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It has been called the Holy Grail of Mountaineering, and for some it is an item worth searching for with the same fervor as Arthur's knights. I'm speaking of the camera that accompanied George Mallory and Andrew Irvine on their ill fated expedition to Everest back in 1924. The pair never returned of course, and the mountain would remain unclimbed until Hillary and Norgay topped out in 1953. But questions have always remained. Did Mallory reach the summit? Many believe he possibly did, and that the missing camera may contain some images that would prove that he had.

There have been a number of expeditions to the mountain over the years searching for the bodies of both Mallory and Irvine. A talented group of climbers did discovery Mallory's body back in 1999, but a decade later, Irvine and the camera remain missing. Now, two new climbers who bonded in the midst of the K2 tragedy last year, aim to go searching for Irvine, and one of them says he thinks he knows where he is.

The mountaineers are Dr. Eric Meyer and Sherpa Chhiring Dorje, both of which were on K2 last year and played pivitol roles in how things played out on that deadly mountain. Now, the two men who have both summitted Everest before (Chhiring 10 times!) are making plans to go back once again to look for the missing body, and more importantly the camera. Chhiring says that he believes that he has seen Irvine's remains on the mountain before at 27,900 feet, but at the time he didn't think anything of it. It wasn't until later, upon reflection, and learning more about the Mallory expedition, that he began to put the pieces together.

You can read more about both of these men and their plans in this article over at the Denver Post. It is interesting stuff, and it is remarkable to think that Chhiring may know exactly where Irvine and the "Holy Grail" are sitting. But will it change anything if he does?

Lets say, for arguments sake, they find the body. And lets go so far as to say that the camera is still with it and at least intact enough to not have ruined the film. And what if that film is successfully developed after all these years, and it does indeed show Mallory on the summit. Does that change anything? I suppose it does give him the distinction of being the first man up there, but as many mountaineers say, the summit is only the half-way point. The fact remains that they didn't get down alive, which is part of the criteria for a successful climb in my mind. There are a lot of "ifs" in this paragraph though, and I'd be astounded if the camera was still in one piece and hadn't exposed the film by now. Of course, they still have to find it regardless.

While the weather remains iffy throughout the Karakorum, ExWeb is reporting that teams have begun their summit push on Nanga Parbat, with the plan of reaching the top on Friday, July 10th, provided everything remains on schedule. Both Gerfried Göschl and the Korean team that includes Go Mi-Sun have set off for Camp 1 today. Another team, led by Giuseppe Pompili, is setting off in their wake with the intention of going to C3 to acclimatize. From there, they'll return to BC, rest up, and push for the summit around the 15th of the month.

According to the Field Touring Alpine site, their teams on both K2 and Broad Peak are back to work today following a break in the bad weather. Both teams are working the route and planning to climb high to acclimatize. On K2, the plan is to move up to C2 and spend the night their before going back to BC, but on BP it is being reported that there is more snow on the slopes, creating more of an avalanche threat. The FTA BP team will be more cautious in their approach of course.

The Altitude Junkies are on the Gasherbrums, and are eying both G1 and G2. Their latest update indicates good weather may be on the horizon, at least for the next few days. Snow is predicted to return at the end of the week however, so the team is sitting tight in BC for now, and letting the snow settle. They say that the route from C2 to C3 is quite dangerous at the moment, and the idea of more snow coming by Friday does not sit well. There has been so much snowfall on the mountain that all the ropes from C1 to C3 are buried, and if they can not be retrieved, they'll have to be refixed.

Both the Jagged Globe team and Don Bowie haven't posted an update in the last day or two, but they are also aiming at various Gasherbrum summits. Presumably they are waiting for the snow to settle on the higher portion of the mountain as well, but with more snow in the forecast, it doesn't seem like things are going to get better soon.

At least we have some movement on one off the big peaks. Hopefully we'll hear word on successful summits on Nanga Parbat later by the weekend. If the Koreans, and more specifically Go Mi-Sun, top out, they'll move turn their eyes on G1 and G2, making their bid for the Karakorum Hat Trick. If they pull them all over, Miss Go will have bagged six 8000m peaks in a matter of a few months. Should be fun to watch.

It's been nearly a week since I posted any updates on what is happening in the Karakorum, but for the most part, aside from more teams arriving, the biggest news it the bad weather that is making it rough on the climbers at the moment.

Last week I reported that Elisabeth Revol , Antoine Girard, and Ludovic Giambasi were making a weekend run at the summit of Broad Peak. Unfortunately bad weather turned them back for the second time, and they are now back in BC resting up, and waiting for the weather to pass. The commercial teams on the mountain, such as Field Touring Alpine, have begun fixing ropes, and have established C2, but their latest updates indicate that heavy snow and high winds continue to buffet the mountain. Progress has been steady so far though, and if the weather breaks as expected, they'll push all the way up to C3, and are eyeing a summit bid in about 10 days time.

Switching over to the Gasherbrums, a similar story is being told with snow and winds hitting the various peaks that make up that massif. Don Bowie reports that he, Bruce Normand, and David Falt set off last week to stash some gear at 7000m, but after spending the night in C1 and trying to climb higher on the mountain, they were turned back due to high winds causing "spindrift avalanches". They did console themselves with a bit of ice climbing on a face that was protected form the storm though.

The Altitude Junkies have checked in from G1 and G2 as well, and they report that they have both Camp 1 and 2 established, and they are just waiting out the weather as well. They hope it'll pass in the next few days and they can turn their eyes on the summit, in the mean time, they're finding it impossible to recharge their gadgets the past couple of days thanks to the complete lack of sunshine. The Jagged Globe team has just returned from C2 and are reporting "thigh-deep snow" and unstable condition on the upper portions of the mountain, which means it may be awhile before they can get a real crack at the summit.

Weather seems to be the issue on Nanga Parbat as well, where, according to ExWeb, Gerfried Göschl is acclimatizing on the normal Kinshoffer route, but fully intends to climb a new route when he makes his summit bid. Gerfried also reports that Korean climber Go Mi-Sun has arrived on the mountain, and simply passed on through BC on her way up to C2 where she stayed for the night to begin acclimatization. You may recall, she is the Korean climber that pulled off the Himalayan Hat Trick in the spring, and is looking to knock off three more 8000m peaks in the Karakorum this summer. She'll start on Nanga before heading to G1 and G2.

Finally, on K2 the Field Touring Alpine team is hoping to begin working the route once again on Friday, when winds are expected to die down and allow access to the mountain. So far, it seems that teams have established Camp 2, and are eager to get working on the route to C3, but for now, they sit and wait a storm that is blasting BC.

Hopefully the storms will clear soon, and these climbers can finally get going. But as a base of reference, last year the main summits on K2 didn't take place until the end of July. Still plenty of time.