Still no news about missing K2 climbers Juan Pablo Mohr, Muhammad Ali Sadpara, John Snorri

The dramatic aerial search continues to find Juan Pablo Mohr of Chile, Muhammad Ali Sadpara of Pakistan and and John Snorri Sigurjonsson of Iceland, the mountaineers who lost contact with basecamp last Friday while making their push to reach the summit of K2. Earlier this morning two Pakistani army helicopters scoured the mountain up to 7000 meters with Lakpa Dendi and Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the leader of the Seven Summits expedition who is coordinating the rescue efforts.

"We had less visibility and the upper mountain is covered in clouds." Chhang Dawa Sherpa explained, adding "For the last three days, pilots made a great job, out of their limits but we can't find any clues there. The team is waiting for another permissible weather and search possibility."

In the meantime, ground-based efforts will also begin. Elia Saikaly, one of the Snorri’s official photographers, has stated that Imtiaz and Akbar, the cousin and nephew of Ali Sadpara, will attempt to climb K2 in order to located the missing climbers. The two had arrived at Base Camp just over 24 hours ago to help Sajid Sadpara in his descent after the son of Muhammad Ali Sadpara had been forced to turn back at the Bottleneck due to his oxygen regulator malfunctioning. After spending the night alone at Camp 3, waiting in vain for his three climbing partners, Sajid Sadpara had descended safely and reached Base Camp after dark yesterday.

Imtiaz and Akbar have both previously climbed K2 and will start their rescue ascent imminently. "Ali is a brother to us. A hero for Pakistan. We will climb as high as we can within our limits." stated Imtiaz. "There is hope, but we know the reality of the mountain, especially in winter."

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