3 SPANISH TEAMS FOR GASHERBRUM I&II
21 climbers arrive in capital for Gasherbrum I&II
JUNE10-2000
By
Asem Mustafa Awan
ISLAMABAD
— Three Spanish expeditions have reached the capital for the two
Gasherbrums I & II 8068 metres and 8035 metres.
Elite
Spanish mountaineers both brothers Felix and Alberto Inurrategi
will be arriving in Islamabad on Sunday (today).
The
two brothers will be
attempting the two Gasherbrums I and II (8068 metres and 8035 metres).
They have made records over the years in their quest for the prestigious
Himalayan Crown which is for the climbers who scale the 14 8000ers in the
globe.
The
two brothers have set foot together on 11 8000ers and the last one was
Manaslu in Nepal they climbed in May.
Juan
Lazkano a famous movie star in Spain and an accomplished producer in
tourism related activities is handling the three expeditions said,"
In all their are 21 climbers with 14 climbers going for Gasherbrum II and
seven climbers including the Inurrategi brothers vying for GI & GII."
Juan
said," The two expeditions on Gasherbrum II with 14 climbers are all
visiting Pakistan for the first time while the other seven for both the
peaks have prior experience of Himalayas."
Answering
a query he said," The two brothers wanted to finish their quest for
the Himalayan Crown in Pakistan but after reaching the summit of Manaslu
in May they found the conditions on Annapurna too dangerous, their is a
possibility that they will finish the climb after the two peaks in
Pakistan, in Nepal this year."
The
brothers have the summits of K-2 (1994), Broad Peak (1998) and
Nanga Parbat in 1999 while pursuing their Himalayan Crown in Pakistan.
(The Nation has the exclusives on Inurrategi exploits in Pakistan during
1998 and 1999).
The
two brothers along with Juan Lazkano and Jose L. Timayo also carried out a
successful rescue operation on Nanga Parbat in 1999.
One
of the member of the Gasherbrum II expedition Sergio Mingote who is
representative of the Spanish Workers Union is taking the union flag for
the mountain.
He
has hoisted the flag on two of the 8000ers Cho Oyu and Shishapangma which
reads 'Yes to 35 hours and No to 40 hours work in a week'.
"He
is also called Mr 35 hours in Spain," said Juan Lazkano adding,"
There is big movement in Europe for cutting down the working hours from 40
to 35 in a week besides raise in the wages and Sergio is the
representative and sponsored by the workers union of Spain for hoisting
the flag on Gasherbrum II summit."
The
three expeditions comprises of mountaineers representing Murcia, Malaga
and Catalonia regions of Spain.
Gasherbrum
II (Team 1): Luis Carlos Garranzo (leader 39), Jose C. Saura (36), Jose
Pardo (36), Francisco T. Mira (38), Antonio Alpanez (34), Jose J. Sanchez
(40).
Gasherbrum
II (Team 2): Luis Urkia (leader 40), Diego Lopez (27), Sergio Mingote
(29), Eneko Guenetxea (24), Jesus Arregi (34), Jose Taranilla (42) and
Javier Sanchez (37).
Gasherbrum
I and II Team: Felix Inurrategi, Alberto Inurrategi, Pep Permeine, Jordi
Bosch, Ramon Estiv and Carlos Figueras.
The
three expedition will attempt in Semi Alpine Style with standard camp
sites with Base Camp at 5000 metres, Camp 1 at 6000
metres, Camp 2 at 6600 metres, Camp 3 at 7400 metres on GII.
The
GI has the same Base Camp and Camp I and expedition will place the other
camps accordingly.
CAPTION
1: Luis Carlos Garranzo
CAPTION
2: Sergio Mingote
CAPTION:
The three Pakistani climbers, names are at their back French climbers were
not found:)