Australian mountaineer Allie Pepper is attempting to climb the world’s 14 highest peaks without supplemental oxygen in record time. With Broad Peak (8051m), Manaslu (8163m), Annapurna 1 (8091m) and Makalu (8485m) checked off, she and partner Mikel Sherpa headed to K2 in late July – returning just in time to send us an update before VL. went to press!
On July 1st, Mikel and I flew to Islamabad, then to Skardu the next morning. The next day, a five-hour drive took us to the remote village of Askole, which marks the start of the hike to K2 base camp. The trek alone is an adventure of epic proportions. Along the way you can see Broad Peak and K2 on the Godwin Austin Glacier.
When we arrived at base camp, I had some catching up to do to prepare for the summit assault as I was no longer acclimatized since Makalu. The weather was also not good and the ropes were not yet fixed until camp 3.
Mikel and I planned to hike up the mountain to sleep at Camp 3 one night before our summit attempt. However, K2 had other plans for us. As we started climbing, the wind became extremely windy and we were forced to spend the night at Camp 1, hoping the wind would die down. One night turned into three nights at 6,090 meters. The wind didn’t die down, but we still decided to go up to Camp 2, which was cold and difficult given the conditions. Unfortunately, the wind did not calm down. After two nights at 6,650 meters at Camp 2, the forecast only got worse, so we decided to head back down. Leaving the camp, I could barely walk, with winds of 80 to 100 km/hour. This first rotation was not ideal for climbing to 8,611 meters without oxygen.
The jet stream continued to hang around the mountain for the next week. Finally, we got news of a weather window around July 27-29. It was time to head back up the mountain. We left a day earlier than most people because I didn’t want to go straight to Camp 2 in one day.
On the 24th, Mikel and I went up to camp 1; it lasted seven and a half hours. It was still windy, but the forecast was that it would start to die down the next day. On the 26th we left for Camp 3 around 7:30 a.m. The route to Camp 3 is very steep and technical, including a vertical cliff called the Black Pyramid. It was a long day.
We planned to leave for the summit the next evening, the 27th. However, just as we were getting ready, we learned that the ropes were only attached at the bottleneck, around 8,200 meters. We chose to wait another day; I wasn’t using oxygen and didn’t want to wait until the rope was attached at 8,000+ feet because I knew I would be too cold. We had another rest day at Camp 3 which I thought would help with my acclimatization. In hindsight, we should have set up camp 4 that morning, a few hundred meters higher.
That evening, the 28th, at 5:55 p.m. sharp, I left the camp to head towards the summit. Mikel would follow me. I climbed for a few hours alone, in front of everyone, until it caught up with me below camp 4. Until then we were out of the wind, but as I climbed a vertical section all the way to camp, the wind hit me once. Again. It was draining my energy trying to keep warm. I continued while Mikel stopped at camp to rest. Then I stopped to adjust my buff. For maybe two minutes I took my gloves off to fix the problem. This was a huge mistake as my fingers were completely numb. Mikel caught up with me and I couldn’t speak. He had my mittens in his bag and I needed them. He helped me put them on, there were a lot of tears when I received the Screaming Barbies. After about 30 minutes I could feel my fingers again and luckily I suffered no long term injuries from this short incident.
At 10:08 a.m., past the bottleneck, just below where John Snorri’s body lay, I stopped. It was in the middle of a wall of ice at 8,320 meters above sea level. I was going too slowly. We had asked the climbers returning from the summit how far away we were. They were all using oxygen and said about three hours. I knew that at this altitude, without oxygen, it would take me more than double that time, meaning I wouldn’t reach the summit until 4 p.m.
This was neither acceptable nor conducive to survival on K2. I knew 100 percent that I wasn’t capable of climbing any faster; in fact, the higher I went, the slower I went. I had to decide. I knew I wouldn’t be able to reach the summit without using oxygen in time and getting back down safely. Usually in this situation I would just turn around and go back downstairs. However, we were only 300 meters above sea level from the summit. Mikel had come all this way alongside me and he too was going to have to turn around and go down. He carried a spare emergency oxygen tank for me, as well as the one he used from camp.
I realized I wanted us to be at the top together. The weather was magnificent, there was no wind. I should come back anyway, so why not do the summit now and later without oxygen?
I told Mikel that I would use the spare oxygen tank to reach the summit. He was very happy because he didn’t want to turn back, but he also didn’t want me to continue climbing without oxygen. Once I got the oxygen mask on, I was able to continue at a solid, steady pace. I was already exhausted, so it didn’t work like magic, but it helped a lot. After four hours we reached the summit. It was so hot that I remember thinking it would be possible to stand at the top in just a swimsuit. I’ve never experienced this on an 8000 before. With clear skies and 360 degree views, it was the kind of summit you dream of. ,
The descent went as expected: difficult and painful. We came across many climbers who were exhausted and in difficulty. Somehow, luckily, we all made it back to camp that evening. Mikel and I arrived at the tent at 8 p.m., about 26 hours after I left the day before. I was so grateful to be alive, to be able to stop walking and rappelling, and to finally let my body fall asleep.
The next day was beyond epic, the descent from camp 3 to base camp took around 11 hours. There was strong wind, a lot of waiting at rappels, falling rocks and rocks, avalanches and waterfalls where previously there had been snow slopes. I thought we would never come back. Then two days later there was the hike. More rock and rock falls, an avalanche, a horse ride, a bridge destroyed by a flooded river and having to cross sit in a wooden box attached to a cable.
Am I disappointed that I didn’t reach my K2 summit goal without oxygen? I am lucky to survive and grateful to have made the decisions that led to the success of the summit. I’m grateful that I didn’t put anyone else’s life in danger, including my partner Mikel, because of my decisions. I have many lessons to learn for my next climb on K2. It would be a lie to say that no part of me is disappointed, but more than anything, I am proud.