Asia, Pakistan, Karakoram, Panmah Muztagh, Point 4400m above the Trango Glacier, First Ascent (Sadu)
Point 4,400m above the Trango Glacier, first ascent (Sadu). A few days after their climb on Eternal Flame, Antoine and Sandrine de Choudens set off on July 20 for what they hoped would prove a pleasant rock climb on one of the small buttresses above the Trango Glacier. Ten minutes walk from base camp placed them at the bottom of a pointed tower. Starting up the left side of the southwest face, they climbed for 350 meters (seven pitches) to a small subsidiary summit at ca 4,400m. Unfortunately, the cracks were not particularly good and the granite rather gravely, leading to some serious runouts. They reached the small top toward the end of the afternoon and rappelled a couloir on the right side of the face. The first three pitches of the route, named Sadu, were 6b, 6a, and 6c respectively, after which the standard eased a little, rising again to 6b on the final pitch. A few days later they had walked out via the Baltoro to Skardu. According to the Swiss climbers mentioned above, Antoine de Choudens did not think this was a recom- mendable route.
From information provided by the late Antoine de Choudens, France