Today, with one day delay (due to a strike), the Opteon expedition has begun. Wim Smets is on his way to Pakistan for climbing the Broad Peak (8051 meters) and the Gasherbrum II (8034 meters).

The goal of the Opteon expedition is to restrain the two giants during the same expediton. After arriving at the base camp, the ascent of Broad Peak will be started. After the summit push on Broad Peak, which normally should take play in late July, there will be a recovery time of one week before the start of the summit attempt on Gasherbrum II.

The big challenge is to recover as much as possible between the two summit days. At high altitude, there is not enough oxygen for your body to sustain itself, so your body is sort of eating itself by transforming muscles into much needed energy. Moreover, it is intended to make the two climbs without supplementary oxygen.

If the Opteon expedition succeeds, Wim Smets will be the first Belgian ever to climb two 8000+ peaks in the same year without supplementary oxygen!

You can follow the Opteon expedition day-by-day on www.eerstebelgopk2.be.