I have always wanted to go to Pakistan and explore a valley that has been overlooked by other expeditions. This has been a dream of mine for many years, and in September, having come across the report from a team of Bulgarians who had explored the Khane Valley in 2011, I was able to fulfill it.

Hiking into the valley, the next one south of the Nangma, is pretty straightforward, once you are acclimatized. It can be done in five to six hours, thanks to an old water passage cut into the side of the mountain. We gathered eight porters from Khane village, none of whom had previously carried expedition gear into the valley.

After establishing base camp at 4,050m (the Bulgarian Boulder Camp) on the First Terrace, and then a high camp at the so-called Bulgarian base camp (4,650m), Camilo Lopez and I attempted the west face of Peak 25. On September 14 we climbed alpine style from high camp. The first 250m or more up a 60-65° snow/ice couloir were simul-climbed. Above, we belayed through mixed terrain to reach the base of the headwall. We then climbed another ca 500m of runout slabs, with difficulties varying between 5.8 and 5.11. We reached a point where the rock became featureless and gear placements non-existent, so had to terminate the route, rappelling to the base and then down the couloir, dodging falling rock from the melting ice. We estimate we were ca 200m from the top, but the exact altitude of the peak remains unknown. We also attempted Peak 46, north of the entrance to the valley, but retreated in rain.

We spent a total of 20 days in the Khane, 10 of which were sunny and 10 heavy rain. It's a pristine place with many peaks between 5,000m and 6,000m, nearly all unclimbed.

Anna Pfaff, USA, edited from her blog