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Our aim on K2 is surviving: Interview with Inaki Ochoa de Olza

Jun 4, 2004 12: 15 EST
Iñaki Ochoa is back at home in Pamplona (northern Spain) after summiting Makalu; but he won’t be home for long. On June12th he’ll fly to Pakistan, again along with Alex Txicon, to pay another visit to his ‘favorite enemy’: K2. This is the fourth time that the Navarrese climber, summiteer of eight 8000+ peaks, faces Chogori (local name for K2). But, as he says, “There is no hurry. It isn’t going anywhere and I will return to it as many times necessary”.

With K2 “everestized” (that is, crowded), as he describes it, his main objective is clear and simple: surviving. Before leaving, he chatted with the ExplorersWeb team in Madrid.

ExWeb: To start with, tell us about your recent climb on Makalu

Iñaki: It was a great climb, despite the problems we had, you know, with the Maoists [ed. note: the Maoist's walked up to base camp to make the climbers pay, and afterwards happily escorted Iñaki and Joby for the whole trek back] and the weather, which was awful. We spent 19 days on the mountain, and there was only one good day.

Luckily, we were ready and went for the summit exactly that morning, on the 16th of April. There were some more summits on the 17th, but in extreme conditions. The Asturian (Spanish) climbers couldn’t see their own feet. Two people died on the mountain this season.

We are really happy with the climb, being successful after the mountain tested our patience [ed. note: Alex and Ricardo-Valencia- spent 15 days in Base Camp!, though the Ecuadorian Ivan Vallejo and I managed to get to Makalu La to improve our acclimatization and check the wind up there]. Besides, we use a light climbing style, without O2 or Sherpa.

ExWeb: But that is the usual way on Makalu, isn’t it?

Iñaki: Not at all! I also thought that using O2 would be a practice to be abandoned in the 8000+, apart from Everest, but on the contrary it is becoming more common. In our group, climbing the classic route, we had no bottles with us.

ExWeb: By the way, can you confirm if the Asturian and Mexican climbers used O2 on their summits?

Iñaki: I know for sure that Nacho Orviz (from Spain) didn’t use supplementary O2; I don’t know about the rest. They were all climbing with Sherpas.

As for the Mexicans, I met them in Kathmandu and they confirmed that they couldn’t reach the main summit, and therefore stopped at the fore summit. It is a pity, as they had only 10 vertical meters left, but it is also a very exposed section, rather technical. They had no ropes with them and in those conditions they decided to turn around. Officially, it is not a summit, though they climbed almost all the way up.

I’ve seen that their summit has been confirmed by the Nepal Tourism Ministry, but perhaps they are using data provided by the local outfitters, and therefore not always completely accurate. Outfitters are interested in publishing as many summits as they can. Having been on Makalu, I think that in poor visibility conditions some people stop at the fore summit convinced that they are actually on top.

ExWeb: Next is K2. What is your attitude towards this expedition?

Iñaki: Well, most f all, we are going to K2 to survive the mountain, especially this year, with K2 somehow “everestized”.

ExWeb: Do you mean “everestized” due to the large number of expeditions expected?

Iñaki: I mean that, and the way they undertake the climb. When I got back to Kathmandu from Makalu, I was amazed when one Sherpa after another came to greet me and commented: “Hey Iñaki, are you going to K2? Then we will meet there, I am leaving on (a date)!”

No less that eight Sherpa told me that, so there has to be many more. There are a lot of expeditions that are hiring high altitude Sherpa to get them climbing the mountain. They pay for their share in the climbing permit. This is going to be a big difference, as the Sherpa can climb all the way up to the high camps and the summit, something that the Balti porters do very rarely.

ExWeb: Which route will you climb?

Iñaki: We don’t know yet. First we need to check the snow conditions, very important on K2. For example, when I went there in 2002 there was a lot of snow and any other route than the Abruzzi Spur would have been suicide; there were avalanches almost every day. 2003 on the other hand was a very dry season, and I saw no avalanches over the Cessen route. So, first we will get there, and then decide the route to go.

ExWeb: So no one made it to the summit in the last two years, not even by the Abruzzi...

Iñaki:Yes, this is true. Nevertheless, looking back to 2003, I think that the mountain could have been climbed, as there was a weather window between the 16 and 22. We were on Broad Peak then, and the same good weather allowed us to summit Broad.

ExWeb: Although you share the climbing permit with an international expedition, are you both climbing on your own or expect to collaborate with any other climbers?

Iñaki: Well, Alex and I will be climbing together, as we form the Lorpen-Diario de Navarra expedition, but being honest, saying that you are going ‘on your own’ on K2 is absurd. Besides, in the same international team there are some friends (as well as some enemies, ha, ha…). Ralf and Gerlinde are part of the team, and we will try to work on the climb together. We’ve been in touch during the spring season, talking to each other (and to Simone and Denis) through the satellite phone almost every day.

ExWeb: So many expeditions will probably pose a serious space problem. What are you going to do about it?

Iñaki: Sure it is going to be a problem! Just think of this: in CI there is only room enough for seven tents (five, if the first are installed not close enough). That is enough for a couple of expeditions, no more! Having in mind that the Italians and a Tibetan team are already there, I wonder how the rest will manage!

Luckily, we have that problem solved: we are already acclimatized, so we just will set no CI or CII. That simple: we will set a tent at the foot of the Spur, and then climb all the way up to Camp III at 7400m. Perhaps we would need to spend a night in CII, but then we will see if this can be done (taking a tent with us, or asking for ‘asylum’ in another expedition’s tent).

ExWeb: What about Camp IV, are you skipping it too?

Iñaki: I don’t know, as I don’t know the upper part of the route. Some climbers have avoided it, when there were tracks, but I can not tell. Let’s see it when we are there. For now, I am more concerned about the lower part of the route. Between the beginning and the Black Pyramid, it is going to be a dangerous way, due to rock falls, with so many people climbing. We better adjust our helmets properly.

ExWeb: As a K2 veteran is it really so dangerous a mountain?

Iñaki: Yes. That mountain is…different. Just take a look at the casualties list. It is not a question of numbers; it is a question of the kind of people who died there: elite climbers, experience and skilled; they were not there putting their life in danger on purpose, but they died anyway. This is something we must assume before going there: K2 eats people alive.

Iñaki Ochoa de Olza (Pamplona, 1967), has been devoted to high altitude climbing since a very young age: he summited Mont Blanc at 17 years old, and almost made it to the top of Kanchenjunga at 22! That experience made him to focus on Himalayan peaks and eighthousanders, as an independent climber or as a high altitude guide working for commercial expeditions. Now he is involved in completing the 14 8000+, having summited eight of them.

This April he summited Makalu. Before that, he reached the summit of Cho Oyu twice (1993 and 2001), GI (1996), GII (1996), Lhotse (1999), Everest (2001), Nanga Parbat (2003) and Broad Peak (2003). He has also summited Shisha Pangma Central (1995).

He is now heading off for K2, climbing along with Alex Txicon.

Image of Iñaki on the summit of Makalu, courtesy of Navarra8000.com

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