Solo climber kicks off Gasherbrum-I winter expedition

GILGIT: Undeterred by visa and fee challenges, Russian-Polish climber Denis Urubko has embarked on a winter expedition to Gasherbrum-I in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Gasherbrum-I is located between Shigar district in the Gilgit–Baltistan region and Tashkurgan in the Xinjiang of China. Gasherbrum-I is part of the Gasherbrum Massif, located in the Karakoram region of the Himalaya.

The seasoned 50-year-old mountaineer, boasting an impressive record of 26 summits on 8000-meter peaks, is the sole adventurer attempting a winter summit in Pakistan this season. He will attempt the summit alone. In a social media post on Tuesday, Urbuko said that they arrived in Khobutse and 15 porters accompanying him are in good health. Weather is same (dry) but little windy. I feel well,” he wrote.

Arriving in Skardu on January 9, Urubko is en route to the basecamp from Askoli, navigating a challenging seven-day trek, Jasmine Tours Owner Ali Asghar Porik told HUM News English.

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The mountaineer, who has summited all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen, is a staunch advocate of meteorological winter. Contradicting the traditional calendar winter definition, he considers the period from December 1 to the end of February as the true winter season. Most of the climbers stick to traditional winter calendar from December 21 to March 21.

Hence, Urubko calls it “the first winter ascent of Gasherbrum-I”. As Polish climbers Adam Bielecki and Janus Golab summited the peak on March 9, 2012. He has also opened new routes on Cho Oyu in China, Manaslu in Nepal and Broad Peak in G-B.

In his previous attempts on Gasherbrum-I during the summer 2023, Urubko and partner Pipi Cardell aimed for a new route. Despite reaching acclimatization summits, adverse conditions forced them to abandon their alpine-style pushes at 6,400m and 6,750m. Undeterred, Urubko is back, ready to conquer the peak in winter.

The 2022 fee hike by the Gilgit-Baltistan government, eliminating winter discounts and setting substantial group fees for peaks above 6,500m, has resulted in a noticeable decline in winter arrivals. Tour operators cite the sudden and substantial increase as the primary reason, arguing that the government failed to effectively communicate the changes globally.

The G-B government has set a $12,000 seven-member group fee for K2 and $9,500 for other four 8,0000’ers  — Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II. Until then, winter royalty fees were largely symbolic. Since then, Urbuko is only climber who arrived in Pakistan to attempt winter summits in 2023 and now in 2024.

When asked about sudden fall in arrivals of climbers in winter, Porik cited the fee as the main reason, saying that government increased the fee in haste and they couldn’t advertise that across the globe. “We didn’t advertise across the world to attract tourists. Who will pay such hefty amount of fee,” he added.

Karim Shah Nizari, a local climber from G-B, echoing these sentiments, pointed to the nominal and attractive fees for adventurers and solo climbers in the past. He emphasized that the fee hike, coupled with Pakistan’s visa policies and security concerns, has contributed to the diminishing appeal of winter tourism.

Nizari noted that Western tourists, often constrained by tight schedules, prefer destinations with online or easily accessible visa regimes. Several countries, including the US, the UK and Canada, have advised their citizens not to visit Gilgit-Baltistan.