At the end of June, members of the Slovenian Youth Alpine Team (SMAR)— Denis Arnšek, Matevž Gradišnik, Davo Mihev, Anja Petek, and I—traveled to Peru to sample the climbing. Aritza Monasterio, a longtime local, originally from Spain, would join...
The Darran Mountains, in the lower South Island, hosted the bulk of the alpine climbing activity over the summer months of 2022. In January, Bruce Dowrick and Llewellyn Murdoch ventured into the heart of the central Darrans, where they climbed new...
In 2021, Lukáš Bulla, Marek Radovský, and I had planned to repeat the Polish route on the northwest face of Pik Vernyi (4,850m), near Kyzyl Asker, but instead we established our own route, a little bit left on the same face. The 650m route (WI5...
The north face of Pik Korolyova (5,816m), showing (1) Oleneva-Mukhametzyanov-Parfenov (2022) and (2) Belotserkovskiy-Temerev-Tyulyupo (2021), continuing up the northwest ridge to the top. In July our team of Nadezhda (Nadya) Oleneva, Ratmir ...
During an expedition in the summer of 2022, I speed-soloed the east side of Kyrkchilta (a.k.a. 1,000 Years of Russian Christianity, 4,507m) via a long variation to the Potankin Route (southeast arête, Russian 6A, 1991). I followed the prominent r...
Thirteen years after the first free ascent of Eternal Flame (7c+/5.13a) on the south face of Trango Tower (6,250m), the route saw three free ascents in the summer of 2022. Eternal Flame was established in 1989 (with free climbing up to 5.12c) and ...
Leonardo Gheza, Francesco Ratti, and I (Italy) put up a significant new route on Uli Biaho Great Spire (as named by the first ascensionists in 2006), a 5,594m peak in the Trango Towers area. Our 510m line follows the big corner that plunges down t...
Looking southwest from the north cwm of the Sim Gang Glacier. The snowy summit in distant left is Peak 5,925m, climbed in 2022. Photo by Murilo Lessa Once upon a time in a far-away corner of Pakistan, Philip De-Berger and I made the first com...
In August, Krzysztof Wielicki visited the Dih Dur Valley with Grzegorz Chwoła, Frank Gasser (Italy), Roman Gierach, Katarzyna Karwecka-Wielicka, Wojciech Walas, and Dariusz Załuski (all Poles apart from Gasser). The logistics were organized by Jas...
The southeast face of Peak 5,561m, showing the line of ascent and ski descent in April 2022. Photo by Boris Langenstein. After visiting the Sumayar Valley, near Rakaposhi (see report here), Boris Langenstein and Kevin Sur traveled to the vall...
On November 14, Americans Rich Draves, Ted Hesser, and I, along with Sherpas Ang Phurba, Dawa Nurbu, Dorchi, and Tenji, made the first ascent of the southwest ridge of Peak 5,608m. Unnamed on the HMG-Finn map but called Kuirhun in Jan Kielkowski’s...
I was part of an American-Italian-Nepalese expedition to attempt Shershon (6,432m, 27°50’5.58”N, 87°7’36.30”E), which lies on the Tibetan frontier at the northeast head of the Shershon Glacier, east of Makalu base camp. Our plan was to approach th...
Luis Stitzinger on the east ridge of Hongku. At the far end of the ridge is the snow pyramid of Hongku Chuli. To the right is the broad massif of Chamlang. In back on the left is the great pyramid of Makalu. Hongku (a.k.a Hongu, Hongku Chul...
While approaching the village of Chukhung, Nick Mestre and I became excited by the presence of many boulders, and we assumed we could explore them while acclimatizing for our main objective, the south face of Nuptse. Then the perfect rock pyramid ...
Autumn 2021 marked the culmination of a two-year program for the Groupe Excellence d’Alpinisme National (GEAN), a team of young French alpinists chosen by the Fédération Française des Clubs Alpins et de Montagne (FFCAM), under the overall guid...
While Jaroslav Bánský and I were climbing Kangchung Shar (AAJ 2022), we took a photo of a beautiful snow and ice wall that we later discovered was the west face of unclimbed Chumbu (a.k.a. Chumbi). This 6,859m peak is approximately midway between ...
Screaming Barfies on the west face and southwest ridge of Tengi Ragi Tau Southeast (a.k.a. Phamlahaka, 6,141m). Photo by Matija Volontar. Bor Levičnik, Žiga Oražem, and I left Slovenia on October 1. When we arrived in Kathmandu, a national...
For Ethan Berman, Lin Oosterhoff, Andrea Sanchez, and me, it was our first visit to the Himalaya. For three weeks in autumn, we trekked around the Khumbu, with Namgyal Sherpa as our guide. Due to a dental infection, I had to bail from below the Ch...
Kevin Sur on the upper part of the ski descent of Dawson Peak. Behind (in cloud) is Rakaposhi, and to the right, in the middle distance, is Sumayar Peak (climbed in 1984). Photo by Boris Langenstein. In April, Boris Langenstein and Kevin Sur ...
Looking up (A) the Sumayar Glacier from the 1984 base camp. (B) Daranishi La. (C) Daranishi Chhish. (D) Seemurgh. (E) Chatan Sar. (F) Silkiang Peak. From Silkiang Peak, the Silkiang Glacier flows over the visible icefall to the Sumayar. The tiny...