French climbers Jérôme Chazelas and Thomas Quillet reported reaching the summit of Tirich Mir (7,708m), the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, in July, via the normal route (the 1967 Czechoslovak Route up the northwest face via the upper Tirich Glacier). The crux of this route is climbing a couloir above the normal site of Camp 3 (ca 6,700m). Here, rather than climb the couloir direct, the two moved out left onto snow slopes and climbed more mixed ground to the ridge above. They placed a high camp above the couloir at 7,200m and then took six hours to reach the summit.

More significant is that Tirich Mir, accessed through Chitral and lying very close to the Afghan border, has seen very little recent activity because of the perceived heightened terrorist threat in this area. This appears to be the first time the mountain has been summited since the summer of 2001. The pair reported no safety issues and added that a small Russian expedition was arriving at base camp just as they were leaving.

– Lindsay Griffin