What is Your mountain?

Having had some time to reflect on things, I thought I would write down a summary of this summer’s big adventure – that turned into the toughest trip of my life! Special thanks to Mauri Ranta at Puhujatori/CoolNTalk), for being with me all the way!

Questions I was hoping to find answers to; From where do you get the #motivation when the going gets really tough? How far can you go, physically and mentally, on a seemingly empty gas tank? Some thoughts about those, at the end.

After two years of waiting and preparing, the big #expedition finally took place. The plan was to climb both Gasherbrum 2 (8035m) and Broad Peak (8051m), during 7 weeks.

As plans go, they are prone to change, especially in an extreme environment such as the highest mountains in the world. My expectations from a previous expedition in 2008 to the same location, were different than what reality turned out to be.

From an #adventure and experience perspective, though, I got what I wanted, and much, much more ??

?The 2022 Karakorum climbing season was exceptional in many ways. The number of climbers was apparently close to 700, and that is a huge number vs earlier years.

?For me, the shit hit the fan already before we even left Islamabad and Skardu, in the name of a pretty serious stomach bug. Typically bugs are expected, and usually pass within some days. Not this one, though – it stayed with me for 10 weeks (!) and seriously affected how I was able to refuel and restore energy levels throughout the expedition.

The approach to the mountain itself was colourful and hard, starting with two days of non-stop being thrown around inside a minibus on the notorious Karakorum Highway, with km after km of hair-raising twists and turns. We even avoided being hit by some microwave-sized boulders literally by milliseconds, with some smaller still hitting the ceiling rack, and then running over the pieces and puncturing the gas tank of the minibus. Exciting, and scary as hell!

The trek to Base Camp was a tough 5-day 100 km uphill struggle across a broken up landscape, though on the bright side we were rewarded every moment by incredible views of one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world!

At the mountain, the big challenge this year was the 10km long icefall that we needed to tackle on our way to the #Gasherbrum 2 mountain - a gigantic barrier that is the only way up, and very difficult to navigate through. It is both beautiful and menacing, broken up into crevasses, apartment-sized blocks and seracs, and beautiful sculptures.

Over the next few weeks, we were forced to cross it several times, as we gradually climbed to higher camps while acclimatizing and lugging loads.

You would think that at altitude it is always cold. Definitely not so - a surprising factor was the daytime heat! When the sun hit us, everything became a struggle, even in just a thin long-sleeved shirt. In the middle of the day there is nothing you can do. You can’t walk around as you just keep sinking into the snow. Just lie in the hot tent and melt snow to drink, if you have the energy. The heat was simply debilitating, like walking around in the sauna in down clothes and high-altitude boots for hours on end!

This meant we were forced to move at night, which then messed with us in other ways, especially with refueling and recovery. Sleep a few hours in the evening, climb at night, try to sleep in a hot tent during the day, and repeat that over several days.

The heat also impacted our safety on the mountain, as the anchors that hold the fixed safety ropes in place simply came loose, adding another layer of risk.

In addition, the climbing was 60-80 degree ice in many places. And with the huge amounts of snow, Camp 2 tent platforms, for instance, had to be dug out from a 40-degree slope.

This was very much different from last time in 2008, when the climbing was straightforward and without any bigger surprises. Less heat, and less snow. Global warming playing its role?

The question Why? went through my head every day, but the fact is that if you want to achieve something big, you have to take steps towards it and not just think about it. So we did.

Some weeks in, having done a few rotations up the mountain, we were on our planned summit push. The forecast was very good. We had just arrived at Camp 2, tired and thirsty after a long climb to 6500m, when the weather suddenly and surprisingly changed 180 degrees and a snowstorm moved in!

This meant no rest, and having to immediately abandon the #summit attempt and risk a forced descent in the snowstorm with low visibility, steep ice and flunky anchors, as the snowfall was thick and would soon build up to avalanche danger level. I have a clear risk limit, and this day I was forced to cross that limit several times. Really scary shit.?

The final part of the descent through the icefall to Base Camp was an unforgettable night.?The five of us were roped up at 5m intervals as we started our way down. At regular intervals one of us would plunge through seemingly solid snow into dark and unforgiving crevasses, up to our hips.?

Everybody had to stay super alert and immediately when someone shouted ”Fall!” we would throw ourselves either forwards or backwards, depending on who had gone through. Then we hauled that person up and continued until the next shout came. This happened at least 15 times.?Add in the fact that we were tired, after having moved almost non-stop for three days and nights, without much in the way of food or drinks. Risk limits crossed – check check check!

Apparently there was a record amount of snow last winter, and G2 had shown everybody a dark side. Every day was a struggle, the climbing was exceptionally technical, and some of the experienced climbers were saying that Everest is easier!

At this point, I started weighing my options – mainly risks vs rewards. Based on the conditions, my dear stomach bug, and a few other factors, a few days later I made one of the toughest decisions of my life – I decided to go home. A huge disappointment, but better safe than sorry. Two other members joined me.

Keeping in mind, that “going home” means a looong rigorous 4-day trek and a very, very long jeep ride, plus a couple of flights. All in all, a 7-10 days’ journey! Already the first return day involved a 13-hour 30 km trek with a heavy pack, with almost nothing to eat or drink.

During the trek back, every now and then we would smile and laugh at various groups heading up into the “unknown”, looking and smelling so clean, fresh and eager - knowing what rough days they had ahead ??. What used to be quite a straightforward trek is far, far from that nowadays.

On the positive side, the return turned into an adventure in itself, one that we would have missed, had we stayed. We got to meet new people, cross overflowing glacial rivers barefoot, were pulled by hand high over a roaring river in a small wooden box suspended on a cable, as the bridge had been washed away, and so on. All quite exciting and something I will remember for a long time!

Having hiked, sweated, slept and driven on dusty roads in the same clothes for 4 days, it’s hard to describe the feeling when we finally arrived in Skardu and were able to shower. It didn’t really matter that there was only cold water, what a joy to get rid of the smell ??

A few days later we took off at a steep angle from Skardu airport in order to cross the mountains. The skies cleared and a magnificent view opened up on both sides of the plane, providing us with a final view of where we had spent the past weeks. At least I felt a tremendous sense of relief, and was very happy with my decision, as I was sitting there processing everything that had happened. Finally on my way home!

So how to find the #motivation when it seems that everything is against you and your #goal is far away?

What works for me, is to visualize the rewards for what happens after I’ve reached my goal. I make those rewards as vivid as possible – images, sounds, smells, feelings, everything. When the going gets really tough I focus on those. This can be applied to any journey or project you are working on.

Also, I split the journey into smaller pieces and don’t think about the overall goal, instead create smaller, mini-goals along the way. It could be just to get up to the next hump, go for another hour before rewarding myself with a drink, take another 50 steps etc. Each time I congratulate myself, keep saying “You can do this” and then set the next goal and continue moving. Again, this can be applied to any projects or endeavors you may be struggling with. Sounds simple, doesn't it ??

How far can you then go, physically and mentally, on a seemingly empty gas tank? I can answer this easily: “As far as you need to”. It is incredible how big our mental and physical reserves are. Usually it's a mind game, no matter how exhausted you may feel. I went through this numerous times - not because I wanted to, but because I had to – nobody else was there to do it. And it got me home, one small step at a time, where I wanted to be.

All in all, I feel privileged to have all these new learnings and experiences, despite the setbacks (or perhaps because of them?). And am still here to talk about them ????

Anyways, the mountain ain’t going nowhere. And getting to the summit isn’t mandatory, but getting down is.

What is Your mountain?

Read all about the expedition here:

https://www.kimnystrom.com/updates