ISLAMABAD: ‘Esemeny Horizont’ has become the first Hungarian team to summit K2, the second highest peak in the world, without supplemental oxygen and any assistance from high altitude porters on July 25.

“I am delighted to announce the success of the 2019 Hungarian K2 expedition. I am here on the summit of K2. It’s amazing, the sky is clear, I can see everything, and the view from the ridge is beautiful. Next time, I hope that we will stand together on the summit of a peak,” Szilard Suhajda said over the radio to his teammate David Klein from the summit last Thursday.

Szilard Suhajda repeated this message at a press conference held at Serena Hotel on Friday where the duo shared details of their successful summit of the 8,611 metres peak. The duo has climbed six peaks together without bottled oxygen. This was Szilard Suhajda’s third attempt on K2 and David Klein’s second. Favourable weather contributed to their success this year despite occasional strong winds and extreme temperatures and no-summit year warnings from fellow climbers.

Mountaineers did not use supplemental oxygen, assistance of porters

The briefing was informed that until a day before their achievement, it was still questionable whether David and Szilard had any opportunity to attempt the climb. Nepali Sherpa climbers reported deep snow close to the peak. Out of the 120 climbers (75 international and 45 sherpa in 10 teams) on K2 during this period, the two mountaineers were among the few to make it.

The duo were the first Hungarians on Annapurna, Nepal, the world’s most dangerous 8,000 metre mountain.

“And we were the first Hungarians to summit the most difficult peak K2. This year we were lucky. I missed my climbing partner David Klein on the summit,” Szilard Suhajda said at the press conference.

After three successful acclimatisation rounds, Szilard and David started the attempt to conquer the peak last Sunday. In the end, David Klein did not climb to the top after developing health concerns but was supporting Szilard on radio from the base camp, keeping him alert and focused and guiding him towards their goal.

“David’s decision was extraordinary. He sacrificed his ambitions for the success of the expedition,” Szilard Suhajda told the press briefing.

Covering 34 metres every hour, Szilard Suhajda took 15 hours reach the summit from camp four.

“That is what happens above 8,500 metres. Oxygen is only one third of that at base camp. Without bottled oxygen my biggest enemy was sleep. After every five steps I rested my head on my knees to sleep. But I knew that if I slept I would never get off the mountain. David Klein kept me focused. At the summit I stay 30 minutes,” Szilard Suhajda told the press.

Szilard Suhajda said in the last few years he had talked more about Pakistan than his own country. “This is my sixth time in Pakistan and I’m fascinated to be here every time. Climbing is a complex experience. It is not just about the effort we make on the mountain but also about a colourful mix of human experiences, beautiful cultures, flavours, food and people,” he added.

The mountaineer said there were other Hungarian climbers who did not make it.Although David Klein was forced to abandon his summit attempt on K2, this was the greatest accomplishment of his team.

“We would like to inform that we decided to leave the base camp clean, which is an important part of our philosophy. We are guests here and it is not polite to leave rubbish behind. We hope that other expeditions should take an important message from this initiative,” David Klein said, adding that pollution is a big problem in the Karakuram.

“Nonetheless, we climbed alpine style. We were also the only ones on the mountain. During the three acclimatisation trips we had climbed three times the distance to the summit of K2. These were the most exciting moments during this expedition,” Klein told the briefing.

He said: “There was a chance I would recover as I climbed higher. But I made the difficult decision to turn back and not jeopardise the success of the expedition. I’m extremely proud of Szilard for becoming the first Hungarian to summit K2 without O2.”

“I am sure that we will be standing together on 8,000ders in the future since we plan to climb all 14 highest peaks in the world together,” he said.

David Klein has been returning to climb since the late 1990s and feels welcomed every time. “Thank you Pakistan,” David Klein said.

Ambassador of Hungary in Islamabad Istevan Szabo described their success extraordinary.

He said David Klein’s decision to give up his dream for the sake of the success of the expedition is no less extraordinary and deserves the same appreciation as Szilard Suhajda.

“Hungarian mountaineers are contributing to the improvement of the soft image of Pakistan,” the ambassador added.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2019