In September and October, Michael Hutchins and I attempted to climb the 1,400m north face of Chiling II (6,253m, 33°49’3.62”N, 76°9’48.26”E). We turned back about 450m up the wall, finding the conditions to be horrendous, owing to poor rock and lack of ice. This was surprising, as the wall looked incredible, both in the images we’d seen prior to the expedition and in person. There is no doubt that, if it were in condition, Chiling II’s north wall would be a worthy objective. Sadly, we suspect the conditions we found are typical, though admittedly we did not get very high.

During our expedition, we were able to confirm that the south-southwest ridge of Chiling I (6,349m, 33°48’43”N, 76°09’44”E) was indeed the route climbed in 1977 by Gino and Silvia Buscaini, who at that time were under the impression the mountain was named Z2 (see AAJ 2019). We extend thanks to the AAC’s Cutting Edge Grant and the Mount Everest Foundation for support. [Download the complete expedition report here.]

—Chris Wright, USA