Uli Biaho Gallery, Mountain Medicine and Sandwasser & Kasnudeln

Pakistan, Karakoram, Baltoro Muztagh
Author: Vittorio Messini. Climb Year: 2016. Publication Year: 2018.


In 2016, Johannes Steidl and I were in the Baltoro, our first expedition to Pakistan
. During our stay we repeated all but the last few pitches of Sadu Masu (450, 6c) on Sadu Peak, PM Route (250m, 5.10+) on Little Trango (with a variant start to avoid wet cracks), Great Trango by the normal route, and Eternal Flame on Trango Tower in 14 hours from a bivouac on Sun Terrace. We made an attempt on Uli Biaho. During August we also climbed two new routes on Uli Biaho Gallery.

Over two days we opened Mountain Medicine (400m, 6c C2), which starts around 100m to the left of the 2013 Dertnig-Schweighofer line (Nilam Nalang, 450m, 7a+ C2) on the southeast pillar. Although we came across traces of other climbers, we were able to follow an almost independent line, with a difficult section of hand and finger cracks, which we climbed partially free. We think rappel anchors to the left are possibly on the route Paradise Circus (7b C2), climbed by Dodo Kopold,Martin Krasnansky, and Michal Sabovnik (Czech Republic) in 2012.

We returned and put up Sandwasser & Kasnudeln (400m, 7a+), which uses the same entry as Nilam Najang but then branches left in a crack system, running parallel but close to the 2013 route. At the top there are two steep hand cracks—like those on Trango Tower, they are pitches that can hardly be bettered. Our rappel route followed a big corner system midway between this and Mountain Medicine.

– Vittorio Messini, Italy



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