to Slovenia but fancy there too. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Austrian Alps, French & Spanish Pyrenees, and the Slovak / Polish Tatras though: all different, all spectacular, and all with their particular attractions and advantages. I've been in the Slovakian Tatras in winter as a friend of ours comes from there. She took us a long walk up a hillside in deep snow to visit her 92 year old granny who lived in a big guy with no electricity. She kept warm sitting next to the wood fired range and by drinking lots of hooch. It was magical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 (edited) 13 minutes ago, graygo said: I've been in the Slovakian Tatras in winter as a friend of ours comes from there. She took us a long walk up a hillside in deep snow to visit her 92 year old granny who lived in a big guy with no electricity. She kept warm sitting next to the wood fired range and by drinking lots of hooch. It was magical. Fantastic scenery and everything very cheap when I was there. Still bears roaming around the forests too - wolves as well, no doubt. I was also impressed how well marked the trials were, with signposts giving not only distances but also estimated times to destination. The mountain refuges serving hearty grub and tasty local beer were very agreeable too. 🍻 Where were you, out of a matter of interest? We were based in a place called Pod Lesom - between Poprad and Tatranska Lomnica - in the High Tatras. The Low Tatras are also supposed to be great, but didn't make it there. Edited January 18, 2021 by Auld Reekin' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graygo Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Auld Reekin' said: Fantastic scenery and everything very cheap when I was there. Still bears roaming around the forests too - wolves as well, no doubt. I was also impressed how well marked the trials were, with signposts giving not only distances but also estimated times to destination. The mountain refuges serving hearty grub and tasty local beer were very agreeable too. 🍻 Where were you, out of a matter of interest? We were based in a place called Pod Lesom in the High Tatras. The Low Tatras are also supposed to be great, but didn't make it there. Couldn't tell you the name of the village but we flew to Bratislava then got the train North to Žilina then it was a bit of a drive further North, almost into the Czech Republic. There was one of those big feck off ski jump things right outside our hotel. True about the Bears though. 👍 Edited January 18, 2021 by graygo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted January 18, 2021 Share Posted January 18, 2021 15 minutes ago, graygo said: Couldn't tell you the name of the village but we flew to Bratislava then got the train North to Žilina then it was a bit of a drive further North, almost into the Czech Republic. There was one of those big feck off ski jump things right outside our hotel. True about the Bears though. 👍 Ah, OK, just checked on Google Maps and I think it was somewhere in the Low Tatras where you were - a fair bit further west anyway. Sounds great though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graygo Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 On 18/01/2021 at 21:08, Auld Reekin' said: Ah, OK, just checked on Google Maps and I think it was somewhere in the Low Tatras where you were - a fair bit further west anyway. Sounds great though! Weeks later but just found out it was Zázrivá. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 4 minutes ago, graygo said: Weeks later but just found out it was Zázrivá. Googled it and looked at the photos - it looks fantastic there! Nice timelapse video of area here too: https://slovakia.travel/en/zazriva-days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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