In July, two teams attempted unclimbed Muchu Chhish (7,453m) in the Batura Muztagh, north of the Hunza Valley. As with previous expeditions, they followed a prominent ridge that extends to the south from the Batura Wall. This was the route followed in 1983 by a Polish-German team led by Wladyslw Wisz that made the first ascents of Batura V (7,531m) and Batura VI (7,462m). The objective of Muchu Chhish suitors has been to repeat the 1983 route to the Batura Ridge and then make a committing traverse east along the crest for almost 2km, all above 7,200m, to the top of the unclimbed peak.

Two Norwegians attempting this line in 2023 gave up low on the mountain, but a Czech expedition (the third from this country to attempt the route), which had previously acclimatized on Spantik, managed to establish three camps, the highest by Radislav Groh and Tomas Petrecek at 6,900m, just below the Batura Ridge. They then struggled in very poor snow to a reported altitude of 7,200m before descending.

Muchu Chhish is sometimes quoted as the highest unclimbed mountain in the world for which it is possible to get a permit. (The highest, Gangkar Punsum, in Bhutan is currently off limits.) However, this claim depends on how a mountain is defined: Muchu Chhish is a named summit on the Batura Ridge, but its prominence is low—possibly too low for it to be considered an independent “mountain” in the Karakoram or Himalaya. 

— Lindsay Griffin, AAJ