Trip Reports

Summer In the Gasherbrums - Our Ascent of G2

Jo and Aga, summit of G2 21 July
Trip Report

Written by Leader Robert Anderson (Robert Anderson), August 2023

Expedition Leader
Robert Mads Anderson


Team Members
Andy
Aga
Jo
Nick
Mingma Dorje Sherpa
Mani Bahadur Tamang


The Approach


We walked up the magnificent Baltoro Glacier to Concordia, under the Trango Towers, traversing the moraines, hopping over the glacial blue rivers, heading for the towering cliffs of Gasherbrum 4 at the head of the valley.


Then we curved left onto the Abruzzi Glacier, went around the corner and onto the South Gasherbrum Glacier - no wonder that the other name for Gasherbrum 1 is Hidden Peak, tucked away as it is in the heart of the
Karakorum.


It was 10 incredible days of walking to Base Camp, with the golden rock of the Trango’s, the black spire of Mitre Peak and the cascading ice off of Masherbrum surrounding us. Along the way, business from afar intruded on
Nick’s climb with us, and after a few days of fine walking, he turned and returned to life in the city. 

When we finally reached Advance Base Camp they were so many Gasherbrums towering overhead it was easy to get confused.


They all rose over 6,800 metres into the sky, with only Gasherbrum 1 and 2, reaching over 8,000 meters, so well known amongst climbers.

And the other 6 Gasherbrums? Nestled between G1 and G2, sits Gasherbrum East, at a respectable 7,722 metres. Gasherbrum 4 towers over Concordia at the confluence of the glaciers, one of the most striking peaks, rising dramatically at the head of the Baltoro Glacier to 7,925 metres.

Then there is the spire of Gasherbrum 3 at 7,925 metres, the pyramids of Gasherbrum 5 (7,147 metres) and 7 (6,894 metres), formed into the cirque above Advance Base Camp, a Camp also shared by those ascending the more popular G1 and G2.


Into this cirque of towering peaks, the equivalent of the Himalayan Hollywood arrived, many fresh out of Nepal. The King of the Mountains, Nims Dai, stomped up the Icefall, with his large entourage of Sherpas and a few select clients, fresh off of nearby Nanga Parbat.

Kristin Harilla swept in, in quick succession, polishing off G2, and then G1, before moving over to Broad Peak and finishing up on K2, in an astounding 92 days.


Denis Ubruko and his wife were seen flitting up and down from Camp 1 to acclimatize before setting off on a new route. And while many others laboured up, the Polish extreme skier Andrzej Bargiel made tracks down between us, floating through Camps with a swish and a turn and the whine of a drone close behind him.


In the summer season, it seems the Karakorum has now become the place to be in the high mountains.


In the midst of this bevy of activity, we settled for one objective, G2.


The Climb


The Icefall leading up from Base Camp is 1,000 vertical metres, a scenic mix of snow, then ice, then crevasses and ice walls, ensuring a memorable journey. With the blazing heat of the sun in the Karakorum summer, a dark
start is essential, following our headlamps, climbing out through the ice and onto the wandering plateau through immense crevasses before reaching Advance Base Camp.


In the early morning darkness, the ice is crisp and pops in the cold, the crevasses are well behaved and a short, fun step of steep ice allows us to test our front points.


There are no ladders, there are no lines, there are some big jumps and some holes that disappear out of sight, with looming blue depths. At the top of the icefall we step out onto the plateau, a weaving, circuitous pathway finishing
in the flats of Advanced Base Camp.


For 11 fast-lived days we will Camp here or above, a short, intense climb, with a day or two off, but otherwise just climbing and climbing, the way we like it.


At 9 a.m. on the way to Advance Base, the sun came along to warm us, rays slanted down between G1 and G2. At 10 a.m. we were baking, at 11 we collapsed in melting heaps, threw sleeping bags over our tents to insulate
from the heat above, peeled off our clothes and go for a siesta. We are but 6, Andy, Aga, Jo and myself, along with our Sherpas Dorji and Mani, a small team, for a not so small mountain.


With our additional team of 6 High Altitude Porters: Ali, Sharif, Delwar, Mehdi, another Mehdi, and Akhbar, we are well equipped to climb high and fast.


Above Advance Base Camp, the Banana Ridge loomed, starting with a mix of icy walls over the bergschrund. We can see the entire route from Advanced Base Camp, weaving up the mountain on the very crest of the ridge, with
tiny orange dots peeking out to show us the way to Camp 2.


After the bergschrund, a short but distinctly tricky overhanging wall, with a crevasse at its base adds a bit of drama, a short climb but with a big hole to fall into.


Then we ascend a twisting, airy ridgeline, climbing a gauntlet of melting ice set atop a boot-wide track with a few 100 metres of drop on either side. It is superb climbing; airy, surrounded by all the Gasherbrums, with the clouds sliding in and off the ridge as we head for the heights.


The ridge takes us into the airy expanse of Camp 2 at 6,000 metres, ten tents perched above the rocky ridge, set below the expansive slopes above. We have opted for the rapid acclimatization plan, aided by a daily check of everyone's pulse and oxygen saturation. Coupled with porridge, soup and a chapati or two and a good night's sleep, we are now ready for the heights.


We retreat to Advance Base on the fading edge of a long weather window that fortunately seems to want to hold out for a few more days. After a day's rest, clouds coming and going, wind rising and falling, we head
back up the Banana Ridge, eager to beat out the approaching storm. The cirque below us opens out, cloud shadows playing out on the glacier that holds Advance Base Camp. Avalanches pour off the sides of all the
Gasherbrums as they heat up each day, at such regular intervals we hardly hear them, incessant roars notwithstanding.


The avalanches fall harmlessly well away from Camps or the route, gracing the peaks with cascades of ice and snow as they billow down the multitude of faces. At Camp 2 Andy opts to retreat, the way ahead looming, moving
back to Advanced Base in support.

The Summit


Camp 3 is dug into the slope leading summitward, little more than a pause in the afternoon, a chance for tea and biccies.

At this altitude, food is not a top priority; stretching out, putting a few warm items in the pack, warming water bottles - then back into the double boots, the crampons - as the sun sets, the wind swirls and off into the night we set, headlamps leading the way. Straight out of Camp we headed up an indistinct ridge, rock cliffs and boulders, over scrabbly rocks, then into the location of an old and rarely used Camp 4 clinging to the side of the mountain.

The weather holds, the stars are out, off to our right another climbing team forms a ghostly line of headlamps as they parallel us up G1, weaving up the face of the cliffs directly across from us. At 7,500, I turn in the dark and
retreat, a less than happy stomach sending me back to earth. For Aga, Jo and Dorji, a long snow traverse leads out to a col, and then it is simply up and up the final 300 metres of vertical, a thin rope taking them up the final steps to the summit ridge of G2.


Sun breaks through and they are above the clouds, sky clear above, the earth obscured below. Aga, Jo and Dorje summit, sneaking through the clouds below and on up to the summit, followed closely by our High Altitude Porters, Ali, Delwar, Mehdi and Akhbar.


Ten hours of fine climbing has put them on top of G2. With building clouds and wind they snap a few photos and head down the mountain.

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