Mortenson

After weeks of waiting out heavy storms, the Seattle-based Mountain Madness team of Chris Boskoff, Greg Ritchie, and Jeff Rhoads finally reached the summit of Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters) on August 19th. When I met Chris on her way up the Baltoro Glacier on June 26th, she told me she planned to stay "until the bitter end" to reach the summit. Her persistance certainly paid off. She is now the only American woman to have summited four 8,000 meter peaks. Another member of the team, Hector Ponce, reached GII's summit in deep snow on July 29th.

Gasherbrum II

Another notable ascent of GII this year was by Dr. Rosa Real Soriano from Valencia University, Spain, on July 29th. Two weeks prior to that, she had fallen above Camp I at 6,000 meters and dislocated her shoulder. Fortunately, her shoulder was manipulated and relocated by expedition physician, Dr. De Maglia, within an hour after the incident. Soriano was able to resume climbing in four days.

Soriano and De Maglia were conducting physiological tests to study acclimatization at altitude. According to Soriano, a summit bid was not their top priority. The researchers used pulse oximeters and blood tests to measure arterial oxygen saturation (oxygenated blood vs. venous or deoxygenated blood) in hemoglobin molecules (which carry oxygen and competing carbon dioxide molecules). In any case, their expedition was a success in every way. Bravo!

— Greg Mortenson, MountainZone.com Correspondent