The attractive pyramid of Gangstang (6,162m) is most often climbed by its southwest ridge, the route of the first ascent, approached from the Gangstang Glacier to the east. The east ridge was climbed in 2001 by a Japanese team supported by Sherpa professionals, after an approach from the northeast. In 2007 Martin Moran (U.K.) led a commercial expedition up the Thirot Valley, to the west of the peak, explored Gangstang’s northern and western aspects, and climbed the west face onto the upper section of the southwest ridge. Moran’s enthusiastic descriptions of the north face and northwest ridge lured Guy Buckingham and me to the Thirot Valley in late May.

We didn’t like the look of the active seracs on the north face of Gangstang, so we set our sights on the sharp, mixed northwest ridge. From base camp we could see three distinct steps on the ridge, all of which looked worryingly compact. We dubbed them the First Tower, the Citadel, and the Grey Tower.

In the early hours of June 7
we climbed a 400m snow couloir
 to gain the ridge just under the
 First Tower. We knew it had 
been a very dry winter, so we
 were delighted to find good rock
 on the ridge crest. We spent the rest of the day climbing rock (up to British 5a) and mixed terrain up and over the tower to a poor tent site partially overhanging the north face.

The next morning found us up against the Citadel. A couple of hard rock moves got us into a system of ramps and corners on the west flank. The climbing here was more mixed and rather scrappy, but it took us to where we needed to be, back on the ridge above the Citadel, at a luxurious tent platform below the Grey Tower.

We woke to a beautiful dawn with the valleys full of cloud. The snowed-up rock of the Grey Tower was steep and blocky, making for enjoyable mixed climbing, and the situation on the crest was superb. The mixed crux (about Scottish 6) involved torqueing up a crack, then rocking over onto a slab, then discovering that the slab was pierced by a body-sized hole that gave a view straight down the west face.

At the top of the Grey Tower the ridge merged with the north face, bulletproof ice became the norm, and it began to snow. Weary of calf and spirit, we considered bivouacking, but when no ledge appeared we kept on. We reached the summit in thick cloud, more concerned with finding our way off than celebrating. We camped 100m below the summit. It snowed most of the night and we ignored the first alarm. Later that morning we dropped about 400m down the southwest ridge in deep snow, then descended the Moran couloir on the lower west face in four rappels, lots of downclimbing, and some rash bum sliding. We would like to acknowledge the Montane Alpine Club Climbing Fund, Austrian Alpine Club, BMC, and MEF for their support.

– Malcolm Bass, Alpine Club, U.K.