High-Altitude Gene-2. K2 expedition. 2023

The expedition team of the 7 Summits Club on K2 spent the night in Camp-2 at an altitude of 6560 meters. Starting early in the morning, all participants went down to the base camp by 13 o'clock. At this point, the acclimatization rotations are completed, the team will wait for a favorable weather period to storm the summit.

Alexander Abramov: Mount K2 is exhaustingly difficult and heavy. It seems there are no direct difficulties, but the whole day the climb is at 45 degrees and the relief is mixed. Snow, rocks and ice at an altitude above 7000 m.  In the photo, Camp 1 is perched on a rocky ledge. All night there's ice flying from above, well not rocks. Stones were flying on the ice that year.

On July 13, at 5 a.m., the group of the 7 Summits Club "GenKa2" left the base camp. After 2 hours we came to the ABC camp.  Then, at 8 o'clock, we started climbing and at 12:30 we reached Camp-1 at an altitude of 6100.  The weather was sunny, but there was a strong wind.

 After the rest, on July 14, the group continued climbing at 8 a.m. and by 12 o'clock reached Camp-2 at an altitude of 6550-6600 meters.  Everything is going great so far. Tomorrow, a small ascent up, presumably to the end of fixed ropes and descent to the base camp. And then there will be preparation for the assault on the summit.

Camp 1

We drink teas with sherpas in C2 for 6600. 

The participants of the expedition of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club on K2 went out early this morning for the next, according to the plan, final acclimatization rotation. The whole team safely ascended to Camp-1 at an altitude of 5500 meters.  Everyone feels good. The combined team of the best Sherpas continues to equip the route. Tomorrow our group goes up to Camp-2, where it will spend the night and on July 15 everyone should go down to the base camp.

Kristina Kozlova: We didn't sleep all night today. There was a strong squally wind, even the toilet was blown away. But this did not change our plans, and early in the morning the team went to the last acclimatization rotation!

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 11th. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today was an eventful day.  First, finally, the weather has improved. The sun came out (although it was snowing all night, which was not in the forecast).

Secondly, we held a meeting of the leaders of all the expeditions to K2 about the joint hanging of the fixed ropes. We agreed to join our efforts. So according to the general plan, a joint team of route workers will start above Camp 2 on July 14.

Thirdly, our first group of trekkers arrived in the evening. We thought they would be completely exhausted after so many transitions in the rain and snow. And they turned out to be cheerful. We arranged a joint buffet and dancing. Many were previously familiar with joint expeditions. And some people have just met. Uncle Vitya (Viktor Volodin) brought a rare copy of moonshine of his own production. Dasha brought us the most long-awaited - coffee and a little tequila.

Tomorrow we go up  for three nights. Trekkers will most likely go towards the Gondogora La pass in the hope that it will be opened (the weather has improved after all).

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 10th. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!  The weather has improved slightly today. But clouds and gusty winds still prevail. K2 in the clouds in the morning. After breakfast, we rearranged the tents after the snowfall and attended a puja at Gareth Madison. Then we had a bath day

We had burgers for lunch. Last night they brought two beautiful bulls.... Today, as a women's team under the leadership of Kristina, we cooked a great dinner - soup with meat, Potato Crumbs with minced meat and Greek salad.

It is unclear whether it will be possible to get out tomorrow - the weather is still very unstable and the slopes are avalanche-prone…

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 8. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altittude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Happy holiday to all - the day of family, love and fidelity! We continue to have the heaviest snowfalls. Today the snow is even stronger than yesterday. And continues to sweep.

For breakfast, to somehow cheer up, I took out  the last pack of coffee. This is a big deficit in Pakistan. We drank in the morning and cheered up. We hope that in a couple of days our trekking group led by Vitya Volodin and Dasha Sivova will come to us and bring us coffee. We are very worried about the friends - since we have such severe snowfalls here, they should now be heavily watered with rain at the crossings, plus the rivers could overflow their banks… But, hopefully, they will be able to get to us.

We were informed today that the Gondogoro La Pass has been closed for about a week. And there are a lot of groups in Concordia waiting for it to be opened. We hope that in a couple of days the snowfall will stop.

Today, after breakfast, our doctor Andrey Selivanov (he is also an instructor-guide) conducted rescue work classes in the mountains with improvised means. Very informative, interesting and useful. We also remembered some of the nodes and beat the situation, what to do in case of loss of equipment when moving along the fixed ropes.

There was a rumor that our tents in Camp 1 were blown away by the wind... Eh, the weather would have been nice sooner. Then we will go up to the upper camps and restore order.

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 7. All salams from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today was Groundhog Day. It snowed all night again and continued to fall all day. In the morning after breakfast we sat and composed poems about our base camp. For lunch, our chefs pleased us with pizza and PAKORA, a national Pakistani dish of potatoes, boiled eggs and onions.

After lunch, a quiet hour was arranged. And before dinner, guests came to us - Garrett Madison (the leader of Madison Expedition), two Frenchmen from Broad Peak (one of them has already climbed to almost 8000 on Broad - there are no fixed ropes yet) and our friend, who is now going to K2 with Nims. There is nothing special - very heavy snowfalls - it is impossible to go anywhere. So they go to visit each other.

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 6. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!

Yesterday we came very tired after going to C1, so we slept without hind legs. Woke up covered with snow, barely dug out. The snow continued until lunch. Then it stopped a little and avalanches began to descend from K2 and Broad Peak. In the half hour that the snow stopped, the most hardened managed to wash in the shower.

In the morning, before breakfast, Kotlyar and I did exercises and brewed the last half-pack of coffee - we have to pamper ourselves with something. We enjoyed a cup of coffee with croissants. Instead of French croissants, we have Pakistani azoki.

Before lunch, we gave interviews on the results of yesterday's release. The RD studio team does not let you relax - they constantly take everything off. Today, even my morning yoga was filmed with a hidden camera. They also plan to take pictures of what each participant does in his free time in his tent. And how Louis (a high-altitude operator) draws pictures at an altitude of 5000.  By the way, Louis is not only an operator, but also a cool climber. He climbed K2 and other 8000. He worked a lot with Carlos Soria as a partner and high-altitude operator.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 4 and 5th. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Yesterday we went to acclimatization in ABC. We walked briskly through the icefall 2 hours from Base camp. We ate and went to bed early.

It started snowing immediately in the evening. By midnight, we were specifically swept up. At 3 we woke up, had breakfast and at 4 in the morning went up in a complete blizzard. With each rope, the slope increased. I had to trail - 10-15 cm of fresh snow fell. Small avalanches were coming down the slope. After 8 a.m. we got out to Camp 1 at an altitude of 6100. There are 6-7 tents stuck here with difficulty. The wind increased almost to a hurricane. So we gratefully stumbled into the empty tents that the Sherpas allowed us to enter. We sat for half an hour, drank tea. We discussed the further ascent to Camp 2. To which our Sherpas shouted with one voice that it was extremely dangerous and it was necessary to go down while the force and the weather allowed.

As a result, we were dumped down into the ABC and then into the Base Camp. The snow never stopped. More precisely, it ended only on the approaches to the base. Here a snowman named Genka was waiting for us for lunch, carefully sculpted by our film crew to our delight.

Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we rest.

Photos by Arno Ter-Saakov

Today, the team of the 7 Summits Club GenKa2 in full force climbed to the ABC camp (altitude -5300 m). They will spend the night there.  Everything is fine, everyone feels good.

Tomorrow all participants, together with the Sherpas, will move up early in the morning. And at 12:00 they will begin the descent, each from the height that he will take.

Photos by RD Studio (from puja):

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

 3 July. Salam to all from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gen - 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today we had a puja - the consecration of the base  camp and the expedition. We held a joint puja with our friends from the 8K company. A stupa with decorations stood directly opposite K2, which was almost completely opened at that time. At the end of the ceremony, we were tied with kats - white scarves, and Abramov, as the leader, was solemnly put on a Pakistani hat on his head. And they gave us something that almost all the participants of the expedition dreamed about, something that is not in Pakistan, but we really want it in the mountains and in the heat - consecrated beer!!!

After the puja, the film crew and I went to our kitchen to prepare a festive dinner. Kristina made cod liver salad, Ivan made mayonnaise, and I made borscht. The dinner turned out to be quite festive - we also added puja beer and dried fish brought from Russia to the table.

Tomorrow we go up for a rotation with an overnight stay. According to the plan - overnight in ABC (5300m), and then ascent to C1 (5500m) and above, then descent to the base camp.

Fotos of Arno Ter-Saakov

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

July 2. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today, the most conscious participants of our expedition did exercises in the morning, and the film crew recorded all this. It should be noted that sometimes operators break into tents early in the morning and take pictures of how the morning of climbers passes at an altitude of 5000 (okay, not quite like that - they usually knock:)

After breakfast, we all went to ice classes - we refreshed the technique of movement on fixed ropes and descents. Even the operators finally decided to get through! Sasha Kubasov has done this before on Everest, but it was Ivan Vasiliev's debut. And he did a great job.

Before the start of classes, the President of the FAR of Moscow Dmitry Moskalev gave a lecture on the correct technique of movement on fixed ropes. Then the practice began.

Everyone climbed so intensely that at the end of the lessons Sergey Bogomolov's crampons broke down. It's good that there are spare ones. By the way, Sergey is very popular here. Participants from other expeditions approach him and ask for a joint photo.  They ask with a gasp: "Are you the same Russian who has one eight-thousander left to 14?". In the evenings, our entire team gathers around Sergei and enjoys listening to his stories about various cases in the mountains from his extensive biography.

The second most popular in BC K2 is our doctor. Participants from other expeditions began to come to him. After all, Andrei Selivanov is the only doctor in the entire base camp. Today, our entire team was happy to eat what grateful patients brought to the doc. We realized that if anything happens, the doc will feed us!

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!

 Morning exercise, breakfast at 7 o'clock. And at 8.30 we went to acclimatization in ABC (altitude 5300). The weather has worsened. The icefall took place in a blizzard. But when we came out to ABC, the sun also came out. We were already descending in good weather. There was a pleasant surprise waiting for us at the camp - even a few: first compote, and then pizza and a salad of fresh vegetables. And for a snack - dried roach. Here you begin to appreciate the little things. During the day, avalanches were rumbling coming from Broad Peak.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

June 30. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 “High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today we finally got enough sleep! Firstly, we slept on beds with blankets. Secondly, breakfast was already at 8.00 and there was no need to pack! After breakfast, we had a shower. And after lunch - an afternoon nap.

Tomorrow we make the first acclimatization rotation - to ABC at 5300 and return to BC.

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

 June 29. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today is a significant day - we finally came to the K2 Base Camp!!!

It was snowing and raining all night at Camp Concordia. We also went out in the snow. On the road alternately - then snow, then rain, then a little sun. On the approaches to the BC, the majestic K2 finally emerged from the clouds. However, not for long. But it impressed us very much.

By lunchtime we came to the place of BC. We put on a team uniform, raised the flag and solemnly entered the camp. Here we were joyfully greeted by a team of our Sherpas led by Alex Abramov.We comfortably accommodated in single tents with beds (!). Had lunch. Now we rest. Snowfall is forecast for the next 2-3 days. We will rest and acclimatize at the Base Camp.

The heads of the expedition to K2 Alex Abramov and Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Fotos by Arno Ter Saakovs

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

June 28.  All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2!  Today we spent the first night on the glacier in the Goro-2 camp at an altitude of 4200. It was cold. But the first time we got enough sleep - breakfast was scheduled as early as 7.30. Woke up, opened the tents and gasped - such beauty around: K1 or Masherbrum, just a little short of 8000 - few people have been to its top; Muztag Tower Summits, ahead of the gorge - the Steep pyramid of Gasherbrum IV, on the edges of the two-horned Mitre and Marble Peak…

The trek to the Concordia camp today was quite simple - we reached it in 5 hours. Here Broad Peak has already opened in all its glory. But K2 is still hiding in the clouds.

Tomorrow we go to base camp K2.

I want to mention the friends from the RD studio team. They not only keep up with the whole group -  but also manage to shoot on the road, running ahead of the group. And after coming to the camp, when everyone is resting, they work - they shoot interviews.

The head of the expedition to K2 Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Wow, what a day we had today - tin!!!  We got up before 4 am. We had breakfast at 4.30 and left at 5. An hour later we reached the famous Baltoro glacier and started moving along it. From the good - these are stunning views, especially of the Trango Towers. And again Broad Peak flashed in the distance. From not very good - we walked almost 10 hours to the Urdukas camp. It's hot again, but the clouds have already started to come and even a little rain has fallen.

The biggest impression of the day is crossing the river. Barefoot, almost waist-deep in icy water - almost frostbitten our feet. But everyone is alive and well. Although one of the participants received a minor knee injury - a few scratches - Andrey quickly healed.

By the way, our doctor Andrey is in great demand - especially among local guys. Yesterday, a delegation of 15 porters came to him - everyone asked them to be treated. Andrey is kind - he does not refuse anyone.

The walk will be easier tomorrow. We'll rest there.

From the messages of Alexander Abramov, the head of the expedition of the 7 Summits Club and the 8000 Club on K2:

Over the weekend, we (Alex Abramov, a team of Sherpas and Pakistani high-altitude guides-porters) reached the camp Goro-2, 4250m. The weather was great. There was almost no mobile connection, so we communicate with the office by satellite. Yesterday we moved to Camp Concordia, and today we have already approached the Base Camp. And we will start building our camp soon.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

June 25. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition on K2 "High-Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! Today we got up with the roosters again - at 4.30. We had breakfast at 5 in the morning. And we decided to "cheat" a little - we drove up 5 km by car. The remaining 15 honestly walked. Again in the heat, but the places are beautiful - along the river along the sand at first, then along the rocky paths. We saw Broad Peak and K2 in the distance. By lunchtime we reached the Paiju camp at 3400 in a small green grove - hooray - shade!!   Tomorrow will be the longest part of our trekking.

Guide and director of the 7 Summits Club Lyudmila Korobeshko reports from Pakistan:

 June 24. All salaam from Pakistan from the participants of the expedition to K2 "High Altitude Gene 2" or briefly GenKa2! We got up early today - at 4.30, because at 5.30 we already had breakfast, and at 6.00 we went out on the trail to K2! In 3 hours we reached the green oasis - Korofon camp along a wide rocky gorge. They had lunch there. Then we continued on our way to the final goal of our today's transition - the Jola camp (3200).

We found ourselves in the camp at noon - the heat is terrible. So we hide in tents until the evening. And the bravest swim in the mountain river Braldu, near which our camp is located.

Tomorrow we have an even longer trek - about 20km to the Paju camp - it's about 7-8 hours on rocky trails and with crossings over numerous rivers.

The head of the expedition to K2 Lyudmila Korobeshko and the expedition doctor Andrey Selivanov are in touch.