A helicopter search failed to find Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson, missing for nine days on Ogre II in the Karakoram

The families of two renowned American climbers missing in Pakistan for nine days have called off the search for the pair.

The families of Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson made the “extremely difficult decision” based on the continuous bad weather since they were due back at base camp on 26 August after setting off to climb the notorious 23,000ft Ogre II peak, said Jonathan Thesenga, a representative for one of the climber’s sponsors.

Search team members as well as expert observers agreed the chances of finding any sign of the two in the remote part of the Karakoram range were extremely slim, said Thesenga.

With Austrian climber Thomas Huber acting as a spotter, the Pakistani military conducted exhaustive sweeps over the men’s likely ascent and descent routes with two helicopters. Saturday was the first day that the weather had been clear enough for flyovers.

omar r quraishi (@omar_quraishi) Pakistan military plans heli search for missing US climbers Scott Adamson & Kyle Dempster attempting 7,300 Ogre peak pic.twitter.com/Rzj3HjUBnS

A rescue effort was launched last Sunday in the area after the men failed to show up at base camp.



Thesenga said the two left base camp 21 August to begin their ascent. Their cook, at base camp, spotted their head lamps about halfway up the peak on the second day. On the third day, though, snow and low cloud rolled in, he said.

Dempster, 33, and Adamson, 34, both from Utah, are two of the most accomplished alpinists of their generation. Dempster is a two-time winner of the coveted climbing award, Piolets d’Or. He last won in 2013 for a climb he did with others in the same area in Pakistan.

The pair were attempting the first ever ascent of the north face of Ogre II, which is part of a grouping of mountains called Baintha Brakk.

The peak has only been reached once before, by a Korean team in the 1980s via a less difficult route, said Thesenga, who works for Utah-based Black Diamond Equipment, which was sponsoring Dempster.

Last year, Dempster and Adamson nearly died trying the same climb. Adamson broke his leg after a 100ft fall and the two fell again 400ft while trying to get down the mountain. He said the duo hoped they had learned from their mistakes during the near-death experience to make it this time, Thesenga said.

Dempster and Adamson have made careers of climbing peaks from Pakistan to Alaska. In a video posted on the Black Diamond website, Dempster talks about the risk of his daring sport.

“It’s a journey to something that inspires you,” Dempster said. “On that journey, you go through the feeling of fear and to an eventual outcome. You use your pool of experience and common sense and intuition to help make decisions and mitigate the dangers.”