Climber Dies on Latok I North Ridge as Partner is Stranded

Russian climbers Sergey Glazunov and Alexander Gukov were descending from the top of the the 7,145-metre mountain when Glazunov died from a rappelling accident.

Now Gukov is trapped at 6,700 metres with few supplies and rescuers try to reach him.

The two climbers were hoping to make the first ascent of the famous North Ridge, which has shut down some of the world’s best climbers over the past 40 years.

In 1978, Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy, Jeff Lowe and George Lowe made a famous attempt which led to an epic retreat and 100 rappels.

In 2017, Gukov, Anton Kashevnik and Valery Shamalo had reached 6,700 metres before descending.

Anna Piunova of www.mountain.ru said that Gukov and Glazunov set off 14 days ago with only five days food supply.

A GPS signal received on July 24 showed they reached 6,975 metres, a day before the fatal accident.

Many top alpinists who are in Pakistan are helping with the rescue operation.

Polish climber Andrzej Bargiel, who just made the first ski descent of K2 has volunteered. As has Herve Barmesse and David Goettler.

However, bad weather has stranded all rescuers on the ground and no one has yet started up the mountain. We’ll continue to update as we get more information.