German Team Braves 8,035 Meter Gasherbrum II
Seven-thousand four-hundred and fifty-six meters. Ten hours, 41 minutes. Two men. One mountain: Mustagh Ata.
Last summer in China’s Kuen Lun Mountains the German Dynafit-team racers Sebastian Haag and Benedikt Böhm took their desire for skis and speed to the high mountains. The two climbed and skied Mustagh Ata using the same strategy as ski touring racers do in the Alps.
This summer, after success in China, the two took their jones to the Himalayas and the 8,035 meter Gasherbrum II.
“We are the only crazy guys who try the summit with skis and there weren't a lot of people before us doing it,” the team writes on their blog. “But we feel more comfortable on skis than with any other equipment, and for us it is the most elegant way to ascen[d] and descen[d] a mountain.”
On July 25th, working their way toward the summit, the team skied from Camp 3 at 7000 meters to basecamp. Although they roped up twice, the ski time was about 35 or 40 minutes. The team is skiing the specially designed, and aptly named, Dynafit Gasherbrum IIs, which they describe as “exceptionally sexy.”
“It was a great challenge, and we were thrilled when we reached Basecamp,” they write. “It gave a lot of self confidence, and it was simply great fun. We didn't think that it was possible at all to find ways of skiing down the whole route.”
The two summited July 29th and skied 2500 meters from the summit without ropes or unstrapping from their skis, calling it the most technically demanding ski decent they had attempted. They are considering summiting a second time. Check out their progress at: www.dynafit.at
— Aimee Furber |
