50 years after – or the difference between Broad Peak’s secondary and main summit

Tired but happy, we’re now back at the Broad Peak Base Camp. At noon, Thursday, July 12, we had been standing on the same spot reached by the first to climb the peak. It had been their second attempt, nearly 50 years and one month ago to the day:

The Austrian team of Buhl, Diemberger, Schmuck and Wintersteller initially reached the secondary summit – some 20 meters lower than the main summit – towards the end of May 1957. Standing there, they saw that an even higher summit capped the end of the smoothly ascending summit ridge - Broad Peak's main summit – but they realized that the day was too short to reach it. The descended to Base Camp, rested for a few days, and then once again tackled the arduous, protracted route climbing some 3,000 meters to the secondary summit, reaching it on June 9. This time they managed to conquer the broad, additional climb to the summit.

Although our main priority was the acclimatization for K2, we also definitely wanted to reach the highest point on Broad Peak. I had already got as far as the secondary summit in 1994, but then the weather had completely closed in. I hadn’t realized at the time quite how different the main summit is from the secondary summit. The single fact that most of the Broad Peak is yet to come even after reaching the secondary summit fills one with respect for the first ascenders and their magnificent achievements for the time.

We started our ascent at 01:30 last Tuesday, July 10, after being given a hearty send-off by our little kitchen team and the liaison officer. Of the numerous groups at Base Camp we were the first out, and were therefore able to enjoy the ascent at first light to Camp II without ice or rock debris. We set up a second platform for David and Daniel’s tent and then were able to use the rest of the day to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Up again early the next morning, and again blazing the trail, we ascended in the direction of Camp III. Our early start was rewarded with fantastic views over Concordia towards where the Baltoro and Vigne glaciers come together, forming a sea of peaks. We found a safe site in the shadow of a vertical ice wall about 150 meters above the usual Camp III site, thus ensuring we’d already put 150 meters of altitude behind us and also got a feeling for the climb.

At 00:00 my watch alarm started beeping determinedly, and at 02:00 we were already on our way to the summit. We weren’t alone, however: a whole troop of other mountaineers had already made the ascent to our campsite and were continuing their ascent in the light of their head lamps. As the ascent started to steepen at the saddle between the north and south summits, I took over tracking with David for one-and-a-half hours. Towards the end, Ralf was also able to contribute to the laborious tracking, even though he had had digestion trouble in the early hours of the morning. Just after 08:00 we were on the saddle, where we were finally greeted by the rising sun.
The rest of the ascent made for a change of scenery, leading over the partially-exposed north ridge. Short passages of climbing alternated with chambered slopes, with one last chamber leading directly up to the secondary summit.

The numerous mountaineers who hadn’t turned round much earlier while on the saddle then made this historically-significant point the turning point for their descent. Only very few made the initial climb to the small col between the main and secondary summit, in order to then resume the ascent to the highest point – over half an hour away, along an entirely corniced ridge. I hadn’t realized that the main summit would be so far away! Yet it heightened the pleasure we all felt when we stood, in an icy wind, on the very highest spot. The only peak now towering above us was the neighboring K2.
We had seldom enjoyed such incredible visibility from the summit of an 8,000er.
Silvio Mondinelli was there with us at the same time, now on his 14th 8,000er, and the Spaniard Edurne Pasaban was also on the summit of Broad Peak with her team at the same time.

We had already decided before that we would further acclimatize ourselves for K2 by spending another night at Camp III after reaching the summit. As a result, we were able to stay on the summit for over an hour, with David being inspired to do a spot of filming, despite the icy wind!

After a descent lasting about three-and-a-half hours, we once again reached our little tents at around 7,200 m. Daniel, who had now reached the secondary summit, was already waiting for us with melted ice-water.
Next morning we made the descent to Base Camp, accompanied by a severe storm with occasionally heavy snowfall. Hunger and thirst drove us onwards, in the hope of a festive meal prepared by our cook, Ghassan Khan.

Our ascent to Broad Peak was for me the perfect 8,000er ascent, where there was a lack of prior acclimatization: first ascent to 6,000 meters, spend two nights acclimatizing there, and then the second ascent goes from base camp to summit in one climb.
Everything worked out well, and the attrition in terms of strength for a second summit ascent was bearable. We now feel ourselves to be ideally prepared and acclimatized for our K2 ascent.

After three days at Base Camp we have really recovered well. It’s planned that we will set up our base camp at the foot of K2 on July 17 – which is something that we are already greatly looking forward to.
At the moment one snow storm follows another, although   the weather service has promised sun and hopefully less wind from the middle of next week.

I’ll report again from the K2 Base Camp – until then, my warmest regards to you all!

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner