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It's
mid-August 2004 and news reports are streaming in sporadically from overseas.
Steve House called from the Charakusa
Valley in Pakistan once in late-June and
again in late-July. He was there with a strong team of climbers including fellow
GNA Four member Marko Prezelj. Jeff Hollenbaugh, Bruce Miller, Doug Chabot, and
Steve Swenson rounded out the team. Early in the trip the whole group minus
Hollenbaugh made the first ascent of Kapura
Peak (6544m). The 1100-meter
route went at 5.8, M5, with 90-degree ice. Later, House, Prezelj and Swenson
climbed the upper southeast ridge of Nayser Brakk (5200m) yielding "Tasty Talk",
300m, III, 5.10c. Prezelj returned with Miller to climb the entire ridge, which
they dubbed "No More Tasty Talk", 900m, IV, 5.10+. Then House and Hollenbaugh
climbed to within one hour of the summit of Drifika (6447m) but turned back in a
storm.
During a spell of much-awaited good weather House soloed a new route on K7
(6942m) making that mountain's second ascent. The 2650-meter high line is on the
southwest face, independent from 4400m (BC) to where it joins the Japanese Route
at 6300m. He started at 5pm and finished the lower rock section by 7:30pm,
continued climbing until 10pm when he brewed up. Then moved through the night to
stay warm. Snow on the upper 800m was knee to crotch deep if it was less than 60
degrees. A big gendarme right below the summit took 5 hours to bypass, with mini
Tamara Traverses connected by rock and 30 feet of “genuine aid climbing, etriers
and all.” Steve reached the summit at 7:45pm, turned his headlamp on at
8pm when it got
dark and began “a slow measured descent.” He described the terrain up high as
“significantly complex,” and hard (5.10, A2, 80-degree ice, M6+). The route took
41 hours roundtrip from base camp (4400m). In strict adherence to the modern
style he carried a stove, pan and fuel but no bivy gear so he climbed in a
single push. Steve got close to the summit in 19 hours of climbing last summer
and spent the next ten months training for that particular objective (and what
is to follow).
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The above picture was poached from the 1993 GHM journal. The line
shows the Spanish attempt of 1990. |
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The
first ascent of K7 was accomplished in 1984 by a large Japanese team. They
fixed over 9000 feet of rope, established six fixed camps and drilled 450
bolts. During the same five-day window of good weather that Steve
exploited Bruce Miller and Doug Chabot repeated the Japanese Route up the
southwest ridge of K7 in 5 days roundtrip, alpine style, of course. Theirs
was the third ascent of the peak. Separately, Marko Prezelj, Jeff
Hollenbaugh and Steve Swenson got shut out by atrocious snow conditions on
K7 West, which remains unclimbed.
As I write
this the weather is good in Pakistan so it is likely that the team, sans
Marko Prezelj and Jeff Hollenbaugh who both returned home, is attempting
Nanga Parbat by a variety of routes. We heard via the grape vine that they
got high on the Rupal Face but missed the summit - details follow.
We
also received confirmation that Kelly Cordes and Josh Wharton made the
first ascent of the 7500-foot high (and rather long) southwest ridge of
Trango Tower on
24-28 July. The route was first attempted seriously in 1990 by Spaniards,
Lazkano, Banales, Cobo and Murica who spent three weeks on the route,
establishing four camps and fixing a bunch of rope to get up the 61
pitches that put them within "100 meters of the summit" according to the
1993 GHM Journal (pp 14). They graded those pitches French 6c and A2. In
2000 Miles Smart and Timmy O'Neill avoided the aid on the Spanish route
and managed to reach a headwall 300 meters below the summit before storm
forced them down -- an epic descent that took 17 hours and 40+ rappels (AAJ
2001 pp 357-359).
Cordes' postcard explained that the pair ran out of fuel, thus water on
the second day, sucked ice and snow and ate little for the next two and a
half days that it took to complete the route and descent. They climbed 20
pitches - that included the crux - above the high points of the Spanish
and American teams making the total number of pitches they climbed over 80
(probably) but they "lost count due to all the simul-climbing." Cordes and
Wharton rated the route 5.11 R/X A2 M6 but had not yet named it. Cordes
said that they "went outrageously light."
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This perspective is bit more impressive showing the southwest ridge
of Trango Tower. There are also pictures on pp 92 of
Alpinist #7 (the B-Team grant announcement), and pp 91 of
Alpinist #5, where the route appears as the right skyline. And for
those with access to old issues of Mountain Magazine check out the
center spread in issue #101, Jan/Feb 1985. The picture, shot by
Scott Woolums is amazing.
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