Climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns have made conditions increasingly difficult for mountaineers attempting to scale peaks in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range, with no climber managing to summit K2 or Gasherbrum-I this summer.
Persistent storms, heavy snowfall, unstable snow and a heightened avalanche risk disrupted climbing expeditions across Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly on five of the region’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.
More than 200 climbers attempted to summit K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-II and Gasherbrum-I this year, but prolonged bad weather forced repeated summit attempts to be called off.
According to tour operator Ghulam Muhammad, only three foreign expedition groups successfully reached the summit of Gasherbrum-II, while members of one local expedition team summited Broad Peak. Two expedition teams had earlier reached the summit of Nanga Parbat.
Mountaineers have faced persistent bad weather, avalanches, rockfalls, strong winds and increasingly unpredictable conditions in the Karakoram for the past two years. The climbing season for peaks such as K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I and Gasherbrum-II generally runs from late July to mid-August.
General Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan Ayaz Shigri said weather conditions remained unstable throughout the summer. He added that following the deadly Broad Peak avalanche on July 30, which killed 10 foreign climbers and Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, several teams at K2 and Gasherbrum-I abandoned their summit attempts to assist in search and rescue operations.
Tour operator Asghar Porik said changing weather patterns had made it increasingly difficult to identify suitable windows for summit attempts. He noted that rising temperatures have contributed to unstable snow and increased the risks of avalanches and rockfalls.
Porik said his 11-member expedition team at Gasherbrum-II was unable to find a safe weather window and eventually called off its expedition.
Ikram Baig, president of the GB Association of Tour Operators, said even relatively less technical peaks such as Broad Peak can become extremely dangerous following fresh snowfall because of unstable snow and increased avalanche risks.
Experts and local tour operators said climate change was making conditions at the Karakoram’s high-altitude peaks increasingly unpredictable. The growing number of commercial expeditions was also contributing to pressure on the fragile mountain environment.
With the summer climbing season now closed, mountaineers have returned from the eight-thousanders without summiting K2 or Gasherbrum-I. Similar weather-related disruptions were reported during last year’s climbing season as well.
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