Canadian Alpinists Climb K6 Big Wall
Raphael Slawinski and I climbed the North West face of the unclimbed K6 west ( 7,040 metres) from July 25 to July 30, summitting on July 29, and rappelling the route on the last day. We gave it a grade of 1,500 metres, AI3+,WI4+, M6+, we put our crampons on 2,500 metres below the summit. There were 1,000- metres of approach through a threatened hanging valley on the first day. Camps were at 5,400 metres, 6,000 metres, 6,300 metres, on the west r idge at 6,500 metres where we spent two nights. We had to retur n to this camp after we tr ied for the summit on the 28th and were stymied by unconsolidated snow on a steepening r idge which ended in a knife-edge. After uncertainty about the summit the next day we reached the summit easily at 10 a.m. or so to views of K2 and the higher summit of K6, which has been climbed once, in 1970 by Austr ians from the less steep Nangma Valley.
Originally, we would have liked to have gone left at our third camp and more directly to the summit for a more directissima, but we saw that slope repeatedly let loose and cover the whole face, so we opted for the safer route up to the ridge. We believe our route to be the safest on the north face, most everything else seems threatened by seracs.
There is some confusion as to whether K6 West has been climbed. There is an article and accompanying map in an American Alpine Journal from an Italian team in 1969. The map shows them reaching the summit of K6 West, but the text states that they did not reach the summit. We have checked with many sources and it seems that only the map shows them reaching the summit, but they specifically state in their write up that they did not reach the summit, so we claim it as an FA.
We planned on doing the tr ip as three but Jesse Huey returned to the U.S. as he was concerned about the stress the Nanga Parbat killings would cause his family. We missed his company. We did not, however, feel unsafe at any time once we were in the north of the country. The people there are ethnically and religiously distinct from most other parts of Pakistan. Their cash economy which is highly dependent on tour ism is suffer ing immeasurably from the terror ism which is present in Pakistan. They all complained of the effect the acts are having on their tour ism trade. We mostly had the Charakusa Valley to ourselves, although Jon Griffin and Andy Houseman are there presently.
Three Japanese climbers, Kenshi Imai, Kenro Nakajima, and Kimihiro Miyagi had been in basecamp when we arrived. They made a strong and determined effort on the same route
we completed, and helped us with beta and by confirming the route for us. They spent eight days on the route, getting to 6,400 metres. They climbed for a couple of days in stormy and deteriorating weather in which Raphael and I agreed we would have turned around. It was very impressive and a bit scary to witness.
For route details, there were three technical mixed pitches which we called the Gash just above our second bivi, at 6,000 metres. There was a lot of 50- to 60- degree ice, and three technical pitches of WI4 to 4+ ice climbing, which were difficult due to hard ice and altitude. Once cresting the ridge we were lucky to find a flat spot to camp and the backside r idge, after the failed attempt, proved to be easy slogging from about 6,400 metres to the summit, after we descended about 100 metres to skirt the unclimbable r idge. This is the first ascent of the K6 massif from its northern aspect above the Charakusa Valley.
We would like to thank our sponsors, the aac Lyman Spitzer Cutting Edge Grant, the Mugs Stump Award, and the Gore-Tex Shipton Tilman Award.–