“Cima Asso,” First Ascent. For the third year in a row, the Club Alpino Italiano—Asso supported an expedition to Pakistan. The leader was Angelo Rusconi. The aim of the expedition was to reach an unknown valley in the mountain chain of the Hindu Kush. The people selected to the team were Luciano Giampi, Simone Rossetti, Cristian Cattivelli and Davide Valsecchi.

We started on July 28 from Gilgit driving two 4 × 4 cars to Gakuch along the Gilgit River, then passing through Iskoman towards Gugulti with the Iskoman River on the right-hand side. After choosing the porters, we started our journey on the morning of the 29th. We passed through the Handis Valley, following the Iskoman River to where it joins the Mathan Ther River. Always keeping the Mathan Ther River on the right-hand side, we walked through the valley, noticing impressive granite walls more than 1000 meters high, all easily reachable.

Crossing a bridge, we arrived at Mathan Ther village, located on a green plateau at the junction of two rivers, one from the Suncighi Valley, the other from a western region called Bhari. From the locals, we learned we were the first foreigners to have reached their village.

On July 30, we walked through the west valley to Bhari, a medium-sized village in a field close to a big green lake overlooked by two big mountains. We placed our Base Camp near the lake, at 3850 meters. Our BC was in a good position to observe the numerous peaks around us. At the lowest level of these mountains we could see widespread gravel fields beneath vertical granite walls. Many of these mountain had crests and edges covered by ice and snow. Among these was the 5100-meter peak straight above the right-hand side of the lake. We named it “Cima Asso,” the name of our home town in Italy. All the members of the expedition made it to the top on August 5.

The locals showed us Kampur and Gharmush peaks, the only known peaks over 6000meters. All the members who took part in the expedition agree that the valley is ideal for expeditions and trekking. It is possible to easily reach a comfortable base camp surrounded by granite stone walls and untouched peaks.

Club Alpino Italiano—Asso