By Hayley Livesey
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July 2, 2025
Nanga Parbat continues to test every ounce of Allie’s courage and endurance as she moves closer to her goal of another 8,000m summit – without supplemental oxygen. Her recent updates from the mountain capture just how demanding and unpredictable this climb has been so far. Here’s a look at her latest progress: On 21 June, Allie and Mikel reached Camp 2 at 6,045m after nearly 11 grueling hours on steep, icy terrain. Exhausted on every level – mentally, physically and emotionally – they also faced a terrifying close call when a massive boulder broke free 800m above them. Miraculously, it missed them, but a smaller rock struck Allie’s arm, leaving her bruised but undeterred. The next day, 22 June, they climbed higher to 6,400m, but made the smart decision to turn back and rest rather than risk pushing too hard before the final summit bid. On 23 June, the descent back to Base Camp turned into its own adventure. Frozen ropes, sharp rock and a cut rappel line forced Allie to tie her rope off with one hand mid-descent – a moment that could have ended very differently. Back at Base Camp, the sudden contrast of green grass, birdsong and flowers felt almost dreamlike after so many days in the harsh, exposed world above. On 25 June, Allie shared a raw reflection about the mindset that keeps her moving forward: “Even though it’s hard AF here on the mountain, after doing a hard thing, I feel amazing. Just because it’s hard and scary doesn’t mean I will run away. To make our biggest dreams become reality we have to step into the unknown. The more we do it, the easier it becomes.” After a short rest, the plan shifted. By 27–28 June, Allie confirmed that the rope-fixing team would push ahead to aim for a 3rd July summit, with Allie and Mikel following a day behind to establish Camp 4 above 7,000m and aim for the summit on the 4th of July. On 30 June, they left Base Camp for Camp 1, moving through worsening conditions with melting ice, waterfalls and loose rock. They reached Camp 1 in just over 3 hours and rested briefly before setting out again at midnight to climb to Camp 2 under cover of darkness – the safest way to avoid dangerous rockfall. By 1 July, they made it to Camp 2 after a punishing 9-hour night climb up endless rock and hard ice. Allie described front-pointing hundreds of metres up the steep face as “extremely painful” but was relieved to tick off this critical stretch. And on 2 July, they pushed higher still to Camp 3 at 6,800m. The climb was brutally tough – more unstepped ice and constant rockfall meant more danger and fatigue, but they made it. Now at Camp 3, Allie is resting and watching the weather and the route carefully before moving up to Camp 4 and the final summit push. Through it all, she continues to remind us what resilience really looks like – facing danger, discomfort and fear head-on, yet still holding onto her vision and purpose. Allie will share more as she pushes for the summit in the days ahead. Thank you for following and supporting her journey to stand on top of Nanga Parbat. Stay tuned – and keep sending her your good energy! πποΈβ¨