Climbing
There is once again sad news from the Northern Pakistan Mountains, with the third death of the summer season in the Karakoram. The Italian news agency ANSA reports Italian climber Maurizio Giordano was attempting the 26,000-foot peak Gasherbrum IV (GIV) when he was hit by falling ice on while on rappel. He died on the mountain.
The accident occurred at 6,300 meters when the 32-year-old and his teammates Marco Majori, Marco Farina and Daniele Bernasconi were on their descent from their acclimatization at Camp 2. The four members of the Italian army expedition wanted to be the first to repeat the route via the Northeast Ridge opened by their compatriots Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri, who had first climbed Gasherbrum IV 60 years ago.
His body has not been retrieved yet.
The death of Giordano takes the summer toll to three in the Pakistan Karakoram, according to Rock and Ice. On Saturday, July 7, 2018, the Canadian climber Serge Dessureault is thought to have fallen to his death on K2 just below House’s Chimney or perhaps while rappelling down the Black Pyramid. A few days earlier, the Austrian Christian Huber died in an avalanche on Ultar Sar.
