With an elevation of 7,708 meters, Tirich Mir is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush mountains, which straddle Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. Although the peak was first climbed in 1950 and was relatively popular among mountaineers in the 19...
Returning to base camp after eight days on Ghamubar Zom V, it felt like months since we had left. It was such a long adventure. Three years earlier, I’d learned about this huge massif in the Hindu Raj through various publications, including the A...
Embarking on a mountain expedition is akin to taking a plunge into cold water: No matter how well you prepare, it still takes your breath away. Our team from St. Petersburg chose to spend summer vacation along the Kyrgyzstan-China border. The app...
Purbung from the southeast. The first attempt on this peak in 2017 climbed the glacier and snow slopes on the right side of the southeast face to reach the east ridge before the final rocky section. The eventual ascent came from the far side. ...
The upper Angsi Glacier basin from the 5,615-meter frontier pass. On the right are Ganglung Kangri I (left, 6,256m) and II (6,182m). (The summit of the latter is not quite visible.) The 2023 route up Ganglung Kangri II climbed a hidden snow ramp...
For me, adventure in the high mountains can only be found by climbing alpine style, ideally somewhere remote and rarely visited. These were the ingredients that drew four of us to the rarely visited Salimor Khola (valley), in Far Western Nepal. A...
Chandi Himal (6,142m) seen from upper Nin Khola to the south. The 2023 ascent route finished up the right skyline ridge. Photo by Matt Powell. Kevin Bialy (USA), Jaime Iranzo (Spain), and I arrived in Kathmandu on April 29 and reached Simikot...
Ďuri Švingál and I flew to Lima on July 18, then traveled to Huaraz. Aguja Nevada I (5,840m), above Laguna Parón, was our choice for acclimatization. Then, after consultation with the mountain guides’ office in Huaraz, we chose a new destinati...
The Cordillera Venturosa is a small range of about 20 summits, with a few small glaciers, west of the Cordillera de la Viuda and east of Lima, about a four-hour drive from the city. Many of the summits are unnamed; one of the highest is Nevado Min...
On September 2, I soloed a significant variation on Rasac Oeste (ca 5,700m), starting on the southwest face. This peak is a major spur of Rasac (6,017m). I approached from Huayllapa, via the Segya Valley, and camped 300m above Laguna Caramarca (4...
In early 2023, Diego Arredondo and Camila Monsalve (Chile) started working on the first route up the north face of Cuerno Principal in Torres del Paine National Park, approaching via the Bader Valley. That season they made two attempts, the second...
In October 2022, Wang Yongpeng and Zhang Xinyi (China) climbed a new route on the north and northeast faces of Xiao Gongga (a.k.a. Tshiburongi or Little Konka, 5,928m). The two set up camp at 4,500m, north of the peak, near the entrance to the Xi...
In August, Liu Yang, Song Yuancheng, and I made the first ascent of an unnamed peak of 5,800m at 29°48’19.10”N, 101°54’18.88”E. It is a northwestern extension of the Ueba Group, situated northeast across the Tshiburongi Glacier from Xiao Gongga (L...
The large rock peak of Yinhaizi (5,388m, 29°52'25.77"N, 101°52’12.18”E) is located due north of Xiao Gongga and Melcyr Shan, but on the opposite side of the main Riwoche Valley. From the usual trekking route along the Riwoche, the mountain is hidd...
Sejong (5,816m), seen from the northwest. (1) The 2023 route of ascent. (2) The descent route. During a reconnaissance of the northwest end of the Chola Shan Range, south of the town of Zhuqing, Fu Yongpeng noticed the unclimbed peak of Sejon...
Heading for the summit of Loinbo Kangri after a new route on the south face. Liu Junfu and Zhou Song climbed two new routes in the Loinbo Kangri massif, about 400km west of Shigatse, during a 15-day trip to Tibet in September. The massif’s ...
In mid-August, Li Bo, Zhong Wanghong, and I made first ascents of both Ama Drime I (6,669m, 28°5’9.69”N, 87°36’25.89”E) and Ama Drime East (6,580m, 28°4'56.13"N, 87°37'15.22"E). These peaks are situated on the border between Tingri County and Ding...
In mid-June, Maxim Popov and I climbed a new route in the center of the north face of Turgen (4,410m, 43.108036°N, 77.595769°E) at the far eastern end of the Ile-Alatau, around 20km east of the range’s highest peak, Talgar (4,973m). We spent two d...
In August, I guided Austrian friends Geri Mairhofer and Traudl We on a 50km journey through the central Ile-Alatau range, south of Almaty. After traveling up Ozyornoye Gorge, we walked to the Kyzylsay hut and stayed the night. The next day, August...
In August, Juho Knuuttila (Finland) rope-soloed a new route up a shallow buttress on the northeast side of Lappviktinden (1,338m), at the south end of Skjomenfjord, south of Narvik. The line likely shares the first two pitches of Café Solo (5+ Nor...