BROAD PEAK WINTER 2008
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THE GEOGRAPHY: Broad Peak is part of the Gasherbrum massif on the border of Pakistan-China. It is located about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from K2. Broad Peak was originally named K3 right after the naming of K2 but on closer inspection by a later party, it was discovered that the summit was over 1½ kilometers (1 mile) long, thus "Broad Peak".
THE HISTORY: In spite of several attempts, none of Pakistan’s 8000ers have been summited in winter. On Broad Peak in Particular, Italian Simone Moro and Pakistani climbers Shaheen Baig and Qudrat Ali have been rejected by loads of snow, bitter cold and bad conditions for the past two years. |
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| Dr. Robert Szymczak has been in expeditions to Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Pakistan. He is a medical doctor specializing in high altitude medicine. He is also a member of the International Society for Mountain Medicine. More... |
2008 marks Don Bowie's 4th season climbing in the Himalayas, with previous expeditions to Broad Peak, Cho Oyu, K2, and the South Face/East Ridge of Annapurna in 2006 and 2008. More... |
Artur Hajzer has summited five eight-thousanders: three of them via new routes. He also achieved the first winter climb on Annapurna. More... |
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Shared Summits Team tops out on “The Savage Mountain” (Karakoram Range, Pakistan: 4:36 pm local time |
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Marylander Chris Warner and teammates Don Bowie of California and Bruce Normand of Scotland reached the summit of K2, the world’s second highest mountain and arguably the hardest one to climb. After seven weeks on “The Savage Mountain” and several earlier failed attempts at reaching her peak, the climbers captured her crown in a grueling assault that took 15 hours to ascend from Camp 4 to the summit at 8,611 meters (28,253 feet). In addition to the punishing winds and sheer exposed faces, the climbers found themselves often breaking trail in waist, and sometimes shoulder, deep snow. Fortunately, in the days leading up to the final summit push, team members from seven countries began working together from Base Camp on up, sharing information and strategies. Over the last three days these members melded their efforts and by 5:00 pm local time twelve expedition members from Russia, Italy, Iran, Portugal, The Czech Republic and Korea joined the Americans to create a unified, multinational team forging through the conditions and summiting within two hours of one another. With every successful summit step, cheers and applause could be heard in team tents throughout the Base Camp Strip. 
(Courtesy Czech BP/K2 Website)
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