The Biarchedi group, though located just a few kilometers south of the upper Baltoro Glacier, has seen remarkably few ascents. Biarchedi I (6,810m, 35°40’22.22”N, 76°24’20.83”E) is still unclimbed; it was last attempted in 2021 (AAJ 2022) from the southeast. Biarchedi II (6,781m) has three recorded ascents, the last in 2003.

In 2023, I made a reconnaissance from the Baltoro Glacier, reaching the top of the Yermanendu Glacier, from which it seemed possible to find a way to the top of Biarchedi I. In 2025, it was time to make an attempt.

On July 5, Lorena Coroiu (Romania), Guillaume Dageville (France), and I arrived at base camp (4,200m) on the east side of the Yermanendu Glacier. The conditions were very dry and temperatures high.

From Camp 1 (4,800m), toward the top of the Yermanendu Glacier, we had a good view of the icefall that blocks the way to the pass called Masherbrum La (5,364m). With considerable exposure to serac fall and uncrossable crevasses, it took two attempts to find a route, which, by the faintest of margins, yielded a way to Camp 2 on the pass, south-southwest of the Biarchedi group. From there, we planned to move onto the upper Biarchedi South Glacier to complete our approach to the peak.

On July 17, with a promising weather forecast, we set out for a summit push. We stopped that night at Camp 1 and the next day tried to make it to a potential site for Camp 3, but the freezing level was above 6,000 meters, snow conditions were bad, and we stopped at 5,600 meters. We reached our Camp 3, at 5,800 meters, on the 19th.

Lorena and I set the alarm for 11:30 p.m.; Guillaume wasn’t feeling well and opted to wait at Camp 3. Our plan was to climb the glaciated southwest face to the col between Biarchedi I and Biarchedi IV (6,690m), then up the south ridge of Biarchedi I to the summit.

One-third of the way up, we discovered a huge crevasse that had not been visible from below. Eventually, we found a single snow bridge on the left that allowed us to cross. After a gentler section, the upper slope steepened again, and the snow was rotten. At around 6,300 meters, with the sun about to rise, we decided the remaining ascent would take too much time and it would be too risky to retrace our steps during the midday heat, so we descended to Camp 3.

During the following day at Camp 3, we decided to treat ourselves to a little reward. Setting off a little after midnight, we made an easy snow walk to the 6,300-meter col between Biarchedi I and II. We were the first to visit this col since Jerzy Kukuczka in 1984, when he traversed Biarchedi II, making its first ascent. The view of the Baltoro giants was memorable.

We made a difficult descent back through the icefall, where nearly annihilated snow bridges confirmed we would be making no more attempts, and on down to base camp. The riddle of Biarchedi I remains unsolved, but having seen all aspects, our attempted route is the most logical.

           —Florian Tolle, France

Beautiful time-lapse video of the northeast side of Masherbrum (7,821m) in July 2025, seen from the Yermanendu Glacier: