Gasherbrum II, a Third 8000er by a Woman. On July 13, after 11 days of trekking from Dassu, Lut Vivijs, Ingrid Baeyens, Raf Snoeck and I arrived at Base Camp at 5150 meters. A fortnight of bad weather then confined activities. The two ladies and I broke trail to Camp I at 5800 meters on August 4. The day after, a steep slope led to a second bivouac at 6500 meters. Previous heavy snowfall made breaking trail very tiring. On the shoulder at 7000 meters between Bivouacs II and III, we came on the body of Gary Silver, a lugubrious sight. On hands, arms, knees and bellies, we plowed our way through loose snow on another even steeper slope. Due to fatigue, we had to interrupt our climb at 7600 meters. On August 8, we made the final efforts. On slopes up to 50°, we swam rather than climbed to reach the summit at noon. As a climbing couple, Lut Vivijs and I have now conquered our third 8000er. She is tied for second on the women’s 8000er list.

Jan Vanhees, Belgische Alpenclub