Definitely not! We also had bad weather during the trekking back and conditions in Baltoro remained stormy for many days more. On the other hand, I am sure I would have reached the summit if I had got my cargo in time and arrived 10 days before in BC. FOR SURE!!

For sure, the delay of my cargo had been the worst thing I had to deal with. Had I reached BC 10 days earlier, I definitely would have reached the summit in good, safe conditions. But now is too late to try and find a reason for not having succeeded. Physically, strategically and psychologically, I feel like I've proven to be ready, prepared and very motivated.

Honestly, I found a real winter and the solitude I like. I also found the mountain in very nice and safe conditions. Additionally, I have confirmed that such a king of goals is also attainable by a two-member team. I hope that those mountains will be climbed in light style in future winter attempts.

Logistics were a problem – delays cost you an invaluable amount of time and money. Any advice on the subject for teams visiting Pakistan during the winter in the future?

The main advice is to send the cargo or at least the heaviest and most important equipment 2-3 months in advance, so it can be transported to BC by porters at normal fees.

For sure I will go back! Probably next winter, during 2007/2008, but I don't want to share the project with other expeditions on the same mountain. I don't want to get involved in any kind of competition. I also want to continue with the two-member team and light style.

Shaheen is a very strong climber and person. He also is a good climber technically and speaks good English. He proved to be a nice partner and always kept happy - a very good thing in winter… He summited K2 in 2004 without oxygen, as well as G2 and many other 7000+ meters mountains. He has worked a lot with Japanese tourists, trekkers and climbers. He has his own trekking agency (Shams Alpine) together with Kudrat Ali - who summited 4 x 8000 in Pakistan except K2. Shaheen also organized a climbing school in his village involving female climbers, which is very, very rare in Pakistan. I will count on him to be my partner again on future expeditions. His dream is to find sponsorship so he can attempt all 14 8000s.

You acclimatized with Polish climbers on Nanga before moving to Broad Peak's BC. How was the experience? What is your impression of their attempt?

I have special feelings with Polish climbers and I deply respect the Polish tradition of Alpinism. Wielicki, Artur, Darek and Jacek are good friends of mine, so my visit was very friendly and their hospitality great. As for the climb, their style and approach was different from mine, but I understand that they had 4500 vertical meters to climb and that their goal was exclusively to reach the summit, so it is normal that they went expedition-style. It was also the fifth time a Polish team attempted to winter Nanga Parbat. Personally, I hope that in the future they will start after the 21st December and in a small team, thus totally respecting the winter calendar. In any case, I really hope they climb Nanga first because they invented the winter climb above 8000 meters.

Himalayan spring season is just starting. Do you have any comments on the climbing panorama? Is there something new coming over, as far as high altitude mountaineering is concerned?

To do this, they will have to stop training by simply walking and running daily, and instead start aiming for higher degrees of difficulty on rock, ice and mixed terrains. Many high altitude climbers are simply high altitude walkers…. In fact the strongest mountaineers currently are also higly skilled climbers with innovative impulses.

North Face athlete Simone Moro, 38, has summited Mount Everest (three times), Broad Peak, Cho Oyu, Shisha Pangma (winter), Lhotse (twice) and 5 peaks over 7000 meters. He did the first winter climb of Marble Wall 6400m (Tien Shan), a 24-hour climb on Fitz Roy's West Face (Patagonia), and has completed many other climbs around the world. Simone and Piotr Morawski summited Shisha Pangma after a fast five-hour climb in very strong winds. It was the first (real) winter ascent on a 8000er since 1988, and the first winter climb on Shisha Pangma.

The Shisha winter summit was, in fact, Simone's fifth winter climb. Since the December attempt on Annapurna in 1997 when Anatoli Boukreev died, Simone has had successful climbs on Aconcagua and Cerro Mirador (new route in alpine style in 1993), and on Marble Wall, the northernmost and coldest 6000er in Central Asia, with Denis Urubko in 2001.

For two months in the winter of 2007, Simone attempted the first winter climb on Broad Peak. Originally, he planned to climb solo, but then teamed up with local climber Shaheen Baig, 28. Shaheen summited K2 in 2004 and GII in 2001. He has also scaled eight 7000ers. The climbers were the only team working in the Broad Peak area.

After weeks of delays due to red tape and logistical problems, the small team reached BC on February 14. Simone's skills in reading weather forecasts showed in the fast order he and Shaheen managed to establish in all their high camps. The climbers did many of the technical sections without rope, and didn't use fixed lines. They carried helmet-mounted webcams that were filming for Canon.

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