Kwangde Nup, north buttress direct ascent, Cheap Wine. During the post monsoon Czech climbers, Jan Doudlebsky and Radek Lienerth, completed a new direct finish to the 1989 American route on the North Buttress of Kwangde Nup (6035m). The pair began their climb on October 26 at ca 4800m, reaching the crest of the buttress from the right at 5150m. They completed the route on the 30th, having climbed 37 pitches to the summit. Most of the lower section was III to V+ but in the central section there was one pitch of VI-, two of VI, and one of VII. After climbing the 60-degree snow/ice slope to below the steep headwall of the pillar, where they placed their fourth bivouac, they climbed three big pitches graded VIII/A2, VII+, and VIII-. Two pitches of ice (80 degrees, then 75 degrees) led to more rock, which was climbed in two more pitches of VII- to reach the summit slopes (50 degrees). The ca 1100m route was christened Cheap Wine.

Jiri Novak, Czech Republic