A Pakistani military search team has yet to locate a pair of well-known Utah climbers who went missing on an icy mountain peak.
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Saturday morning was the first break in the weather since they disappeared more than a week ago.
Families of Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson have called off the search for the two.
Later that night, he said an intense search had not yielded any signs of them.
The official said that the climbers, Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, were attempting to summit the 6,960-metre (22,835-feet) Ogre-II peak in the Karakoram mountain range but did not return when expected.
Dempster and Adamson began their ascent of the north face of Ogre-II peak on August 21.
The Latest on two Utah climbers who disappeared while climbing a mountain peak in Pakistan (all times local Utah time): 3:50 p.m.
Utah-based Black Diamond Equipment is sponsoring Dempster.
Given the time that has elapsed and the almost continuous stormy weather since they were last seen, and the substantial risks that such high-altitude missions entail, Kyle and Scott’s families have made the extremely hard decision to end the search efforts. On the third day, though, snowy and cloudy temperatures rolled in that have socked in the area, he said.
They had been attempting to climb the north face of a 23,901-foot mountain. Adamson broke his leg after a 100-foot fall and the two fell again 400 feet while trying to get down the mountain. The US media said both men are accomplished climbers, and Dempster had won the prestigious Piolet d’Or alpine climbing award twice. He said the duo hoped they had learned from their mistakes during the near-death experience to make it this time.
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Pakistan has always been a draw for foreign climbers lured by some of the most spectacular mountains on Earth, including the savage K2, the world’s second highest peak. “You use your pool of experience and common sense and intuition to help make decision and mitigate the dangers”.
