All member and Sherpa guide topped out on the 8,035-metre peak on 21 July, days after deep snow and a shortage of fixed rope had turned the team back on its first attempt.
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GASHERBRUM II, 21 July 2026 — All the team members of Imagine Nepal Gasherbrum II Expedition 2026 reached the summit of Gasherbrum II at 10:34 a.m. Pakistan time today, completing an ascent that came together only after the team recovered from a failed first attempt earlier in the week.
The team had originally aimed to summit on 18 July. That push was turned back after climbers ran into deep snow high on the mountain and found themselves short of the fixed rope needed to secure the route above the final camp. With safe progress no longer possible, the party descended to Camp 1 and then to Base Camp.
Rather than end the effort there, the team reorganized for a second try. Climbers held their position on the mountain while two Sherpas dropped as far as Camp 1 to collect extra rope and food. On 19 July the Sherpa team carried the rope back up through Camp 2 and Camp 3, and on 20 July the climbers moved up again and broke trail above Camp 3, finishing the traverse that had stopped them the first time. Working alongside a team from Elite Exped, they set out on the final push overnight and stood on the summit the following morning.
The summiteers:
- 1. Phur Galjen Sherpa: Gasherbrum II marks his 13th 8,000-metre summit. He will next lead the team on Gasherbrum I in a bid to complete his own collection of all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters. His record also includes Yalung Khang (8,505 m).
- 2. Wang Zhong: With With the ascent of Gasherbrum II, he has now climbed 12 of the 14 eight-thousanders, leaving only Broad Peak and Shishapangma.
- 3. Sim Phei Sunn (PS): She becomes the first Singaporean climber to reach the summit of Gasherbrum II.
- 4. Valentyn Sypavin: Gasherbrum II is his sixth 8,000-metre summit this year.
- 5. Aangdu Sherpa: This is his third summit of Gasherbrum II.
- 6. Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa: A two-time K2 summiteer who has also climbed Broad Peak, he now adds his third 8,000-metre peak in Pakistan.
Gasherbrum II, at 8,035 meters, is one of the world’s fourteen peaks above 8,000 meters and sits on the border between Pakistan and China in the Karakoram range. With the summit secured, attention now turns to Gasherbrum I, where part of the team hopes to continue climbing in the days ahead.