K2 climbers stalled at Camp II amid rockfall and record heat in Pakistan
Rope-fixing operations halted at 6,700m due to continuous hazards, as unstable seracs and rockfall compromise the Abruzzi Spur’s viability for further push.
Climbers attempting to summit K2, the world’s second-highest peak, have been forced to halt their progress at Camp II due to continuous rockfall and soaring temperatures.
Mountaineering teams have now been stuck below 7,000 meters for nearly a month, raising concerns for delay in this year’s summit.
The rope-fixing team—comprising over two dozen experienced Nepali guides from Elite Exped, Seven Summit Treks, and 8K Expeditions—has been unable to push beyond Camp II (6,700m).
“The rope-fixing team has not been able to go beyond Camp II,” Mingma David Sherpa told Everest Chronicle from K2 Base Camp. Sherpa, who arrived on July 4 aiming for his seventh ascent of K2, said persistent rockfall caused by rapid glacial melt has made the route too dangerous to secure.
Elite Exped, the first team to arrive at Base Camp, fixed lines to Camp I by late June, with Seven Summit Treks extending them to Camp II. But progress has stalled in the face of extreme weather.
Gilgit-Baltistan, the mountainous region that includes K2, recorded temperatures of 48.5°C (119.3°F) in early July—the highest since record-keeping began in 1971, the Guardian reported.
The heatwave has dramatically accelerated the melting of glaciers across northern Pakistan. As ice and permafrost recede, previously stable slopes are crumbling, causing rockfall, avalanches, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
According to The Guardian’s reporting, these events have already caused the deaths of at least 72 people since late June and injured more than 130 others, as flash floods and landslides swept through vulnerable communities.
Mountaineers now face not only the physical challenge of the climb but the uncertainty of rapidly changing mountain conditions. Snowfall could add further avalanche danger to an already unstable route.
With the summer summit window narrowing, climbers remain at Base Camp, waiting for conditions to stabilize. “We still have time,” Sherpa said cautiously.
Mingma David holds the record for the most ascents of the world’s deadliest mountain, with six successful climbs. This season, he sets his sights on extending that record even further.
This year’s struggles on K2 echo broader climate patterns in high mountain regions, where warming is happening at twice the global average. What once were frozen, predictable routes are now becoming increasingly volatile—posing risks not just to climbers, but to the millions who live downstream.
