Mountaineer attempts first winter solo summit on K2

A Russian-Polish mountaineer has launched the first solo attempt to summit Pakistan's K2 - the world's second-highest park - during winter, in what fellow climbers described as a reckless decision. Denis Urubko, 44, was part of a team of Polish mountaineers attempting to be the first to scale the 8,611-metre (28,251 feet) K2 in winter, but broke away from the group after a series of disagreements. The climber left behind his team at K2's base camp on Saturday, with sources close to the expedition citing his increasing frustration at his fellow climbers' pace.
"He was trying to persuade the team to push for the summit in February," a porter accompanying the group told AFP Sunday, adding Urubko argued that conditions in March would make a summit difficult. "He has had a heated debate with the team leader and left for the summit without saying a word," the porter added on condition of anonymity.