Following the fall of stone which wounded two of its climbers, the Polish expedition aiming at the first winter of K2 decided to change its plans and to abandon the way of the Basques in favor of the most traditional way of Abruzzi. And since we want to keep following them, it would be about not getting lost on the way. So here is the topo...
Louis-Amédée of Savoy, Duke of Abruzzi
Before being the main access road to the top of K2, Abruzzi is mostly a mountainous region of central Italy. To make the link between the Pakistani summit and the middle of the boot, one must turn to a man of singular fate: Louis-Amédée of Savoy. Born in Madrid in 1873, the young Louis inherited the title of Duke of Abruzzi sixteen years later, on the death of his father, King of Spain between 1870 and 1873. Introduced to mountaineering as a child, the Duke quickly became attracted by the great peaks and their exploration. One owes him the first of the unnamed needle and those of the points Marguerite and Hélène to the large Jorasses in 1898. It was even, during the ascent of the Matterhorn by the Ridge Zmutt, the companion of the Rope of Albert Frederick Mummery, one year before the disappearance of the latter at Nanga Parbat.
After exploring Alaska, the North Pole and then some African mountains, the Duke turns to the very high altitude and the peaks of the Karakoram during an expedition that takes him to the foot of K2 in the summer of 1909. Here, inspired by the expedition of 1902 and the narrative of Jules Jacot-Guillarmod, he decided to borrow for the first time the southeast ridge which instantly took his name. Surrounded, among others, Swiss guides Joseph and Laurent Petigax, the Doctor Filippo de ferns and his eternal friend and photographer Vittorio Sella, the Duke climbs above 6 200 meters before he renounces the difficulties. The way of Abruzzi was born but the summit remains inaccessible. He then turned to the neighbor Chogolisa where he reached 7 500 meters, thus beating the record of altitude that will hold until 1922 and the 8 225 meters of Edward Felix Norton to Everest.
House fireplace, black pyramid, and Bottleneck
Since it is by this way that Lino Lacedelli and Achille Matei will reach the summit in 1954, it would be appropriate to make the way of Abruzzi, the normal way of Ascension. In Himalayan jargon, the normal way is supposed to be the easiest way to access but K2 is nothing of a normal mountain. The difficulties encountered by the climbers instead encourage to talk about the most logical route. Around 6 500 meters, the contenders will be faced with a huge system of cracks that will give them a lot of trouble – and the rope to unravel. It's the Chimney House. Those who have passed by then compare it to the Hillary jump to Everest, the more lenient altitude compensating for the higher difficulties. Today the climbers take advantage of the fixed ropes already in place but in 1938, the American Bob House had only his feet and his hands at his disposal when he was the first to cross this key passage.
A little higher, about 7 000 meters, the climbers will have to cross the black pyramid, called thus because of the dark aspect of the rock that composes it. The passage is less difficult technically than the chimney House but much steeper and much longer since it measures about four hundred meters high. The ice already presents in summer does not make it easier, we imagine that in the middle of winter, the Poles will face a serious obstacle. After Camp III, which should be established around 7 400 meters, the ascent is akin to a long drool on the shoulder of K2 where the difficulty will probably be proportional to the amount of snow in which it will be necessary to trace. At about 8 200 meters, finally, the climbers will present themselves at the foot of the Bottleneck, this famous bottleneck threatened by the gigantic serac that overlooks it. This is where, in 2008, one of the most terrible tragedies in the history of K2 took place, when a huge chunk of ice was
But of the eleven Polish mountaineers currently at work at the foot of the spur of Abruzzi, seven have already climbed K2. The topo, they know him...
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| Abruzzi track and approximate locations of the three key passages |
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