GILGIT: The climbing season on K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II, has been thrown into disarray, as climate change, unpredictable weather and scant snowfall combine to create perilous conditions for foreign mountaineers.

Dozens of international expeditions are currently stranded at the base camps of the Karakoram giants, anxiously awaiting a safe window to attempt their summits.

Polish mountaineer Waldemar Kow­ale­wski on Friday suffered a leg fracture in an avalanche incident.

A source at base camp said Kowalewski is in a stable condition in a tent at 6,500m, attended by a colleague. A rescue helicopter has been requested from the army.

Traditionally, the main climbing season for these peaks stretches from late June to mid-August. But this year, tour operators say, the risks are unusually high.

“This year, weather at the peaks are not normal,” Iqbal Qadri, a tour operator with five foreign expedition groups waiting at base camps, told Dawn.

“Less snowfall was received in winter, and there are risks of rockfall and snow avalanches.”

Sakhawat Hussain, another tour operator, confirmed that progress on the 8,000-metre peaks has been delayed.

“Even ropes have not been fixed at K2, owing to unstable conditions,” he said, adding that the lack of snow has contributed to the danger.

“There are threats of rockfall at K2 and other eight-thousander peaks this year.”

Experts believe shifting weather patterns, driven by climate change, have upended the climbing season.

Low winter snowfall, followed by intense heat, means snow melts rapidly rather than consolidating into stable ice.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2025