FIRE+ICE K2 Expedition
WILLI STEINDL
Austrian mountaineer, hotelier and ex-racer Willi Steindl climbs the notorious K2 in mid-July. In 2022, Willi Steindl climbed Mount Everest in 16 days. Learn more about his expedition in the Karakorum mountains here.
  • 01 | PREPARATION AND ARRIVAL
    All set for K2
    In 2022 Willi Steindl already climbed Mount Everest and thus has experience with the eight-thousanders. For the K2 expedition, his active preparation phase started in May this year. Willi trained daily his strength, endurance and oxygen reduction on the mountain, on the road, in the studio and in the altitude tent to prepare for the extreme conditions.

    The official start of the adventure was at the end of June. Via Islamabad the crew flew to Skardu via plane, to start the large expedition from there. Four basecamps with different challenges lead up to the summit of K2.

    Willi:“There are almost desert-like conditions here. Only under all the stone and sand is a huge, ancient glacier. That is so unique, the mountains are gigantic. I've never seen anything like it. You don't know where to look first as the mountains have so much power."
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  • 02 | BASECAMP
    Off we Go
    In Skardu the expedition has officially started now! Within four days the team crossed the Gondogoro Pass to get to Basecamp in the Godwin-Austen Glacier. Basecamp is located at an altitude of about 6000 meters and is technically quite "easy" to reach compared to the rest of the tour.

    Willi: "The mountains become more impressive from day to day. We cover about 20 kilometers and 700 meters of altitude every day. It is a very unrhythmic hike, as it goes up and down on the glacier. I feel good and I have a lot of energy. I have to slow myself down sometimes as I'm going extremely fast. I could uproot trees if there were any."
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  • 03 | AT THE BASECAMP
    Stuck in a Snowstorm
    Due to a day-long snowstorm, the expedition members are forced to spend a few days in the basecamp. The nights are cold and there are often avalanches nearby that are loud and scary. In the camp, Willi and the other mountaineers meet their Nepalese Sherpas, who support them in conquering the K2 summit. Everyone is assigned a Climbing Sherpa who carries the additional oxygen and can assess every conceivable situation on the mountain and support them with the necessary experience.

    Willi: „Mingma Sherpa is part of our expedition. He is a true Sherpa legend. He has already climbed around 60!!! Eight-thousanders and has been to the summit of K2 three times. If Mingma says the conditions are good, we have a chance. Likewise, if his judgement says, "too risky", then I have absolutely no problem in turning around.“

    Let’s see how it goes!
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  • 04 | ACCLIMATIZATION ROTATION
    What is a rotation in mountaineering?
    The rotation describes the ascent to higher camps on the mountain (here: the ascent to Camp 1 and Camp 2 at the K2) and the return to the Basecamp. This allows the mountaineers to get used to the extreme altitude and climatic conditions of the K2, which become a challenge especially during the final ascent to the summit. Afterwards, the team can rest and recharge their batteries at the K2 Basecamp again. Here, the most important thing is to eat, drink, rest and stay healthy. The rotation will continue until the weather window permits the final K2 summit ascent.

    Willi: „My physical fitness is on point! Hard and tireless preparations at home in the Alps are the cornerstone of success. Of course, we need to go far beyond our limits, despite all the preparation! The Summit Push will be a brutal mission! Especially the first day: 1800 meters in altitude without oxygen to Camp 2. It makes my breathless just thinking about it.“
  • 05 | CAMP 1
    Up we go
    Hello from K2 Camp 1 at about 6,100 meters altitude. After the bad weather has subsided, the expedition team has covered about 1000 meters of almost vertical ascent. As expected, the path was dangerous, as there were repeated rockfalls and one avalanche after the other on the slope of Broad Peak. The steep mountaineering at such an altitude is extremely physically demanding for the participants of the K2 expedition and they also must be careful not to be hit by stones.

    Willi: „We were all on our way to Camp 1 today. Me, about 150 meters higher than my mountaineer partner, friend and cameraman Philip. Suddenly Mingma Sherpa, who was standing next to me, shouted something in Nepalese. Probably Attention! A head-sized stone rolled down the glacier with enormous speed. Suddenly, and without warning, the stone reversed direction and was aimed directly at Philip. One impact, deadly! Philip remained calm though, turning his head and scanning the area behind him to see if anyone else was in danger. Turned his head back, focused fully on the stone and took a half step to the side at the last moment - and mastered the situation with confidence!“
  • 06 | CAMP 2
    Half Way done
    Hello from K2 Camp 2 at 6,700 meters. The climb was extremely challenging due to strong wind.

    Willi: „My first impression of the mountain of mountains: the K2 has this nickname not without reason. The mountain shows you with every step that you are not welcome. The K2 tells you only one thing "Don't play with me!" I've never experienced anything like it. The good news is, I feel fit and technically prepared. The bad news is that the mountain couldn't care less about how you feel.“

    The altitude demands a lot from the mountaineers - various symptoms such as headaches, loss of appetite, freezing, coughing and heart palpitations occur.

    Willi: „You actually have every sympton you don't want to have. But it's necessary so that the body can adapt to the conditions.“

    As part of the rotation, the descent from K2 Camp 2 to K2 Basecamp follows afterwards. After 1,800 meters difference, the body can finally recover at Basecamp.
  • 07 | SUMMIT PUSH – READY TO GO
    Off we go to the K2 Summit!
    Willi and his team are lucky, and a suitable weather window will open soon. This means a longer period with good weather conditions and without any fresh snow. This usually happens only a few days a year at K2. There is only this one possibility for the ascent! Respectively the will and strength of the team to reach the K2 summit is unbroken.

    The route to the summit for the next few days:

    • • Tuesday, July 25th, 2023, at 1:00 a.m.: 1,800 meters of altitude to Camp 2 at 6,800 meters above sea level - about 12 hours of climbing
    • • Wednesday, July 26th, 2023, 6:00 a.m.: 1,000 meters of altitude to Camp 3 at 7,800 meters above sea level - about 7 hours of climbing
    • • Wednesday, July 26th, 2023, at 10:00 p.m.: 800 meters of altitude to the summit of K2 at 8,611 meters above sea level - about 8 hours of climbing
    • • Thursday, July 27th, 2023, at 6:00 a.m.: K2 summit!
    • • Thursday afterwards the descent: 1,800 meters of altitude directly to Camp 2, arriving at 3:00 p.m.
    • • Friday, July 28th, 2023, at 06:00 a.m.: 1,800 meters of altitude to the Basecamp
    • • Friday at 12:00 noon: arrival at the Basecamp
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  • 08 | K2 SUMMIT
    The Mountain Prevails
    „A climber's greatest strength and challenge is not going further, but to turn around!“  Willi Steindl

    K2 LIVES UP TO ITS REPUTATION AS THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN! THE MOUNTAIN PREVAILS.

    On 27 July, a mere 300 meters (MSL) below the summit, Willi and the team made a tough decision that was perhaps the biggest challenge on the expedition. To walk further into a verifiable death trap on the mountain's infamous Bottleneck that claimed the life of one climber ahead of his team or show courage and strength of character to turn around and live to tell the story. This time, the mountain won, but as Willi reflects, the joy is also in the journey - to the mountain, up the mountain and on the way down.

    „Anyone who knows me knows how ambitious I am. I promised my mother I would come home alive. Any further steps and I would no longer have lived up to this promise.“  Willi Steindl

    The K2 ascent is considered one of the most difficult expeditions in the world. It requires extraordinary physical and mental strength. Willi has proven both.
A climber's greatest strength and challenge is not going further, but to turn around!

  • „It hurts so much because I was in an incredibly strong condition. Although we have completed an enormous workload over the last few days, I was doing great and felt fit, but the conditions up there were too dangerous. The other climbers didn't listen to themselves and put themselves in extreme danger.“  Willi Steindl

    An extremely tight window of opportunity to summit K2 has come and gone. Willi and his team made their calculations and moved with speed, but this time nature won. Unfortunately, a life was lost just ahead of the team at the infamous bottleneck traverse. With the fixed ropes taken out by the avalanche and falling ice, it very quickly became a death trap withno option but to turn around.

    „When it comes to mountaineering, it doesn't depend on new records. Exposing yourself to nature is everything.“  The great mountaineer, Reinhold Messner

    hursday, 27.07. 2023 3 p.m.: Back at K2 Basecamp Willi and his team have arrived safely at K2 Basecamp.
FIRE+ICE continues to be inspired by Willi's commitment, determination and courage. To us, he is a true role model and will always be part of the FIRE+ICE family.
Keep up the spirit!
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  • The Place to B
    K2 MOUNTAIN
    The 8611 m high mountain is in the disputed border area between Pakistan and China in the northwest of the Karakoram. K2 is the second highest mountain on earth after Mount Everest and is considered by mountaineers to be the most difficult of the fourteen eight-thousanders, which is also the reason why only a few people have visited the Pakistani mountain so far.

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