ISLAMABAD (AP) — A climber who abandoned a Polish team following a dispute with fellow mountaineers to attempt a solo ascent of K2, the world's second-highest peak, returned to base camp because of bad weather, a tour operator said Monday. 
 
 The news dispelled concerns expressed by the other climbers after Denis Urubko walked away from the team on Sunday to attempt a summit on his own — something that Karrar Haidri of the Alpine Club of Pakistan said was a highly risky feat in winter weather. 
 
 Urubko, a Russian-Polish national, had reportedly argued with team members. He left base camp on Sunday without informing the expedition management and expedition spokesman Michal Leksinski later tweeted they had no radio communication with him. 
 
 Asghar Ali Porik, chief of Jasmine tours which organized logistics for the Polish K2 expedition, said Urubko returned to base camp 2, located at an altitude of 6,700 meters (21,982 feet). 
 
 High wind and extremely rough weather, combined with an icy track forced Urubko to descend to base camp and rejoin the other expedition members, said Porik. 
 
 Urubko was part of last month's mission, along with Adam Bielecki, that rescued French mountain climber Elisabeth Revol from Nanga Parbat, another Himalayan peak in Pakistan. Her Polish climbing partner, Tomasz "Tomek" Mackiewicz, was injured and is presumed to have died during that summit. 
 
 According to Porik, the tour operator, Urubko will now wait at the base camp for the weather to improve and will ascend the summit with the other team members. 
 
 Ashraf Aman, the first Pakistani who climbed K2 in 1977, spoke highly of Urubko's skills and rescue of Revol. 
 
 "He is the star of this era of mountaineering ... he has done the 'broad peak' (another Himalayan summit) as a solo climber in 36 hours and just recently rescued (Revol) by climbing without a rope in the night," Aman said. 

 Image copyright AFP/ALPINE CLUB OF PAKISTAN Image caption Fellow climbers branded Denis Urubko's decision "completely suicidal" 
 
 Mountaineer Denis Urubko has quit a dangerous bid to make the first solo winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, a spokesman for his Polish expedition says. 
 
 Mr Urubko decided on Sunday to set out alone after a row with the expedition. 
 
 He is said to have wanted to make the ascent before the arrival of better weather conditions in March. 
 
 Amid concern over his safety, the expedition spokesman said Mr Urubko was now heading down the peak to a base. 
 
 Michal Leksinski told the BBC that he expected Mr Urubko to reach base camp by Tuesday morning at the latest. 
 
 The Russian-Polish mountaineer is likely to have spent a night at 7,200m (23,600ft) and decided to turn back after experiencing the severe weather conditions, Mr Leksinski added. 
 
 He said other climbers on the mountain had seen Mr Urubko descending and reported it to base camp. 
 
 It is thought he wanted to reach the top of the mountain this month so his effort would definitely count as a winter climb. 
 
 Why did they fall out? 
 
 Mr Urubko reportedly left for the summit without a radio, after refusing to discuss his plans. 
 
 "He was trying to persuade the team to push for the summit in February," a porter with the group told AFP news agency. 
 
 "He has had a heated debate with the team leader and left for the summit without saying a word." 
 
 How dangerous would a solo bid be? 
 
 Professional mountaineers expressed dismay at the climber's decision. 
 
 "A solo attempt of K2 in winter is completely suicidal," said Pakistani climber Mirza Ali Baig. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption K2's nickname is The Savage Mountain because it is so difficult to climb 
 
 Alan Arnette, a US climber who did make it to the summit of K2, told the BBC: "It's a huge risk. You have to cross a traverse underneath a 30-storey ice serac, a hanging serac of a wall of ice that let loose in 2008 and killed 11 climbers that year." 
 
 Karim Shah, a mountaineering friend of Mr Urubko, agreed the move was "very risky". 
 
 "He is known as the 'Himalayan expert' among the mountaineering community. But his decision is not correct and does not suit someone of his stature," he said. 
 
 How good is Denis Urubko? 
 
 He is said to be a highly capable mountaineer who has conquered all of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000m. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Elisabeth Revol describes her rescue from Nanga Parbat 
 
 Mr Urubko made headlines just last month by saving a stricken French climber, Elisabeth Revol. 
 
 He and three other team members were flown by helicopter from K2 to the 8,126m Nanga Parbat in Pakistan - nicknamed Killer Mountain - where they performed an audacious night-time rescue. 
 
 K2 stands at 8,611m and is the only peak above 8,000m never climbed in winter. 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption A spokesman for the expedition said its members would continue to support Mr Urubko 
 
 It has a higher fatality-to-summit rate than Everest, and is known as the Savage Mountain due to its fiendish conditions. 
 
 Avalanches are an ever-present risk, and in winter temperatures can fall to -50C (-58F), accompanied by winds of up to 200km/h (124mph). 
 
 On 1 August 2008, 11 climbers from international expeditions were killed or simply vanished on K2 - in what was one of the deadliest days in mountaineering history. 
 
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– A climber who abandoned a Polish team following a dispute with fellow mountaineers to attempt a solo ascent of K2, the world's second-highest peak, returned to base camp on Monday because of bad weather, reports the AP. The news dispelled concerns expressed by the other climbers after Denis Urubko walked away from the team on Sunday to attempt a summit on his own—something that Pakistani climber Mirza Ali Baig tells the BBC is "completely suicidal." Urubko, a Russian-Polish national, had reportedly argued with team members. He left base camp on Sunday without informing the expedition management, and an expedition spokesman later tweeted they had no radio communication with him. Asghar Ali Porik, chief of Jasmine Tours, which organized logistics for the Polish K2 expedition, said Urubko returned to base camp 2, located at an altitude of 21,982 feet. "He is known as the 'Himalayan expert' among the mountaineering community ... but his decision is not correct and does not suit someone of his stature," mountaineering pal Karim Shah says. Urubko was part of last month's mission, along with Adam Bielecki, that rescued French mountain climber Elisabeth Revol from Nanga Parbat, another Himalayan peak in Pakistan. Her climbing partner was injured and is presumed to have died during that summit. Ashraf Aman, the first Pakistani who climbed K2 in 1977, spoke highly of Urubko's skills and rescue of Revol. "He is the star of this era of mountaineering ... he has done the Broad Peak (another Himalayan summit) as a solo climber in 36 hours and just recently rescued (Revol) by climbing without a rope in the night," Aman said. Per Porik, Urubko will wait at base camp for the weather to improve and ascend the summit with the other team members.