Winter Climbs 2013: Broad Peak Summit Push Underway!

This past weekend was a tense one in Base Camp on Broad Peak as the Polish team waited, watched the skies and sifted through weather forecasts. All signs point to a weather window opening up in the next 24 hours, which will grant access to the summit for a very brief time. But the climbers have to be patient and cautious in their approach if they hope to take advantage of this opportunity, which is shaping up to be the last one before the season ends on March 21.

As of Saturday, the entire team was still in BC and waiting to go up. There haven't been any updates since then, although a dispatch on that day indicated that high winds at 7000 meters (22,965 ft) was preventing anyone from going up the mountain. That same dispatch gave us a glimpse into their schedule however, which would have them reaching Camp 4 today and going for the summit tomorrow, March 5.

Obviously we'll be watching this one closely over the next few days, not only as the team heads up to the summit, but hopefully gets back down safely as well. This squad has been on BP for weeks now and I'm sure the cold temperatures and bad weather are taking their toll. They have been resting in BC for two weeks however and since they are fully acclimatized at this point, they are definitely eager to be on the move once again.

I'll post updates as we have them over the next few days. Keep your fingers crossed that the team gets up and down safely.