K2 WITHOUT
OXYGEN –
HOW HARD
IS IT?
OXYGEN? THAT STUFF STAYS DOWN THE GLACIER AT BROAD PEAK
FZ, 2010
CLIMBING K2 IS ENTIRELY POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE USE OF SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN, AND UNTIL LESS THAN A DECADE AGO THAT WAS THE ACCEPTED WAY TO DO IT. IT MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT EVEN WITH OXYGEN K2 IS NOT AN EASY ASCENT, BUT THE ABSENCE OF OXYGEN ISN’T THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POSSIBLE AND NOT. O-LESS ASCENTS ARE BUILT ON THE TIME-PROVEN PROCESS OF BUILDING A SOLID BASE OF OPTIMAL ACCLIMATION TO THRESHOLD. WHEN DONE PROPERLY ON THE RIGHT ROUTE THIS HAS LOWER RISK, MORE EFFICIENCY & A BETTER STRATEGY THAN A REGULAR COMMERCIAL ASCENT
FOR CLIMBERS COMING UP THROUGH THE RANKS OF COMMERCIAL 8000m PEAKS THE IDEA OF CLIMBING WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN CAN SEEM UNREALISTIC. OXYGEN IS USUALLY AN EMBEDDED PART OF THE SYSTEM JUST LIKE FIXED ROPES, VE25 TENTS & CONNECT FOUR. ON TRIPS LIKE THAT THE ENTIRE SCHEDULE IS ARRANGED AROUND MOVING BOTTLES UP THE ROUTE, AND THE SAFETY OF CLIMBERS RESTS ON NOT BEING LEFT UNEXPECTEDLY WITHOUT OXYGEN. THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT TRIP TO ONE THAT DOESN’T USE OXYGEN.
‘O-LESS’ ASCENTS – AS ALL OUR PREVIOUS 8000m TRIPS HAVE BEEN – ARE ORCHESTRATED VERY DIFFERENTLY, AND WHEN DONE RIGHT HAVE GOOD CHANCES FOR SUCCESSFUL SUMMITS AS HAS BEEN SHOWN IN HUNDREDS OF O-LESS ASCENTS OVER DECADES. O-LESS ASCENTS HAVE DIFFERENT ITINERARIES, SPENDING TIME DIFFERENTLY, AND HAVE DIFFERENT AIMS TO ASCENTS WITH OXYGEN. USUALLY THEY ARE MUCH SIMPLER, AND ALWAYS THEY HAVE A MUCH SMALLER FOOTPRINT ON THE MOUNTAIN (ESPECIALLY THE HIGHLY COMMERCIAL ASSISTED ASCENTS COMMONLY SEEN).
TO CLIMBERS WHO HAVE COME FROM THE ALPINE TRADITION, WORKING THEIR WAY UP THROUGH 6000m & 7000m ASCENTS, CLIMBING WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTAL OXYGEN IS A NATURAL EXTENSION, HAVING SEEN THE WAY THINGS WORK UP HIGH. CLIMBING O-LESS IS ENTIRELY CENTERED ON PERSONAL FEEDBACK, RATHER THAN MECHANICAL LIMITATIONS, WITH THE DIFFICULTIES AROUND O-LESS BEING AS MUCH ABOUT PATIENCE AS ABOUT ARDOUR. O-LESS ASCENT SCHEDULES ARE MORE ‘BOTTOM HEAVY’ AS THEY REQUIRE A GREATER DEGREE OF ACCLIMATION STACKED HIGHER UP THE MOUNTAIN, BUT THEY MAKE UP FOR TIME & ENERGY SPENT ON THAT BY ALLOWING FOR MUCH MORE EFFICIENT MOVEMENT UP & DOWN THE ROUTE – AN O-LESS CLIMBER DOESN’T CARRY THE WEIGHT OF THE OXYGEN SET, DOESN’T PLAN AROUND BOTTLE DEPOSITS & DOESN’T RELY ON ASSISTED CARRIES TO PLOT THEIR PROGRESS.
THE USUAL WAY AN O-LESS ASCENT OF AN 8000m PEAK WORKS IS USING A STRATEGY THAT BUILTS A BIGGER ‘ACCLIMATION BASE’ WHICH CAN THEN BE RAISED TO A HIGHER ‘OPTIMAL THRESHOLD’ THAT LETS THE O-LESS CLIMBER THEN LAUNCH FOR THE SUMMIT LIGHTER, FASTER & LESS ENCUMBERED. BECAUSE THEY ARE GENUINELY ACCLIMATED, ABOVE THE ALTITUDE WHERE AN OXYGEN-USING CLIMBER HAS STARTED TO USE THEIR SUPPLY, THE O-LESS CLIMBER CAN MOVE MORE FREELY ACCORDING TO THEIR CONDITION, SOMETHING ENHANCED BY NOT HAVING THE WEIGHT & MANAGEMENT OF AN O-SET NEEDING TO CONFORM TO MATCHING FLOW-RATES WITH SUPPLY LOGISTICS. TIME ADDED ON THE LOWER HALF OF THE MOUNTAIN SPENT BUILDING THEIR BASE (WHILST O-USING CLIMBERS FAST TRACK TO THE POINT WHERE THEY START USING THEIR SUPPLY) TURNS INTO EFFICIENCY HIGHER UP WHERE THEY CAN MOVE AS NEEDED.
WHY DON’T MORE PEOPLE GO WITHOUT OXYGEN?
ONCE A ROUTE BECOMES COMMERCIALIZED FOR OXYGEN USE IT’S HARD TO WORK AN ASCENT WITHOUT INTO IT, AND SOMEWHERE LIKE EVEREST WHERE THERE ARE LONG DELAYS UP HIGH O-LESS ASCENTS COULD HAVE SERIOUS PROBLEMS. COMMERCIAL ROUTES ARE RIGGED, STAFFED & SCHEDULED FOR THE CARRYING OF BOTTLES & PROGRESS OF CLIMBERS REQUIRING RESUPPLY. CAMPS ARE SET UP SO BOTTLES CAN BE DEPOSITIED & CLIMBERS CAN REST AT CERTAIN FLOW RATES, AND HIGH ALTITUDE PORTERS ARE ORGANIZED AROUND PROVIDING TO THIS – THE PRESENCE OF A CLIMBER WITHOUT OXYGEN UPSETS THE EQUATION BECAUSE THEY USE A MORE ORGANIC RATE OF PROGRESS.
AWAY FROM HIGHLY COMMERCIAL ROUTES (AND ON ALL OF K2 BEFORE ABOUT 2012) O-LESS WAS CONSIDERED NORMAL BECAUSE THE ABSENCE OF THE COMMERCIAL SET-UP SEEN TODAY MADE IT EASY. EVEN POPULAR KARAKORUM PEAKS LIKE BROAD PEAK & GII WERE CONSIDERED NORMAL WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN, WITH O-USERS OFTEN IN THE MINORITY. CLIMBERS SIMPLY ASCENDED BY MONITORING THEIR CONDITION – USUALLY BY SIMPLE ANALOG MEANS – AND ASCENDED WITHIN A MARGIN OF SAFETY. OVERALL THIS CONSIDERABLY REDUCES RISK BECAUSE THERE IS NO CHANCE OF THE CLIMBER HAVING TO CRUNCH PROGRESS TO MEET THEIR OXYGEN NEEDS, AND NO CHANCE OF THEM BEING CAUGHT OUT TOO FAR ABOVE THEIR ACCLIMATED THRESHOLD.
CLIMBING WITHOUT OXYGEN REQUIRES A MORE CONSERVATIVE APPROACH, BUT ON AN INFREQUENTLY CLIMBED ROUTE LIKE THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2 IS PROVENLY DOABLE BECAUSE THE STRATEGY IS SET TO ALLOW FOR IT. PERHAPS SURPRISINGLY, O-LESS ASCENTS ON LESS-COMMERCIAL ROUTES DON’T TAKE ANY LONGER THAN ASCENTS USING OXYGEN DO, WITH SOME STAGES ACTUALLY BEING FASTER BECAUSE THEY ARE FREED OF THE PRE-SET TIMELINES USING OXYGEN DICTATES.
DOES PRE-ACCLIMATION HELP WITH O-LESS ASCENTS?
GENUINE PRE-ACCLIMATION ON EASIER, LOWER PEAKS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HELP FOR DECADES. WE WON’T SPEAK FOR ARTIFICAL ‘PRE-ACCLIMATION’ THAT ONLY SEEMS TO APPLY FOR THE APPROACH PHASE OF AN EXPEDITION, BUT HAVING DONE GENUINE PRE-ACC TRIPS OURSELVES CAN CONFIRM THE EFFICACY.
BASICALLY ON-MOUNTAIN PRE-ACCLIMATION HELPS BY OPTIMIZING THE ‘BASE OF THE PYRAMID’ PHASE THE REST OF YOUR ACCLIMATION IS STAGED OFF. RATHER THAN CLIMBING THE LOWER HALF OF THE OBJECTIVE ROUTE (5500 – 7000m) ON MINIMAL ACCLIMATION, PRE-ACCLIMATION HAS YOU CLIMBING WITH SOMEWHERE WELL TOWARDS YOUR OPTIMAL CAPACITY. THE CLIMBER WHO SHOWS UP WITH A GOOD DEGREE OF PRE-ACCLIMATION AND RECOVERY CAN GO EFFICIENTLY TO ABOVE 6500m RELATIVELY SWIFTLY, STAYING UP THERE AND FURTHER ENHANCING THEIR UPPER ALTITUDE THRESHOLD AND PREPARING FOR THE UPPER HALF OF THE ASCENT, WHICH WITHOUT HAVING TO WORK AROUND AN OXYGEN STRATEGY WILL BE MORE EFFICIENT AND POTENTIALLY FASTER.
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OVERALL THE NORTH RIDGE OF K2 IS WELL SUITED TO O-LESS ASCENTS BECAUSE IT’S DIRECT LINE MAKES FOR EFFICIENT PROGRESS, THE ABSENCE OF OTHER CLIMBERS NEGATES ANY WAITING ON ROUTE & THE INHERENT PACE OF A STEEP, UNCOMMERCIALIZED ROUTE MAKES FOR GOOD ACCLIMATION SCHEDULES. COMPARED TO A WANDERING, BUSY ROUTE ORGANIZED AROUND SUPPLYING OXYGEN TO IT, THE CHINESE SIDE OF K2 IS A GOOD PLACE TO MAKE THE CHANGE TO O-LESS CLIMBING.
