UNTOUCHED FOR A DECADE.
THE UNIQUE CHANCE TO
EXPERIENCE AN 8000m
ROUTE IN PRISTINE CONDITION
.
NO ONE HAS CLIMBED K2 FROM THE NORTHERN SIDE FOR A DECADE NOW. THOUGH THE OCCASIONAL TREKKING GROUP HAS BEEN TO SUGHET JANGAL, AND OTHER CLIMBERS HAVE BEEN INTO THE SHAKSGAM VALLEY, THERE’S NO REPORTS OF ANYONE GOING UP THE K2 NORTH GLACIER FOR CLIMBING. LOCAL HERDERS, HUNTERS & PROBABLY MILITARY WILL HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE VALLEYS CLOSE TO K2, ALSO UNINTERESTED IN CLIMBING IT.
IN THAT SAME PERIOD OF TIME THE RIVER VALLEYS ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE EXPERIENCED PERIODS OF MASSIVE FLOODING, BASED ON WATER LEVELS AND DAMAGE FURTHER DOWN STREAM. SATELLITE IMAGES SHOW SMALL CHANGES IN WATER COURSES AND SOME OF THE DAMGE TO, AND REBUILDING OF, SOME ACCESS ROADS USED BY THE BORDER PATROLS.
OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE AREA, CHANGES IN THAT PART OF CHINA HAVE BEEN BIG; BETTER ROADS NOW ACCESS THE FRONTIER VILLAGES, A HALF-GENERATION OF THE FAMILIES THAT LIVE AND WORK OUT THERE HAVE GROWN AND DIVERSIFIED, MILITARY HAS IMPROVED IT’S FOOTPRINT, INDUSTRY LIKE MINING AND FARMING HAS SPRUNG UP. THE FAMILIES OF CAMEL BREEDERS & HERDERS HAVE BEEN BETTER ORGANIZED IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, WITH THE OLD GUARD WHO LEAD THE APPROACHES TO K2 A DECADE AGO NOW DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
ADD ALL THIS UP AND COMBINE IT WITH ADVANCES IN THE CLIMBING WORLD LIKE AND OUR EXPEDITIONS SCHEDULED FOR 21 / 22 WILL BE UNLIKE ANY OF THOSE THAT CAME BEFORE. AWAY FROM THE WORLD OF INDUSTRIAL COMMERCIAL 8000m ASCENTS, 8000m ALPINE EXPEDITIONS HAVE BECOME SIGNIFICANTLY LIGHTER, BETTER EQUIPPED & MORE SUSTAINABLE VERY QUICKLY, AND THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 IS THE IDEAL PLACE TO PLAY THIS OUT.
WE EXPECT VIRTUALLY NO TRACE OF PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS AT SUGHET JANGAL, WHAT LITTLE WAS THERE PREVIOUSLY HAVING BEEN REMOVED BY THE FLOODS & GROWN OVER BY THE RIVERSIDE GREEN FRINGE THAT’S ALSO HOME TO THE AREAS ANIMAL POPULATION. COMBINED WITH OUR PRE-ACCLIMATION SCHEDULE & EVOLVED BASECAMP SET UP, THIS GIVES US THE CHANCE TO REASSESS THE WAY K2 NORTH SIDE EXPEDITION’S LOGISTICALLY RUN, INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF BARELY USING SUGHET JANGAL AT ALL, STREAMLINING THINGS SIGNIFICANTLY.
UP ON THE GLACIER, ACCORDING TO SATELLITE IMAGERY, THE WATER SOURCE AT ADVANCED BASECAMP APPEARS TO INCREASED IN VOLUME. HOW THIS AFFECTS ACCESS TO IT IS HARD TO SAY, BUT IT OPENS UP POTENTIAL FOR USE AS AN ENERGY SOURCE WE ARE EXCITED TO EXPLORE. THE MAIN THING THAT WILL CHANGE FROM OUR TRIPS OUT THERE WILL BE THE SUSTAINABILITY ELEMENT OF OUR PRESENCE, WITH A DECADE OF PORTABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY HAVING BEEN EXPONENTIAL. MUCH LIGHTER & FAR MORE EFFICIENT, WE NOW HAVE BASECAMPS THAT ARE STARTLINGLY MORE LIVABLE & MOVABLE, MEANING WE CAN POSITION OURSELVES MORE EFFECTIVELY FOR THE ASCENT. DUE TO SO LITTLE PREVIOUS ACTIVITY ON THE K2 NORTH GLACIER (AND THE NATURALLY SELF-RECTIFYING NATURE OF THE GLACIAL ENVIRONMENT), THE NORTH SIDE HASN’T BEEN ‘FORMATTED’ LIKE OTHER 8000m AREAS HAVE BEEN, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF SCOPE FOR EMPLOYING NEWER, BETTER STRATEGIES.
OVERALL, THE DECADES-WORTH OF CHANGES TO BOTH THE LOCATION AND EXPEDITION RESOURCES MEANS THE NORTH SIDE OF K2 CAN BE APPROACHED – LITERALLY & METAPHORICALLY – UNIMPEDED WITH THE COMMERCIAL CONSTRAINTS SEEN ELSEWHERE, WHERE EVEN IF BETTER WAYS OF DOING THINGS EXIST THEY ARE CONSTRAINED TO CURRENT NORMS. K2 NORTH SIDE HAS NONE OF THAT, WITH ONLY AN OPEN FUTURE FOR INNOVATION AHEAD.
