French climber Benjamin Vedrines has set a brand new velocity report for summiting K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in slightly below 11 hours. Vedrines, 32, recognized for his high-speed ascents with out supplemental oxygen, left the K2 base camp shortly after midnight on Saturday and reached the summit 10 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds later, his crew reported to AFP on Monday.
Vedrines’ achievement comes after a earlier try in 2022, which was thwarted by hypoxia, a situation brought on by inadequate oxygen ranges at excessive altitudes. Reflecting on his accomplishment, Vedrines stated, “I took my revenge on this mountain, however above all, I needed to reconcile with it by doing issues with maturity.” He described the expertise as symbolic, noting his return to the identical sections with a newfound readability.
Vedrines’ exceptional ascent shatters the earlier report for a no-oxygen climb of K2. His compatriot Benoît Chamoux had set the benchmark on July 7, 1986, reaching the summit by way of the Abruzzi Spur in 23 hours from base camp. On the time, Chamoux’s feat was hailed as revolutionary. Vedrines has greater than halved that point, redefining the boundaries of human endurance and velocity on the world’s second-highest peak.
K2, positioned on the border between Pakistan and China, reaches an elevation of 28,251 toes (8,611 meters) and is 781 toes (238 meters) shorter than Everest. Regardless of its decrease peak, K2 is famend for its technical difficulties, which have led to its status because the “Savage Mountain.” Vedrines is well known as certainly one of France’s main climbers, having beforehand set a velocity report on Pakistan’s Broad Peak in 2022, which he summited in seven hours and 28 minutes earlier than descending by paraglider.
The ascent of K2 was marked by troublesome situations, together with harsh climate that had delayed progress for each alpine-style and industrial groups earlier this month. Vedrines paraglided from slightly below Camp 3 on the height throughout his a number of makes an attempt.
In a tragic flip of occasions, two Japanese climbers, Kazuya Hirade and Kenro Nakajima, went lacking on K2 the identical day Vedrines achieved his report. Regardless of being noticed by military aviation helicopters throughout an aerial search, no motion was noticed from the climbers, elevating considerations about their survival at such excessive altitudes.
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