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... | ||
| The Junk Show… |
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Many people have recently contacted me with inquiries about the food and gear I use on expeditions, with questions like; “What is your sleeping bag rated at?”, and “What do you eat up there?”, and “How do you guys take a …?” (You get it.) In truth, expeditions to big mountains like K2 are gear intensive, but so are many weekend adventures here in North America. Combine that with the mountaineer’s propensity to curate gear like the Vatican does artifact, and closets like mine turn into a veritable junk show.
When considering gear, equipment, and the staples of any climbing endeavor, caution must be observed to not let our “things” replace our “abilities”, elevating confidence by what we have, rather than who we are. Smart marketing campaigns often prey upon this tendency, promulgating that if we simply purchase the latest gadget or gnaw the latest lockjaw energy bar, we can conquer anything. Even the crisp, wilderness air cannot escape the flatulence of consumerism. However, having pardoned ourselves from the aforementioned al fresco faux pas, mountaineering and climbing are genuinely safer and easier due to advances in food and gear technology. When correctly matched with our limitations, these advances unquestionably extend the limits of what is possible. I couldn’t imagine wearing wool knickers and pith helmets like Mallory and Irvine did on Everest, or to sleep in a 10 pound felt sleeping bag like Buhl on Nanga Parbat. (Although, The Duke of Abruzzi’s four-poster wooden bed does sounds comfy cool.) Over the next few months I will periodically post gear reviews for things like mountain food, down products, tents, and technical equipment, pillaged from my own personal gear stash. Ergo, I introduce the Gear/Nutrition page on my website, in full knowledge that anyone who knows me knows that the word “nutrition” and myself rarely collide in the same sentence. Nonetheless, I now share with you the stuff I like to use, why I use it, and where to get it. Alas, welcome to my own personal junk show: Gear Reviews Brought to you in part by:
 
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