In August, a Young Alpinist Group supported by the Czech Mountaineering Association reached base camp at 4,300m in the Nangma Valley six days after leaving Prague. We then split into pairs to attempt different projects. Jakub Kácha and I made th...
In May, Italians Davide Limongi, Enrico Mosetti, and Giovanni Zaccaria visited the Nangma Valley, where their target was the shapely Drifika (6,447m). The trio identified a new route on the right side of the south face. The temperature was low as...
Martin Sieberer (Austria) and I waited many months for our Pakistan visas, and they only arrived three weeks before departure. By this time, we had given up on the idea of going to Pakistan and were planning a European trip. Our goal was unclimbe...
Part of the Kharut Group seen from K2 base camp to the southwest. (A) Kharut I. (B) Kharut II. (C) Peak 6,455m. (D) Sella Pass. (E) Kharut Pyramid. (1) is the 2023 route of ascent and (2) the descent route. Photo by Koldo Zubimendi. Vicente B...
The view across Lago General Carrera to Monte San Valentín, prominent in left center, with the north spur, in profile on the right, climbing about 3,000 meters to the northeast summit. The climbers traversed two kilometers to tag the highest poi...
Voennyh Topografov (Peak of Military Topographers, 6,873m) is located near the border between Kyrgyzstan and China, east of giant Jengish Chokusu (Pik Pobeda). Base camp is on the South Inylchek Glacier, which can be reached by helicopter in 40 mi...
Kei Narita and I saw a truly beautiful photo of the north face of Nevado Ausangate (6,384m), and we thought, “This is the perfect objective to climb alpine style.” I didn’t know why this magnificent wall was still unclimbed. Maybe the rock was too...
Diamonds on the Soles of the Shoes, the first ascent of the west face of Kabru South. To the right is the line attempted by Serbian climbers in 2004. The peak to the right again is Rathong (6,682m). Photo by Peter Hamor. The Kabru group lies ...
When in the high mountains, you might think your eyes could embrace only one beauty and focus on one goal. My eyes are restless and unfaithful, and even while acclimatizing in 2021 for an ascent of Baruntse’s west face (AAJ 2022), I was eagerly sc...
Mt. Klattasine (2,561m), left of center, is the high point of the Klattasine Ridge and was first climbed, solo, by John Clarke in 1974, following the prominent southeast gully (1). The next formation to the right now has two routes: (2) Warbird ...
On November 3, Tong Zhanghao and Wang Yongpeng completed a new route toward the left side of the west face of Jiazi (6,540m). They had both tried the route in 2022 but retreated from 5,600m. Earlier, while climbing nearby Xiao Gongga (Little Konk...
Our expedition reminded me of the beginning of the 1990s project “The Russian Way: Walls of the World.” This was not so much in terms of events but how its mood and energy resonated in my heart. As with that previous project, during which we aimed...
New rock routes have been established on the granite dome known as Bansa Hill (about 280m high, 23°21’59.19”N, 85°55’35.89”E), near the village of Tulin in eastern India. The first long routes here were climbed by Sandeep Maity and Sudipto Pal (In...
On May 13, the team of Simon Gietl (Italy), Mathieu Maynadier (France), and Roger Schäli (Switzerland) completed the first ascent of the southeast face of Meru Peak. Their route, which ended on a minor summit on the long, gently inclined ridgelin...
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...