pakistan - Climb Magazine

PART TWO
M2
C1
M5
M3 M4 M6
C2
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M7 C3 M8
C4
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The second of our three-part report covers
some of the best ascents and attempts during
the season. Climbing in the Nangma Valley
will be covered in next month’s INFO.
WESTERN HIMALAYA
Nanga Parbat: Diamir Face
Four expeditions attempted 8,125m Nanga
Parbat but only two, primarily German, teams
were successful. One was a commercially
organized trip from Amical Alpin and the
second a private six-man team from Saxony.
Both followed the Normal Route up the Diamir
Face. The final day to reach and then climb the
summit pyramid can often be long,
particularly in deep snow and this proved the
case on the 30th June when Günter Jung, Jörg
Stingl and the brothers, Christian and Markus
Walter, from Saxony did not reach the top until
9pm. Jung was 64 years of age, making him
the oldest person to climb Nanga Parbat. The
team then set off down into the night.
A little before 1am on the 1st July, Jung and
Markus Walter were moving together,
unroped, when Jung fell and was unable to
stop himself. Walter located the slide marks in
the snow and followed them, eventually taking
a fall himself and losing his down jacket,
gloves and hat, as well as his whereabouts. He
was forced to wait until dawn, when he found
his only option was to re-ascend to the correct
line. It took most of that day for him to reunite with his brother in camp. Of Jung there
was no sign.
Nanga Parbat: Mazeno Ridge
Fit, motivated and well-acclimatized from
their Alpine style ascents in the Charakusa
(reported elsewhere), Americans, Doug
Chabot and Steve Swenson, arrived at Rupal
Base Camp on the 9th August and three days
later moved up to an Advanced Base at
4,900m. Their objective was the first ascent of
the complete West South West or Mazeno
Ridge, a monstrous undertaking over eight
summits to the junction with the 1976 Schell
Route, then via the upper section of this to
Nanga Parbat’s summit.
The Mazeno is the longest arête on any
8,000m peak; a staggering 13km from the
Mazeno Pass at 5,377m to where it joins the
South South West Ridge or Schell Route, then
another two kilometres up this (via slopes on
the Diamir Flank) to the summit. The concept
of traversing this immense crest was probably
first conceived by Frenchman, Louis
Audoubert, famous for his long, multi-day,
Alpine ridge traverses in the 1970s. Audoubert
and partners reached the first summit on the
ridge in 1979 but an Alpine style continuation
along the crest looked too daunting. It
subsequently became Doug Scott’s passion
and with various partners he made three
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(A) Nanga Parbat South Summit (8,042m; the main 8,125m summit is hidden directly behind). (B) Rakhiot
Peak (7,070m). (E) Shaigiri Glacier. (F) Rupal Valley. (M) The eight Mazeno peaks (M1, 6,800m; M2, 6,825m;
M3, 6,970m; M4, 7,060m; M5, 7,090m: M6 or Mazeno Peak, 7,120m; M7, 7,100m; M8, 7,070m). (1) The Mazeno
Ridge (first traverse of all Mazeno summits to the Mazeno Col: Doug Chabot and Steve Swenson, 2004). C1 C5 mark the five camps used on the traverse with C1 at 6,200m and C4 on the Mazeno Col at c6,940m. (2)
South South West Ridge - Schell Route (Siegl Gimpel/Robert Schauer/Hans Schell/Hilmar Sturm, 1976). (3)
South South East Spur - Messner Route (summit reached by Gunther and Reinhold Messner, then Felix Kuen
and Peter Scholz, 1970). (4) South East Pillar (Ueli Buhler to South Summit, 1982; Carlos Carsolio/Zygmunt
Heinrich/Jerzy Kukuczka/Slavomir Lobodzinski, 1985 to Main Summit). DOUG SCOTT
weeks of almost fine weather had been
followed by high winds, making underfoot
conditions on the ridge excellent. Where
previous parties had been troubled by kneedeep snow or worse, the American pair found
névé. Setting off on the morning of the 13th in
Alpine style, the most logical way to attempt
this ‘last great problem’, they climbed
relatively straightforward snow and ice up the
long South Ridge of the First Mazeno Peak (Pt
6,800m), bivouacking that night at c6,200m.
Progressing quickly the following morning,
they soon crossed this summit and found the
expeditions to the ridge. On the last, in 1995,
the strong partnership of Rick Allen, Voytek
Kurtyka and Andrew Lock on their fifth
attempt (Scott had to retire due to illness)
reached the third Mazeno top at around
7,000m, a little over halfway along the crest.
This proved to be the furthest point reached
until last year and all three felt that a party
succeeding in traversing to the junction with
the Schell Route would be very unlikely to
accomplish the ascent of Nanga Parbat in the
same push.
Chabot and Swenson had timed it well; two
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The summit area of Nanga Parbat seen from the top of 7,120m Mazeno Peak. (A) North Peak I (7,816m), (B)
Forepeak (7,910m), (C) Main Summit (8,126m). (1) Top section of West Face of North I - Slovak Route
(Belica/Just/Zatko/Zatko, 1978). (2) Normal (Kinshofer) Route (Kinshofer/Low/Manhardt, 1962: either climbs to
the col right of the Forepeak and up the final section of the North Ridge or, more usually nowadays, direct to the
summit). (3) Line descended by Reinhold Messner in 1970: his brother Gunther disappeared somewhere
towards the bottom). (4) Upper section of the Schell Route (Gimpel/Schauer/Schell/Sturm, 1976) which crosses
from the Rupal Flank at the Mazeno Col (5: hidden below foreground Mazeno peak) and climbs the west flank of
the South West Ridge (6). DOUG CHABOT
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PAKISTAN
M1
in association with
Doug Chabot (left) and Steve Swenson back at
Rupal Base Camp after their first traverse of the
Mazeno peaks. DOUG CHABOT
070
next two peaks also went easily. By the end of
their second day on the climb (third out from
Base Camp) they were cutting a tent site at
6,900m. Clear skies again greeted them on the
15th and before long they were climbing the
mixed ground up to the top of the fourth peak
at 7,060m. They skirted the fifth peak, 7,090m,
via its icy flanks. The sixth, actually designated
Mazeno Peak, was the highest at 7,120m and
proved a simple snow dome, as was the next
at 7,100m. Although to this point the terrain is
not technical, it is sufficiently hard and
exposed that bad weather or high winds would
make climbing more or less impossible. This
leads to the whole undertaking being supercommitting, as retreat can only be made back
over the ground previously crossed. In
addition, many of the summits require an
ascent and subsequent descent of c500m and
the two climbers estimated the total height
gain to the Mazeno Col to be c6,500m. A third
bivouac was sited before the last peak
(7,070m) and the two thought that threeto four
hours the following day would see them at the
Mazeno Col (c6,940m), where the Schell Route
comes up from the Rupal Flank.
That night ominous clouds began to cover
the sky, in addition to which Swenson, who
had been going very strongly, started to get ill
and cough up phlegm violently, though this
was thought to be the result of an infection
rather than any direct form of altitude
sickness. The next morning, with Chabot in
the lead, it took more than 12 hours to reach
the col and the intervening ground proved to
be the crux of the route, giving technical
pitches of M4 and AI 3 in a very airy situation.
Many towers had to be first climbed then
rappelled on the far side. When the two
exhausted climbers set up camp on the col
there was only one logical direction in which
they could continue; down.
Believing the hard part of the Schell Route
to be fixed, they left much of their remaining
food, fuel and the only climbing rope,
expecting to come back up and finish the route
to the summit. However, despite the existence
of old anchors further down the ridge, there
were no ropes to be seen. After its first ascent
by Austrians, Siegl Gimpel, Robert Schauer,
Hans Schell and Hilmar Sturm (for the fifth
ascent of Nanga Parbat) the Schell Route
Looking back along the Mazeno Ridge shortly before reaching Mazeno Peak (7,120m). The small pointed
rocky summit on the ridge crest to the right is Pt 6,970m (M3). The Rupal Peaks rise in the middle distance.
DOUG CHABOT
became quite popular for a number of years,
taking preference as the Standard Route until
its reputation of being desperately loose and
dangerous in the lower section (plus the
inability to lose height quickly from the
summit) persuaded climbers back to the
Diamir Face. The last time it was climbed was
in 1990, though Doug Scott’s 1992 expedition
reached c7,300m in order to cache supplies
for a Mazeno Ridge attempt.
With the ground now too steep to down
climb unprotected, Chabot and Swenson
resorted to chopping 25m of old rope from the
ice. Another bivouac was required and five
rappels (each of 12m) had to be made before
they escaped from the mountain. The descent,
through poor visibility and huge amounts of
rockfall, had been quite harrowing and both
Chabot and Swenson understandably had no
desire to go back up for another crack at the
summit. Their traverse of the Mazeno Peaks
was a magnificent achievement, carried out in
exemplary style, but the first complete ascent
to the summit of Nanga Parbat remains an
unclaimed prize.
Nanga Parbat: Rupal Face
Two more members of the American
Charakusa team, Steve House and Bruce
Miller, had also come to the Rupal side of
Nanga Parbat, but their intention was a new
route on the c4,500m South East or Rupal Face,
arguably the highest single sweep of steep
rock and ice in the World. Fourteen years
previously a young House had walked below
this face as a member of a Slovenian
expedition that made one of the last ascents of
the Schell Route.
The Rupal Face has two routes, both
unrepeated. The most famous is the German
or Messner Route towards the left side. It was
via this line that in June 1970 Gunther and
Reinhold Messner made the historic third
ascent of Nanga Parbat. From the summit the
two opted to descend blind down the opposite
side of the mountain, the Diamir Face, where
Gunter was killed and Reinhold made it to the
valley more dead than alive. The prominent
right-hand or South East Pillar on the face
was actually climbed as far as Nanga Parbat’s
8,042m South Summit in 1982. On the 16th
August that year four climbers from a
German-led expedition set out from their top
camp at 7,500m for a summit push. Three
turned back but Ueli Buhler from Switzerland
continued solo, bivouacked high on the
mountain without equipment, and reached the
South Summit the following day. He later lost
segments of several fingers and half his toes
to the frostbite injuries sustained. Three years
later the route was completed to the Main
Summit by Carlos Carsolio (Mexico) with
Zygmunt Heinrich, Jerzy Kukuczka and
Slavomir Lobodzinski from Poland. In 2003,
Slovenian, Tomaz Humar, had envisaged a line
directly up the face between these two routes,
but after attempting to acclimatize on the
Messner Route in bad conditions, he gave up.
In August 2004, House and Miller arrived to try
their luck.
The two Americans left Base Camp at
3,850m on the 12th August, climbed 5.4 rock
to the right of the initial gully (which had
avalanched) then back into it and up 45°
terrain to a bivouac at c5,100m. Next morning
a pitch of 70° led to the base of two runnels.
Opting for the right-hand, thinner but less
rotten of the two, the pair climbed a pitch of
vertical M5 with poor rock protection. Another
steep pitch led to 50° ice. Rockfall now began
to be an issue and a serac formation, which
had been hardly noticeable from the ground,
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RAKAPOSHI RANGE
Phuparash
In July a one-member Japanese expedition,
namely Hideki Nakayama, attempted to make
the first ascent of 6,824m Phuparash in the
Rakaposhi Range. On the 26th Nakayama set
up Base Camp at 3,700m in the Darchan Valley
to the south of the mountain. Four years
previously the Japanese, with two other
friends, had climbed a loose rock rib on the
imposing South Face of the mountain, heading
for a ridge that would lead towards the
summit. This time he opted for a couloir that
rose to more or less the same point but would
give faster travel. However, on the 28th and at
only 4,300m there was a serac fall in the lower
part of the couloir. Nakayama was injured and
lost most of his climbing equipment.
The largely forgotten Phuparash summits
lie on the high ridge connecting Malubiting
with Diran. In 1976 Italians planned to try the
6,824m summit (sometimes, and perhaps
more correctly referred to as Miar Peak, as it
lies at the head of the Miar Glacier to the
north: see INFO 259) from the Darchen Valley
but were so put off by the prospect of the
c2,000m South Face that they never set foot on
the mountain. In 1977 a British expedition was
successful on the slightly lower (6,725m) and
more easterly Central Summit. Working from
the Darchan Valley, the team established a top
camp in a snow hole at c5,480m on the South
Ridge, from where John Burslem, Dave
Robbins and John Whittock reached the
summit in a five-day Alpine style push.
Together with a lightweight Japanese attempt
on the Main Summit/Miar in 1997 and an
Italian attempt on the same summit from the
north (the Italians found the Miar Glacier
impossible), these provide the only known
activity on the Miar-Phuparash summits; a
collection of five alluring peaks.
TRANGO GROUP
Great Trango
Of all the rock-climbs completed in the
Karakoram during 2004 the finest was the first
ascent of the huge South West Ridge of Great
Trango (6,286m) by Americans, Kelly Cordes
and Josh Wharton. This 2,250m ridge, one of
the longest rock-climbs in the world, forms
the right edge of the c2,000m North West
Face, climbed by American (to the summit
ridge within five pitches of the summit itself)
and Russian teams in 1999. In 1990 the
Spanish team of Fernando Cabo, Jon Lazkano,
Guillermo Banales and Maximo Murcia spent
21 days fixing ropes on the majority of 61
pitches climbed up the ridge, reporting that
they came within just three or four
straightforward rope lengths from the top
before forced down by a vicious storm. The
challenge was taken up again in 2000 when
Americans, Tim O’Neill and Miles Smart,
made two Alpine style attempts, on both
occasions free climbing at 5.10 with some aid
to the same point as the Spanish. The two
Americans were much more conservative,
stating that their (and the Spanish) highpoint
was actually still quite a long way from the
summit and the ground ahead looked like it
might provide the crux. They were right on
both accounts.
Cordes and Wharton attacked the route in a
very lightweight style, ‘absurdly so in
retrospect’ according to Cordes. Anticipating
the route to be almost entirely rock they took
no mountain boots, just approach
shoes/trainers and rock shoes. They also
Base Camp below Nanga Parbat’s Bazhin Glacier. Towering above is the 4,500m Rupal Face. (1) South South
East Spur - Messner Route (summit reached by Gunther and Reinhold Messner, then Felix Kuen and Peter
Scholz, 1970). (2) Direct South East Face - American attempt (Steve House/Bruce Miller to c7,550m, 2004).
(3) South East Pillar (Ueli Buhler to South Summit, 1982; Carlos Carsolio/Zygmunt Heinrich/Jerzy
Kukuczka/Slavomir Lobodzinski, 1985 to Main Summit). (4) Upper North Ridge - Original Route (Herman
Buhl, solo, 1953). The left skyline is the upper South West Ridge and the Schell Route lies on the far side.
ARNE HODALIC
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threatened ominously above their heads. They
set up their small tent in a relatively sheltered
spot (c5,400m) at midday.
Leaving early on the 14th, they climbed
unroped up and through the serac barrier by
sunrise (50-60° but 15m of 90° at the serac)
then on up for a total of 1,250m to reach their
third bivouac site at 6,750m on the Merkl
Icefield. Next morning they were slow to move
from their one shared sleeping bag, having
both suffered a little with altitude during the
night. But the weather was still fine as they
climbed to the upper right corner of the
icefield and through the bounding rock wall
into the centre of the face, right of the Merkl
Gully. After several pitches with sections up to
5.7 they reached what they presumed was the
end of the major difficulties. At this point they
lightened the load by cutting their 75m rope in
two and caching one section with all their rock
gear and House’s helmet. A few pitches of
snow and ice interwoven with mixed terrain
and they were at their fourth bivouac
(c7,200m).
Early on the 16th they left for the summit,
intending to descend the Schell Route.
However, the initial snow proved deep and
strenuous before turning to 50° ice, and
House, who had vomited during the night and
was now somewhat dehydrated, began to
move a lot more slowly than Miller. By the
time they reached c7,550m, just below where
the Messner Route makes its exit from the
Merkl Gully, Miller was deeply concerned
about House’s condition and made the
decision that both climbers should descend
immediately. The two regained their last
bivouac and the following day rappelled and
down-climbed to the Messner Route. This was
followed to the bottom of the face, the pair
reaching Base Camp at around 10pm.
Miller left for home with Chabot and
Swenson but House stayed on at Base and five
days later made another attempt on the line
alone. But his heart wasn’t in it and he
descended before really setting foot on the
face. He is, however, planning a return match
this year.
in association with
anticipated the good weather prevailing at the
time would produce copious amounts of
meltwater high on the route and hence took
minimal fuel to melt snow. When this ran out
on the second bivouac, they spent the last two
of their four and a half day ascent completely
without water (and food, as their energy bars,
gels and packet soups remained more or less
inedible without fluid). They took just one
9.1mm climbing rope plus a 7.9 haul/rappel
rope and no bolt kit.
Starting up the lower right side of the broad
South West Buttress at 9am on the 24th July
with one 12.5kg sac, the pair quickly relieved
themselves of some extra weight by dropping
six of their 20 cams from the second/third
pitch, when a gear sling came undone. The
first two days saw steady progress up the
lower section of the ridge, which gave mainly
moderate terrain (5.8-5.10 interspersed with
sections of scambling) with several more
difficult sections. One of these, a compact wall
which had obviously been aided by the Spanish
on drilled holes, gave a bold lead of 5.11 with
one taped-down skyhook 8-10m above the last
piece of protection. Most of the climbing was
quite solid, though there were many stacked
blocks on ledges and only one really nasty
pitch that finished up vertical balanced blocks.
Climbing the headwall on the third day
(5.10+ and A1), the loss of gear became more
noticeable as the leader was forced into big
run-outs on the steep, parallel-sided cracks.
Where it was steep (approximately half the
Josh Wharton at c5,800m on the headwall of Great Trango’s South West Ridge. It’s day three of the ascent
and 1,800m below him lies the dry Trango Glacier. To his left are the Hainabrakk Towers (the top part of
5,885m Shipton Spire is visible behind) with steep narrow glaciers rising on either side. The one to the left,
Uli Biaho North East Glacier, leads towards Uli Biaho (6,417m: hidden), behind which and high in the
background are the two snowy North Peaks of Choricho (6,631m; 6,643m). The glacier to the right, the
North Hainabrakk, rises to a c6,150m peak in the Hainebrakk Group. Also rising out of the picture on the
far left is the East Face of Uli Biaho Spire (6,109m). KELLY CORDES
route) the second jumared with the ’sack.
Passing abandoned ropes (which they didn’t
use) and bolts (which they clipped) from the
1990 attempt, they passed the previous
Spanish and American high point, after which
the route became much more complex and
committing, with pendulums and traverses. It
soon became clear there was no way back
Great Trango (6,286m) seen from the northwest across the rubble of the lower Trango Glacier. The rocky top
to the right marked (TC) is Trango Castle (5,735m). (1) Karakoram Khush on 4,700m Garda Peak (Tomaz
Jakofcic/Klemen Mali/Miha Vali, 2004: 300m; 6b and A0). Above and left the rock rises to the northwest
flanks of Trango Tower. (2) Sadu (Antoine and Sandrine de Choudens, 2003: 350m and seven pitches: 6c;
second ascent with variations in 2004 by Tomaz Jakofcic and Miha Vali at 6b+ and A1). (3) The approximate
start of the couloir used to reach the col between Trango Tower and Great Trango. (4) The descent route
used by Cordes and Wharton, which roughly corresponds to the 1984 American Route (North Face and
North West Ridge: Scott Woolums/Andy Selters). (5) The approximate line of the 1999 Russian Route on the
North West Face (Yuri Koshelenko/Alexander Odintsov/Igor Potankin/Ivan Samoilenko: c2,000m: 66 pitches:
VII 5.11 A4). (6) The South West or Azeem Ridge (Kelly Cordes/Josh Wharton, 2004: 5.11 R/X A2 M6). (X) The
high point of the previous Spanish and American attempts. Trango Base Camp is hidden in the big shadow
down to the right of (2). The pointed snowy summit on the right of the picture is one of the Urdukas Peaks
and lies on the far side of the Baltoro. KELLY CORDES
X
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with their meagre rack and the only escape lay
over the summit.
The narrow upper ridge on day four proved
the technical crux, the difficulties compounded
by dehydration. At one stage Wharton led a
very bold 5.10+ off-width, then later was
forced to make a complicated pendulum into
an ice-choked crack and follow this with a
massively unprotected lead using a crampon
strapped to his left rock shoe while his other
foot sought excrescences on the smooth rock
face to the right. At the top he found a few sips
of gritty muddy water, which the two devoured
before bivouacking for the night. The following
morning of the 28th July involved more
complex mixed terrain along the crest
previously followed by the 1999 Russian team.
A full 17 pitches above the Spanish high point
they finally reached the c6,250m West Summit
(by using 60m ropes and climbing together on
occasions they completed the route in 58
pitches, 25 of which were 5.10 or harder).
A little further down the North East Ridge
the two Americans rappelled the North Face
for five or six rope lengths off less than perfect
anchors (one a single RP backed up by two
extremely poor blades) to reach the tilted
TC
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Kelly Cordes on the moraines of the Trango
Glacier, immediately after his descent from Great
Trango. Is he really going to drink that pee bottle?
072
KELLY CORDES COLLECTION
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Baltoro Glacier Satellite Image Map, another part of which (K2 and surrounding peaks) was published full
page in INFO 258. This is a SPOT 4 image with ground resolution of 10m, processed and delivered by
Geosystems-Polska, Poland, with all composition and added data by Grzegorz Glazek. It is published by the
PZA (Polish Mountaineering Association) with an ISBN 83-910339-7-X. Folded copies of this 99cmX68cm
map are available from Stanfords in the UK (www.stanfords.co.uk) for £12.95, while the rolled version (on
thicker paper with slightly better image quality) costs £19.95. They should be accessible very shortly in the
USA. For current details about worldwide distribution see the website www.master-topo.com (in English
and currently in preparation) or contact [email protected] Note (a) that on this version the SW Summit of
Great Trango has been wrongly labelled SE, and (b) the satellite image proves conclusively that existing
maps of this region in common usage, such as Kielkowski, Miyamori and Wala, are generally wrong with
their detail around the heads of the Uli Biaho and North Hainabrakk Glaciers.
glaciated slopes of the upper North West
Ridge and the 1984 Selters/Woolums Route.
Unfortunately, at this point their ropes
jammed and they could only salvage c20m of
7.9mm for the remaining descent. Staggering
down the ridge with their ultra-light strap-on
crampons over trainers, they reached the col
in front of Trango Tower, the top of the gully
leading down to the Trango Glacier, a cache of
food and fuel previously placed on a
reconnaissance of their descent route, and
more importantly buckets of meltwater.
Next day they were back at Base, naming
their route Azeem Ridge (5.11 R/X A2 M6).
Azeem is an Urdu word meaning ‘great’, not
only in stature but also more importantly as a
greeting of fondness and respect between
friends. In a single word, this describes
Cordes and Wharton’s feelings about the
wonderful people they met in the Northern
Areas of Pakistan. One week later they
attempted the first Alpine style ascent of the
Slovenian Route on Trango Tower but
retreated from around two-thirds height on
the second day.
The Standard 1984 American Route was
climbed by at least two parties during the
season: the Slovenians, Jakofcic and Vali, as
noted elsewhere; Germans, Hans Lochner and
Rudi Jooss, in a one-day round trip from Base
Camp in mid/late September (after they had
bailed due to freezing conditions from pitch 19
on an attempted one-day ascent of the
Slovenian Route on Trango Tower).
Trango Tower
Many parties, exhibiting a wide variety of style,
ethics and, seemingly, behaviour, attempted
6,251m Trango Tower. The most successful of
these parties appears to have been the
Slovenians, Tomaz Jakofcic, Klemen Mali and
Miha Vali, who after their climbs noted
elsewhere in this report made the first Alpine
style ascent of Eternal Flame on the South
Pillar (Albert/Güillich/Steigler/Sykora, 1989:
1,000m and c31 pitches: 7b+ and A2: climbed
almost free in 2003 at 7c+ and A0 – a 15m bolt
ladder on pitch 10 – by Denis Burdet). They
bivouacked on the Sun Terrace Shoulder and
again at the top of pitch 23, leaving them
plenty of time to reach the summit by 12.30pm
on the 11th September. The route was climbed
at 6c+ and A2. Five hours of rappelling,
followed by a controlled slide down the
approach couloir, saw them back at Base
Camp. It was their first attempt on Trango and
no fixed ropes were used, making this perhaps
the first true Alpine style ascent of the Tower.
It was also most probably the fifth ascent of
Eternal Flame to the summit (first, Germans,
1989; second, Spanish, Maria Andreas, Jorge
Couceiro, José Vicenté and Alberto Sepúveda
in 1998 who climbed with considerably more
aid at 6c and A2; third, Germans, Christian
Baum, Steffen Geissler, Rüdiger Helling, Jens
Richter and Michael Richter, and Rainer
Treppte in 2000, climbing as two separate
ropes and using aid on only the 19th and 25th
pitches like the first ascensionists; fourth,
Late in the fourth day on the first ascent of Great
Trango’s South West Ridge. A dehydrated Josh
Wharton is about to launch into a bold lead up a
5.10+ off-width on the final arête at over 6,100m.
The summit is still some distance behind the
visible high point. KELLY CORDES
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The Trango Group. This annotated image is just a small section of a recently published 1:80,000 K2 and
Spanish/Swiss, Tony Arbones, Denis Burdet
and Nicolas Zambetti in 2003 as noted above).
Most other parties previously claiming the
ascent have generally been stymied by lack of
time on the final day, forcing them to stop at
the junction with the 1976 Original British
Route (and top of the rock section)
approximately 80m below the summit. In 1990
Japanese climbers, Masanori Hoshina and
Satoshi Kimoto made a four-day Alpine style
ascent of the 1976 British Route in order to
rescue a fellow countryman who was stuck on
the wall 80m from the summit, having tried to
paraglide from the top following the
completion of a new route. However, it is
believed the two Japanese may have benefited
greatly from the old fixed ropes in place.
Jakofcic, Mali and Vali have a good mixture
of talent. They’ve climbed F8b and routes on El
Cap (Vali has climbed Freerider), while the first
two have put up several new routes in
Patagonia and Jakofcic has also climbed
Dhaulagiri and made the first ascent of
Gyachung Kang’s North Face.
Other parties, notably Spanish and another
Slovenian pair, also attempted Eternal Flame
using fixed ropes. Although none summited,
three Basques, Iñigo Bergara, Ander Gomez
and Arkaitz Yurritait, climbed the route from
the 28th-30th July to the junction with the
British Route two pitches below the summit.
They had fixed the lower section due to very
snowy conditions on the route, then climbed
Alpine style above, having to use aid on some
of the pitches due to icing. The final two or so
pitches to the summit were completely
plastered in snow and ice, forcing the team to
leave them untouched and descend.
Later, Slovenians, Matjaz Jeran and Matevz
in association with
Recent abandoned garbage adorns the belay cracks
of the Slovenian Route above the Sun Terrace. The
writing on this particular variety is Korean (see
report on Trango Tower). KELLY CORDES
074
Kunsic also climbed the route. This pair had
originally wanted to attempt a free ascent in a
single push using a portaledge, but too much
snow and icy cracks made that impossible.
They, therefore, fixed the initial nine pitches to
the Terrace, then camped there until fine
weather arrived. On the 14th August they
started up the wall above but on the 13th pitch
saw their portaledge disappear into the void
when its carrying bag ripped. They continued
and managed to on-sight the first four hard
free pitches (at F7a+/7b) but then had to aid to
pitch 20, where they bivouacked. There, they
decided to leave most of their gear but take
axes and crampons for the final pitches. The
next day the two Slovenians climbed largely
free with sections of A0 and at 6pm, and at the
top of pitch 31, reached the end of the pure
rock section, where they joined the British
Route at c6,150m. From there they climbed
two relatively easy mixed pitches and at 7pm,
a stone’s throw from the summit, turned
around as it was getting dark, cold and they
had not carried any extra clothing. The two
rappelled to their tent on the terrace, which
they reached at 11pm. On the 28th they
attempted to reach the summit via the
Slovenian Route but after climbing 20 pitches
in one day (to c5,900m), the weather turned
bad and they were forced to retreat.
Several other parties including a Korean
team and a Mexican group with the model,
media celebrity and first Spanish woman to
climb Everest, Aracelli Segarre,
unsuccessfully attempted the Slovenian Route.
The Koreans under Yoon Dae-Hoon were more
or less repeating a new start to the Sun
Terrace pioneered by another Korean
expedition in 2003 (two members of this were
on the 2004 trip). This line more or less climbs
up the lower West Face to the Sun Terrace
directly below the prow of Eternal Flame and
left of the classic Slovenian start. There are 10
pitches: three on rock (5.10a and A3+); four on
ice (to WI 4); three mixed (to M5). Although the
Korean team completed this line without the
use of fixed rope, they note it was badly
threatened by falling rock and ice due to the
high temperatures at the time. From the
Terrace they fixed c250m of rope up the
Slovenian Route and reached a height of
6,120m but couldn’t finish due to the large
quantities of snow and ice above.
Most parties on the Tower at the same time
accuse them of leaving rubbish all over the
place. There is undoubtedly a considerable
amount of garbage in the approach couloir
and piles of trash and human waste on the
Sun Terrace, all of which can be attributed to
many different parties. Americans, Cordes and
Wharton were particularly disgusted with the
state of the couloir on their descent from
Great Trango and noted that a significant
proportion of discarded tins, wrappers etc
sported Korean writing. The Koreans state
that at the Sun Terrace they set fire to most of
their rubbish before carrying it down and
other climbers who witnessed this may have
misconstrued their action. On return to their
Advanced Base at 5,000m, the Koreans found
their tents had been hit by rockfall, causing
garbage to spill all over the place. They also
removed all their fixed rope and support the
philosophy of removing equipment from both
new and existing routes (as Mr Yoon notes
they do in their own country). Possibly due, in
part, to external pressure, the Korean team
later employed a high altitude porter to help
clear both gully and Advanced Base. All
rubbish was reportedly removed from Base
Camp. After the Korean departure, Cordes and
Wharton made an attempt on the Slovenian
Route and found the condition of the gully to
be improved but by no way clean, with obvious
Korean refuse still visible. They also found
plastic bottles bearing Korean writing at
several belay points, stuffed into the initial
cracks above the Terrace (see photo). They
were particularly upset, as on their Great
Trango escapade they had carried all their
rubbish and uneaten food off the mountain,
despite being in a severely exhausted state.
The Slovenians, Jeran and Kunsic, who were
on the Tower even later, agree that the whole
area is pretty filthy. However, they remark that
while a lot of the garbage in the approach
couloir appeared to have Korean writing on
the packaging, the most by far on the Sun
Terrace was of Spanish origin. Some of this
they managed to take down with their own
rubbish.
Finally, there was one more very significant
attempt. The highly experienced big wall
climber Alfredo Mandinabeita (Norwegian
Route on Great Trango, Amin Brakk etc)
attempted to make the second ascent, solo, of
the Swiss-French Route on the West Pillar
(Patrick Delale/Michel Fouquet/Michel
Piola/Stéphane Schaffter, 1987 after an
attempt by some of the party the previous
year: 1,100m: 25 pitches: 6c and A4).
Mandinabeita fixed the initial section on the
13th July but was forced down by bad weather.
He set off again capsule style on the 25th and
eventually climbed 14 pitches over 17 days,
though he was confined to the portaledge on
11 of those days. This more or less brought
him to the big snow terrace at around halfheight. Realizing he was not going to reach the
summit, he started to descend on the 11th
August; a lengthy process with 80kg of
equipment. To his high point the Spaniard had
climbed pitches of F6c and A4, though there is
a hint he might have found the A4 a trifle
overgraded.
Trango Base Camp peaks
Arriving at Trango Base Camp in early August,
Slovenians, Tomaz Jakofcic and Miha Vali first
warmed up with an acclimatization ascent of
the Normal Route on Great Trango Tower
(North Face and North West Ridge: Scott
Woolums/Andy Selters, 1984: mainly 40-60°
snow and ice with some steeper sections) then
during an unstable period of weather repeated
Sadu (Antoine and Sandrine de Choudens,
2003: 350m and seven pitches: 6c) on the
South West Face of a prominent rock tower
(c4,400m) above the Trango Glacier 10
minutes walk above Base. At the time the
Slovenians thought they were making a first
ascent (at 6b+ and A1), only later seeing a
photo of the line in Mountain INFO.
On the 3rd September the weather
improved and with Mali the two Slovenians
together with Klemen Mali climbed another
short route on a previously unclimbed tower
c30 minutes from Base Camp. The tower
became Garda Peak (c4,700m) and the route,
Karakoram Khush (300m; 6b and A0). The
following day they climbed another new route
next to Sadu. Piyar, Piyar (Love, Love) is 350m
with difficulties of 6b+ and A0.
Trango Monk
Previously thought to be unclimbed, the small
c5,900m spire immediately north of Trango
Tower gained its first ascent from Jakofcic,
Mali and Vali. Leaving Base Camp early on the
5th September, the three climbed for four
hours up the unpleasant scree gully leading to
the col north of Trango Tower and then started
up the East Face of Trango Monk. Considerable
amounts of snow and ice in the lower section
made for slow progress but by nightfall the
team had set up a bivouac on a good ledge
and fixed their two climbing ropes up the
South Face above to a small shoulder below
the summit tower. Next morning they reached
the sharp summit via the only crack in this
final tower and then descended to Base Camp
the same day. It had been their third attempt
on the route. They decided to name it Chota
Badla (450m: 6b, A2 and 70°), which means
‘small revenge’, because they had originally
come to Pakistan to attempt the huge South
West Ridge of Great Trango and found that it
had just been climbed by Kelly Cordes and
Josh Wharton.
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point three metres from easy ground and
c70m below the junction with Ship of Fools,
where the right-slanting ramp meets the
North East Ridge. To that point they had
climbed 17 pitches up to VIII/7a and A3 but
hope to return this year to finish it off. The bad
weather that persisted during their stay also
thwarted attempts on neighbouring peaks.
The Slovaks tried to climb the Cat’s Ears Spire,
repeat the American Route on Hainabrakk
Tower, and climb Trango III (6,140m, north of
Trango Ri): all were unsuccessful.
Besides the Slovaks there were other
parties attempting routes. Two Spanish
climbers, Oriol Anglada and Toti Solé,
The South East Face of Shipton Spire (5,885m) rising
above the lower Hainabrakk Glacier. (1) South West
or Khanadan Buttress (Brian McMahon/Josh
Wharton, 2002: 1,300m: 30 pitches: 5.11, C1: second
Tomaz Jakofcic leading Miha Vali during the second ascent of Sadu (Antoine and Sandrine de Choudens, 2003:
ascent by Dodo Kopold/Dino Kuran/Jozef Santus,
350m: seven pitches: 6c) on the Trango Base Camp peaks. At this point de Choudens climbed cracks on the
2004). (2) Inshallah (Steph Davis/Kennan
sunlit wall just right of the arête but Jakofcic didn’t see them and instead led a serious 60m pitch to the left,
Harvey/Seth Shaw, 1998: 1,350m: 30 pitches: 5.12a
which proved to be the crux of the climb. The two Slovenians climbed the route at 6b+ and A1. KLEMEN MALI
and A1: three ascents). (3) Baltese Falcon (Charles
Boyd/Greg Child/Greg Foweraker, 1996: 1,350m: 36
At the same time fellow Slovaks, Jozef
Kopold, Dino Kuran, Jozo Santus and Ivan Zila
were attempting the Khanadan Buttress (Brian
McMahon and Josh Wharton, 2002: 1,300m: 30
pitches: 5.11 and C1). During an early period
of good weather the four bivouacked in the
middle of the buttress and then climbed up to
an off-width, which they were unable to
protect, forcing them to descend for a rethink.
All but Zila left again on the 14th August
during the next period of good weather, this
time carrying big tube chocks. They completed
the route Alpine style in two days, arriving on
the summit at 7pm on the 15th. Due to the
amount of snow, the route was considered
quite dangerous and during the descent the
following day the climbers were lucky to
survive a huge rockfall. Only minor injuries
and a shattered helmet (and nerves) were
sustained.
The third team of Slovaks on the Spire
comprised veteran climber Igor Koller (52)
with a young Gabo Cmarik (22) and Vlado
Linek (40). These three climbed the first pitch
of Ship of Fools (Jared Ogden/Mark Synnott,
1997: 1,300m and 27 pitches: 5.11 A2 WI 6)
then broke out right on to the overhanging
pillar that forms the right edge of the South
East Face. After seven days of mostly free
climbing they had fixed 10 pitches and were
400m up the face. Hoping to climb as free as
possible, they waited for sunny weather but as
time ran out decided to commit to capsule
style and progress in any weather. For three
days they established a portaledge camp
below a series of huge roofs and fixed three
pitches through these overhangs. It then
snowed and rained for the next seven days.
Cmarik became ill and had to be lowered
down the wall but Koller and Linek returned,
battling more bad weather and hard aid
climbing until on the 30th, one day before they
were due to leave for Askole, they reached a
pitches: 5.11 and A4). (4) Women and Chalk (Mauro
Bole/Mario Cortese/Fabio Dandri, 2001: c1,200m: 29
pitches: 8a). (5) Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Miro
Mrava/Brano Turcek, 2004: c850m: 17 pitches: VIII
and A4). (6) Akelarre (José Ramon Ezquibel/Jokin
Larrañaga/Alvaro Ortiz, 2000: c1,150m: A4 and 6b).
(7) American attempt with (A) their highpoint (Mark
Bebie/Chuck Boyd/Greg Collum/Andy Selters, 1992:
1,100m and 36 pitches: 5.10 A4 and 60°). (8)
Bulgarian variant with (B) their highpoint (Strahil
Geshev/Milkana Ruseva/Stanimir Zhelyazkov, 2004:
seven new pitches to 7b). (9) Ship of Fools (Jared
Ogden/Mark Synnott, 1997: 1,300m and 27 pitches:
5.11 A2 WI 6: two ascents). (10) Slovak attempt
(Gabo Cmarik/Igor Koller/Vladimir Linek. 2004:
800m: 17 pitches: VIII and A3). Only routes (1), (2)
and (9) actually reached the summit, although (3)
was stopped by bottomless snow just 10m below the
highest point and is generally credited as being the
first ascent of the Spire. DAVID HAMILTON
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075
Shipton Spire
The ever popular Shipton Spire (5,885m) saw
five teams attempt routes on its precipitous
granite flanks, one of these resulting in the
first ascent of Knocking on Heaven’s Door up
the middle of the South East Face and the
second ascent of the South West or Khanadan
Buttress. However, only three climbers
summited.
Slovaks, Miro Mrava (26) and Brano Turnek
(29) planned to attempt a new line up the
untouched left side of the South East Face but
found the chaotic glacier approach to the base
of the wall far too dangerous and instead
opted for a line in the centre of the face
between Women and Chalk (Mauro Bole/Mario
Cortese/Fabio Dandri, 2001: c1,200m and 29
pitches: 8a) and Akelarre (José Ramon
Ezquibel/Jokin Larrañaga/Alvaro Ortiz, 2000:
c1,150m: A4 and 6b). They began climbing up
the right side of a tower on the 28th July,
reaching the top after two pitches, then
followed steep slabs (VIII or 7a and A4) to a
continuous crack system 100m higher. By the
middle of August they had fixed ropes on the
first eight pitches and reached a point above
the huge triangular overhang at two-thirds
height. On the 15th of the month, they moved a
portaledge up to this point. Next day, while
climbing the 12th pitch, Mrava was hit by
stonefall and injured, forcing the pair to
descend.
The two Slovaks returned to their high point
on the 22nd and with only Turnek able to lead,
climbed several pitches up a right-slanting
ramp/diedre to join Akelarre. To this point they
had climbed 17 pitches of 60m up to VIII and
A4 (mostly VI -VII and A1 and A2) but were still
some considerable distance below the
summit. However, due to Mrava’s injury they
decided not to continue to the top. Knocking on
Heaven’s Door has seven bolts in its 17 pitches
plus two on each belay stance.
in association with
attempted the fourth ascent of the 1998 Steph
Davis/Kennan Harvey/Seth Shaw route,
Inshallah (1,350m: 5.12a and A1). Several
serious rock falls forced them to abandon the
climb. Meanwhile Bulgarians, Strahil Geshev,
Milkana Ruseva (wife of a Bulgarian Everest
summiteer), Dimitar Tzolov and Stanimir
Zhelyazkov climbed a variation start to Ship of
Fools. They started up the face between
Akelarre and the 1992 American attempt
(Mark Bebie/Chuck Boyd/Greg Collum/Andy
Selters: 1,100m and 36 pitches: 5.10 A4 and
60°, joined the former and after climbing a
total of six pitches to the top of the first tower
broke out right, climbing seven new free
pitches (UIAA VI+; IX-/7b; V+; V+; VI; VI+; V+) to
a big ledge, where they established a second
camp. Six metres up to the right they joined
Ship of Fools and continued up this for
another six pitches before having to call it a
day and leave for home. The crux IX- pitch was
a 50m diedre with off-width crack (two
protection bolts) and was followed by several
chimney pitches, some of which were dirty and
dangerous. Due to poor weather the
Bulgarians were only able to climb on eight of
their c30 days.
HUSHE REGION
This wonderful area of granite spires and
Alpine peaks in the eastern Pakistan
Karakoram gained even more popularity, no
doubt due to the relaxation of permits for
peaks below 6,500m. This opens up a splendid
series of unclimbed objectives in the wellknown Charakusa and Nangma Valleys as well
as the highly attractive Drifika and Namika,
which can now be climbed officially without
recourse to peaks fees or liaison officers.
076
Charakusa Valley
Apart from the ascents mentioned in more
detail below, a 12-person French team led by
the guides, Erwan Lelann and Hervé Qualizza,
and comprising five young women and an
equal number of men representing the CAF’s
high performance team, were very active for
their 55 days spent in the valley between midJuly and mid-September. Teams were able to
climb on 29 of those days with the men
completing the East Face and South Ridge of
6,325m Namika (1,400m; D), the North Ridge Original Route of 5,200m Nayser Brakk (AD),
the West Face of 5,300m TDK (The Dog’s Knob:
ED) and failing on the South Ridge of 6,370m
Farol (1,400m; TD+), a 6,200m subsidiary of
Farol – the Fourth Point of Farol – via a line of
ice falls followed by some big wall climbing
(1,200m; ED; the team rappelled 1,100m
during the descent) and the South West Couloir
of 5,900m Sulo (900m; AD). The women
actually climbed the South West Couloir of
Sulo, as well as the South West Couloir Original Route of c5,800m Beatrice (800m; D)
and the North West Face of 6,000m Lady Peak
(600m: D+). Their attempt on the North Ridge
of Drifika (800m; D) was unsuccessful.
K7
The 26th July saw the long awaited second
ascent of 6,973m K7, while the following day
saw the third. In what was arguably the most
significant ascent in Pakistan during 2004,
American, Steve House soloed a new route on
the huge South West Face. Choosing a
predominately ice/mixed line left of the South
West Ridge, which he had reconnoitred in
2003, House lifted his Alaskan-grown, single
push tactics on big Alpine faces up a notch to
the higher altitudes of the Karakoram,
completed his 2,400m line in a continuous 41
hours and 45 minutes from Base Camp on the
Charakusa Glacier.
His first attempt took place on the 16th July,
when he climbed the lower rock section into
the main gully, following the line climbed by
British attempts on the South West Ridge in
the early 1990s. This gave difficulties of 5.6 5.10a (confirmed when he later re-climbed
this section with Jeff Hollenbaugh) and was
climbed during the warmth of the afternoon.
After a bivouac at 5,200m he continued up the
couloir and through a difficult mixed section
before slanting right to eventually reach the
1984 Japanese Route high on the mountain’s
South West Ridge. Reaching the summit from
there involves negotiating a huge tower
dubbed The Gendarme. Discovering the
correct approach to this took some time and
led to the technical crux of the route at around
6,600m. Having completed this and reached
c6,650m, House was faced with at least two
hours’ climbing to gain the summit, less than
two hours left of daylight and threatening
clouds on the horizon. He descended.
A week later the American left Base for a
second time at 5pm on the 24th. His climbing
gear consisted of 80m of 5mm rappel line,
seven karabiners, six titanium pegs, three
nuts, six slings and an ice screw. He also
carried a headtorch, lightweight gas stove,
energy drinks and gels, together with minimal
spare clothing.
After re-climbing the lower rock in the
warmth of the evening, House continued up
the couloir through the night and at 9.15 the
following morning stopped for a brew and food
at c6,500m. Two hours later he had overcome
the steep groove and aid pitch on the tower,
and was beginning a careful climb up
somewhat tedious terrain, interspersed with
short mixed pitches. At 7.45pm, just before
dark and 26 and three quarter hours after
leaving Base, he pulled on to the summit.
House retraced his steps throughout the
night, though at one point he opted for a more
direct rappel descent alongside the South
West Ridge. After many rappels and much
down climbing he returned to Base Camp on
the morning of the 26th. His ascent has been
rated 5.10a A2 WI 4 M6+ and, advancing the
style and ethics of modern mountaineering,
gained him a much deserved Special People’s
Prize at this year’s Piolet d’Or.
While House was at grips with his new
route, Doug Chabot and Bruce Miller were
G
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Rising above the north bank of the Charakusa
Glacier, the South West Face of 6,934m K7 catches
the afternoon sun. The left-hand summit is
unclimbed. (G) The Gendarme and (F) the
Fortress. (1) American Route (Steve House, 2004:
2,400m: VI 5.10a A2 WI 4 M6+). (2) South West
Ridge - British attempts in 1990 and ‘93 (high
point more or less at the top of the Fortress
reached in 1993 by Mark Beresford/Bob
Brewer/Greg Cotterill/Dai Lampard). (3) Original
Japanese Route (first summit party Akira
Kamizawa/Eizo Mitani/Kakoto Takenata, 1984:
second ascent with some variations in 2004 by
Doug Chabot and Bruce Miller; 2,400m: VI M6 A1
WI 5+). MARKO PREZELJ
repeating the original 1984 Japanese Route. In
that year Toichira Nagata’s team comprised a
bunch of young university students on their
first trip to the high mountains to attempt their
first big route of any significance. They chose
the massive, multi-towered South West Ridge,
but opted to avoid the first c1,200m by
climbing a rather dangerous snow/ice couloir
on the right flank for 900m, then slanting left
to reach the crest below a 300m-high rock
buttress dubbed The Fortress. From there they
followed the ridge to the summit, with Akira
Kamizawa, Eizo Mitani and Kakoto Takenata
comprising the first summit party (three more
including the leader summited next day). The
Japanese reportedly used 450 bolt and peg
placements and took 40 days plus 6,500m of
fixed rope to complete their ascent.
Chabot and Miller took three days’ food and
one sleeping bag between them. They left
Base Camp at 3am on the 24th, climbed the
couloir and at 10am, when it started to get
dangerous from snow slides, climbed rock on
the flanks (moves of M6) to a snowy perch at
5,600m and the site of the Japanese Camp 2.
To that point they had seen little sign of
passage. At 2.30 the following morning they
began climbing snow and ice, then a rib to The
Fortress (a few pitches of M5 and A0). There,
rather expecting to find old bolts to assist
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ladders (Masayuki Hoshima’s expedition was
trying to climb all the way to the summit of
K7: they fixed over 1,500m of rope and gave up
at around 6,100m). To their high point the
American-Slovenian team had ascended
2,400m of varied terrain with difficulties of M6
and WI 4.
the right and climbed hidden slopes on the South West Face to reach the North West Ridge at the obvious
snowy (serac) shoulder. From there the climbers continued left up the crest to the summit. DOUG CHABOT
progress on the monolithic granite, they were
surprised to find the Japanese had climbed a
thin A3 seam. Not carrying this sort of gear,
the two Americans had to find another way.
They traversed right and discovered a hidden
chimney where a 70m goulotte of WI 5+ ice,
which was in parts vertical and overhanging,
led up to more mixed terrain. Miller climbed
this with just three ice screws for protection.
Above, pitches of mixed, with the crux of the
climb – a steep and poorly protected M6
corner – led to a tent site beneath a cornice at
c6,100m close to the top of The Fortress.
After negotiating massive flutings the
following morning, the pair made five rappels
down the far side of The Fortress to reach a
snow plateau and the point where House had
come in from the left. They elected to camp
there and dry out in the afternoon sun.
Starting at 2.30 the next morning, they
followed House’s tracks to The Gendarme and
reached the summit at 3pm. They were back
at their tent by 11.15pm.
Next day they reversed House’s line, making
a number of rappels and down-climbing huge
distances on ice to reach Base Camp the
same day. Despite the style in which the first
ascent was achieved, the Americans were full
of praise for the Japanese and their sustained
efforts plus the motivation needed to complete
what is actually a very beautiful route (2,400m:
VI M6 A1 WI 5+).
Although there were one or two early
reconnaissance expeditions, the first serious
attempt on K7 took place in 1976. That year,
and in 1977 and 1982, Japanese teams tried
the West Ridge, while in 1981 a small British
team also tried its luck. Six years after the
successful ascent another British team
attempted the complete South West Ridge,
reaching halfway up The Fortress after having
used only 10m of aid and climbing 88 pitches.
By then the weather was turning, they were
low on food and one climber had dropped a
rucksack. They descended.
Much the same team went back in 1993 and
despite having their food dumps badly raided
by ravens, reached the top of The Fortress
after 32 consecutive days on the ridge. In the
interim an Italian team had climbed the first
400m of the ridge in 1992 before retreating. In
2001 three Americans tried the unclimbed
South Face, accessing it via the Japanese
couloir. They spent 15 days in capsule style,
reaching 6,100m before descending.
K7 West
From the 24th -27th July, at the same time the
rest of their expedition were at grips with K7
as reported above, Jeff Hollenbaugh, Marko
Prezelj and Steve Swenson attempted the
unclimbed 6,858m K7 West, following the line
of the 1982 Japanese attempt. The three
worked up the valley west of the glacier that
lies below the North West Ridge of K7 West,
then dropped down a couloir at the head to a
bivouac site on a col marking the start of the
ridge. This approach avoided threatening ice
cliffs on the main glacier. The 26th involved
difficult mixed climbing on the West Face to
gain the corniced crest of the North West Ridge
and a second camp in an exposed situation.
The following day they continued up the snowy
crest until Prezelj, in the lead, triggered a
small slab avalanche. The climbers were fine
but Swenson’s rucksack took a 1,000m ride to
the glacier. Due to the dangerously
unconsolidated snow on this upper section of
the ridge, the three descended from a point
several hundred metres below the summit,
having found much evidence of the 1982
attempt in the form of bolts, pegs and electron
Naysar Brakk
On the wonderful 5,200m granite pyramid of
Naysar Brakk, which stands above the north
bank of the Charakusa, Steve House, Marko
Prezelj and Steve Swenson climbed the upper
South East Ridge to create Tasty Talking
(300m: III 5.10+: 11 pitches of which 10 were in
the 5.10 category and the final pitch a
wonderful 5.8). Using the South East Gully
access, to the Original Route up the North
Ridge, the trio broke out left up the side wall
to reach a prominent notch in the ridge at twothirds height. Two days later, on the 2nd July,
Prezelj returned with Bruce Miller to climb the
entire ridge from its foot. This gave No More
Tasty Talking (900m: IV 5.10+). The peak was
first climbed in 1988 by British climbers, Andy
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077
The North Face of 6,544m Kapura seen from K7. The route of the first ascent in 2004 started off picture to
Kapura
On the 4th July, Doug Chabot, Steve House
and Steve Swenson made the first recorded
ascent of 6,544m Kapura. They were followed
next day by Bruce Miller and Marko Prezelj
(Jeff Hollenbaugh was with them to 6,100m).
All climbers used the same route; South West
Face and North West Ridge. Starting from an
Advanced Camp at 5,000m in the Second
Charakusa Cwm – the glacier immediately
west of Kapura, the climbers ascended 50°
snow and ice slopes on the South West Face to
gain a snow traverse leading left to a serac
barrier forming a shoulder on the North West
Ridge. They set up their three-man tent on top
of this at c6,100m. The ridge above provided
mixed terrain, cornices and deep snow, as
well as being quite sharp in the upper section,
giving difficulties of M4. The last two pitches
involved near vertical névé – excellent to climb
but impossible to protect. The first team
reached the top in heavy snow and descended
to their previous camp for the night. Next day
Miller and Prezelj fought bad weather to
retrace tracks to the summit, while
Hollenbaugh descended with the others.
It has also been reported that later in the
summer Tine Cuder and Matej Mejovsek from
Slovenia climbed the East Face in a single
push round trip of 16 hours. The c1,600m line,
climbed from the First Charakusa Cwm
between Kapura and K6 West, was graded
ED3 and named Tourist Route. However, no
detailed information has been produced. The
only previous authorized attempt on this fine
and highly attractive summit west of K6 took
place in 2001, when a Dutch team tried the
North West Ridge via the West Flank. They
abandoned their attempt at c5,800m due to
very deep, unstable snow. The climbing had
been generally AD in overall standard;
snow/ice up to 60° and one rock pitch IV/V.
in association with
Bunnage and David Hamilton, via the c300m
North Ridge at British VS (UIAA V/V+) with a
little aid and, 10 years later, was climbed
again by American, Galen Rowell, solo, up the
North East Face at 5.10b. On the 28th and
29th June, the days immediately prior to his
ascent of Tasty Talking, first Chabot and
Swenson then House and Prezelj had climbed
the British Route free, finding maximum
difficulties of around 5.10-. Later in July it was
soloed by Jeff Hollenbaugh. On the 1st July,
Hollenbaugh and Miller climbed the South
Buttress of an Unnamed c5,000m Rock Spire
just down valley from Naysar.
K7 Lower Rock Towers
On the 14th July, Miller and Prezelj climbed a
new route on one of the unnamed rock towers
that rises to c4,900m from close to the lateral
moraine of the Charakusa Glacier below the
South West Face of K7. The route followed a
fine and exposed arête on this slender
pinnacle, giving climbing at 6c+ and A0. It was
c650m high and christened Difficult Life.
Routes on these towers have been climbed
before, notably in 1998 by Italians, who put up
two difficult 15 and 17-pitch lines.
078
Chogolisa Glacier
A six-person Italian team climbed four
routes from the Chogolisa Glacier, which
runs north towards Trinity Peak from the
entrance to the Charakusa. Two of these
climbers, Maurizio Giordani and Luca
Maspes, had visited the Hushe region in both
1998 and ’99, putting up a total of eight new
routes. Their first foray took them into the
Buesten Glacier where on the 11th June they
climbed Pointed Peak (c5,400m) via the
North West Face and West Ridge. This involved
an 800m snow couloir to a col, followed by
nine rock pitches (to UIAA V+) and some
mixed climbing up the ridge to the summit.
Giordani, Maspes and Nancy Paoletto
reached the top with Hervé Barmasse, Ezio
Marlier and Giovanni Pagnoncelli stopping
two pitches below. Signs of passage around
the summit area confirmed that this peak
had been climbed before. The peak lies
immediately to the west of Crested Peak
(5,560m), climbed in the summer of 1987 by
Mick Hardwick and Pat Littlejohn, who
christened the adjacent peak Pointed but did
not climb it. This British pair climbed a
parallel broad couloir to the east, then the
West Ridge (V) of Crested Peak. Returning to
the col on the watershed they then
descended south, reaching a small,
previously unvisited and unnamed, complex
glacier basin, which brought them back to
the Chogolisa Glacier.
On the 13th Marlier, Maspes and
Pagnoncelli climbed on the walls of a
formation, dubbed the Chogolisa Cathedral,
on the west side of the glacier overlooking
their base camp. On the right side of the East
Face the three climbed eight pitches to the
top of a pillar that they named the Pilastro
Kekka (c4,500m).
The 300km route
was graded VI+ and
A1. One bolt belay
2
was placed.
On the 17th,
3
Barmasse and
Giordani made the
1
first ascent of Sheep
Peak (c6,000m),
which lies above and
to the northeast of
4
Raven’s Peak on the
north side of the
Buesten. The pair
2
climbed steep snow
slopes right of
Raven’s, crossing
The 1,000m South Face of Raven’s Peak (5,300m) above the Buesten Glacier. (1)
two mixed pitches in
British Route (Pat Littlejohn/Mick Hardwick, 1987: ED2/3: British E4 6a). (2) Luna
a total of 1,200m of
Caprese (Hervé Barmasse/Luca Maspes/Giovanni Pagnoncelli, 2004: VIII- or 6c+).
ascent to the
(3) The line of the British rappel escape from the shoulder below the headwall. (4)
summit. Their route
The route towards the Dru and Sheep Peak (c6,000m), out of picture above and to
skirted on the left a
the right. LUCA MASPES
huge and impressive
rock monolith, dubbed The Dru by Hardwick
They christened their route Luna Caprese
and Littlejohn.
(1,000m: 22 pitches; VIII- or 6c+).
Finally, on the 28th-29th, Barmasse,
Hardwick and Littlejohn made two
Maspes and Pagnoncelli climbed the South
attempts on their route in 1987. Hoping to
Face of Raven’s Peak (c5,300m). This is an
complete it in a day, they rather
obvious challenge from the Buesten but at
underestimated the length and had to rappel
the time the Italians were completely
into the east gully when caught below the
unaware of the 1987 Hardwick/Littlejohn
headwall by darkness and a storm. They
ascent and their route was similar to the
returned on the 23rd September and,
British line for much of its length. The
climbing faster, reached the summit at
Italians first prepared the initial four pitches
4.30pm, overcoming difficulties of E4 6a, with
(right of the conspicuous corner system taken
much British 5b and 5c climbing, some of it
by Hardwick and Littlejohn), then climbed the
very poorly protected (they took no pegs, only
route over the next two days Alpine style, onnuts and Friends). The overall grade was
sight and with no bolts. They joined the
considered Alpine ED2/3.
British Route for around seven pitches where
INFO: Doug Chabot/Kelly Cordes/Kepa
it climbs the left side of a huge shield. In the
Escribano/FFME/Strahil Geshev/Jeff
upper section, where the British route follows
Hollenbaugh/Steve House/Tomaz
a series of difficult off-widths in the middle of
Jakofcic/Matjaz Jeran/Rudi Jooss/Vlado
the headwall, the Italians climbed the
Linek/Luca Maspes/Tamotsu Nakamura/Marko
exposed left arête, joining the British Route
Prezelj/Jens Richter/Markus Walter/Yoon Daefor the last few pitches to the blocky summit.
Hoon
On the 19th pitch of the new route Luna Caprese (1,000m: 22 pitches; VIII- or 6c+) on the South Face of
c5,300m Raven’s Peak. Way below lies the Buesten Glacier. LUCA MASPES COLLECTION
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