Summer 2013 | Action Away from 8000m Peaks

Along with plenty of action on eight-thousanders, many climbers are attempting other peaks, this season. The majority of these peaks are seldom climbed.

Masherbrum (7821m)
Austrian David Lama and Peter Ortner arrived in Pakistan earlier this week to attempt Masherbrum (7821m). The duo is best known for the first free ascent of the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre. Last year, they climbed two Karakoram peaks, Trango Tower (6265m) and Chogolisa (7665m) in summer.
Masherbrum (also named K1) is the 9th highest peak in Pakistan and 22nd highest in the world. It was first attempted by a British team in 1938 and successfully climbed by an American-Pakistani expedition in 1960. David and Peter will be climbing the 3500m wall via an unclimbed route. They are currently in Islamabad, completing official routines and finalizing the preparations.

Masherbrum Peak
Masherbrum; Image Source

Kunyang Chhish East (approximately 7400m)

Austrian Hansjorg Auer and Swiss Simon Anthamatten are attempting Kunyang Chhish East (approximately 7400m) in Hispar Muztagh Range of Karakoram, this season. Originally, Hansjorg’s brother Matthias was also part of this expedition, but he had to withdraw right before the start because of a thumb injury. Hansjorg and Simon arrived in Pakistan last week and currently are on the way to BC. They plan to acclimatize around BC before summit attempt in July, which will be carried out on 2400m Southwest Face in alpine style.

Kunyang Chhish East in Kunyang Chhish massif has been attempted several times but still remains unclimbed. In one of the attempts Steve House and Vince Anderson had to turn back only 300m short of the summit.

Charakusa Valley
British climber Jon Griffith and his friend Andy Houseman will also be in Pakistan this summer. They will attempt peaks around Charakusa Valley, like K6 (7281m), K7 (6934m) and Link Sar (7041m). "There is so much to do in this valley. It just looks amazing", Andy wrote in his recent blog post. The expedition kicks off in July.

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K6 massif in Charakusa Valley; Photo: Jon Griffith

Passu Peak (7184m)
At the start of May, a French team arrived in Pakistan to climb Passu Peak (7184m) in Hunza Valley. The team consists of Sarah Cartier, Luc Mongellaz, Lambert Galli, Antoine Bletton, Alex Marchesseau, Florent Gex, Remi Peschier and Croatian Ena Vrbek. To acclimatize, they climbed a series of peaks ranging from 5000m to 6800m. In the final attempt, they will try to reach the summit of Passu Peak and make a skiing descent.

Uli Biaho Tower (6109m)
An Italian team will attempt a new route on the Southeast wall of Uli Biaho Tower (6109m) in alpine style, reports Montagna TV. The team is composed of Matteo Della Bordella (28), Luca Schiera (22), David Bacci (27), Saro Costa (23), Silvan Shupbach (30) and photographer Arianna Colliard (29). They will depart for Pakistan on June 17 and will be in BC by the end of June. To reach the summit, the team will have to overcome the challenges of a 1000m rock wall.

Paiju Peak (6610m)
This season, three Basque climbers (Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabala) will try to reach the summit of Paiju Peak from the South. The route has a rock wall of one kilometer vertically and snow below the summit. So far, only three men have reached the top of this peak; Manzoor Hussain (Pakistan), Nazir Sabir (Pakistan) and Raja Bashir Ahmad (Pakistan) and Allen Steck (USA) of a 1976 expedition who climbed from the North side.

Proposed route on Paiju Peak; Source


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