Nanga, nick-named “The Killer”, has already been summited in winters of 2016, while K2, the second highest in the world has never had a man standing on top in winters. Both expeditions have been relaying interesting news and jaw-dropping photos from the respective base camps.
The 13-member Polish expedition has already reached the Base Camp after an unprecedented warm welcome in Pakistan amid sputters of camera clicks and selfies.
The expedition is the fourth inline to have ever pitched an attempt for the formidable K2.
So far, more than 190 porters have shuttled the big PVC drums of food and gear to Concordia, while the Poles have successfully established their fully operational and well-connected Base Camp.
Establishing camp-4 on the shoulder, right on top of Abruzzi Spur, the attack team will wait for the weather window to launch the summit push.
The last Russian expedition to attempt a winter ascent on K2 was also well-funded by the government where they had airlifted most of the cargo to the Base Camp. The expedition retreated after the death of high climber Vitali Gorelick who died of Pneumonia and could not be rescued due to bad weather.
For the moment, the poles have already established Camp-1 on the Abruzzi spur reaching up to 5600m.