About the Expedition

In ‘04 and ‘05, Americans and Slovaks (respectively) established two new routes—each over 90 pitches in length—on the southwest side of Great Trango Tower of Pakistan. These hold the distinction of being the longest rock climbs in the world. Several valleys away and just east of Latok II is a sub-peak—“Latok II¾”—whose southwest face is comparable in length and perhaps exceeds Great Trango in steepness; yet Latok II¾ remains unclimbed, its flanks untouched.

While Latok II¾’s southwest face ranks among the taller rock walls in the world, it has remained unattempted for at least two reasons. First, the nearby summit of Latok II stands 600m higher, magnetizing the eye-gaze of the “altitude junkie”; what Latok II¾ loses in summit altitude, it makes up for in length and steepness. (As a side note, we believe that some of the best unexplored alpine terrain can be found nearby and below the world’s more famous mountains.)

The second reason why Latok II¾ has yet to see its first visit is that many are probably daunted by the challenges of tackling a rock twice the size of El Capitan, and doing so in the rarefied air above 5000m. Perhaps this second reason is more so a “problem” than it is a “reason”. How does one go about climbing 1700m of steep rock at high altitude? Some would argue that a wall of that magnitude and complexity is best tackled with a correspondingly large and tactically involved style—The Siege. (It goes without saying that we would consider no such pedantry.)

For inspiration, we turn to a quote by Einstein: “The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.” Analogously, we intend to “solve” the “problem” of Latok II¾ not with a hefty and complicated attack, but instead by implementing a quick and equipment-thrifty charge. We will address the enormity of the endeavor not with more stuff, but with less of it. However, we do plan on bringing an extensive “mental rack”, with doubles in commitment and inspiration. For us, Latok II¾ presents but a stage (mind you, a big one); it is the dance that gives it personal significance.

It would be convenient if we could say that our (proposed) style of ascent is novel; in our minds, however, the recent ascents of Great Trango epitomize what it means to climb elegantly. The Americans and Slovaks took a minimum of equipment and spent between 4 and 7 days on their climbs. It is our intent to mimic (as best we can) the exceptional quality of ascent of those teams—fast, light, and clean.

Our proposed objective can be described in rough terms as involving two parts. The lower part is characterized by a moderate-angle rock slab. We anticipate being able to free most or all of it, simul-climbing whenever possible. The southern facing aspect of the wall should keep cracks relatively snow-free, which will hopefully speed progress and allow us to reach the gendarme by the end of the first day (see attached photo). The upper part of the objective follows a series of narrow ridge crests before being stopped at what appears to be a steep headwall. From a distance, this would appear to be the crux of the line. At its top, a ramp cuts to the right into a chimney system, which in turn leads to corners and more broken terrain below the summit ridge. Being both at higher altitude and of steeper angle, we anticipate that we will require up to 5 days to “get the rope up” the segment from the gendarme to the summit ridge. When the difficulties approach the limits of what we are capable, we will focus our efforts and speed our team by having the seconds follow on ascenders. Having previously scouted the descent, we will rap into the col with Latok II and downclimb and rappel the ice couloir below the 1997 route.

Context and History.

The Panmah Muztagh sub-range of the Karakoram contains the world famous Ogre and Latok peaks, forming a tight cluster of towering mountains of rock and ice. Their rocky flanks have continually attracted tough climbers, providing the stage for legendary Alpine adventures. But climbing in the Panmah Muztagh is never easy and no one walks away with a straightforward ascent. As one example, the still-unclimbed north ridge of Latok I (7145m) was first attempted in 1978 by an American team comprised of Jim Donini, Jeff and George Lowe, and Michael Kennedy. After 26 days and some 100 pitches of rock and ice climbing, Jeff became ill with altitude symptoms; the team retreated. Since then, the line has seen over a dozen attempts, none of which have been successful.

It was the year before the American attempt on Latok I that one of the greatest of all mountaineering epics was played out on the first ascent of the Ogre (a.k.a. Baintha Brakk; 7285m). While making the first rappel from the summit, Doug Scott (U.K.) lost control, swung wildly, and broke both of his ankles. With the assistance of his teammates, Chris Bonnington and Nick Estcourt, Scott crawled for 7 days to reach base camp.

Our interest is in the vicinity of the southwestern ramparts of Latok II. Latok II has seen four ascents (’77, ’96, ’97, ’06) by three routes. First, a large Italian team led by Arturo Bergameschi sieged the Southeast Ridge in 1977. This route was repeated in 2006 by Americans Doug Chabot, Mark Richey, and Steve Swenson; in doing so, they made the first alpine style ascent of the peak. Second, the Huber brothers (Germany) failed on the west face but settled for the Northwest Ridge in 1996. Latok II’s third and most recent new route involved the Huber brothers as well. Returning the next year (1997), along with Toni Gutsch and Conrad Anker, they succeeded on the steep West Face. Anker describes their objective as being like “El Cap stacked on top of Denali”. The team climbed the grade VII big wall in 26 pitches to 5.10c and A3, naming it “Tsering Mosong” (meaning “Long Night” in Balti).

Approach and Logistics.

Weather permitting, we will fly from the capital of Islamabad to Skardu (otherwise, we will travel by road for 2 days along the dreaded Karakoram Highway), where we will arrange for food and base camp equipment. Next, we will hire a jeep for a 5-hour drive to the road-head in Askoli Village, where we will hire porters. The hike to base camp involves walking up the Bradlu River towards K2 (for one day) before diverging onto the Biafo Glacier (for two more).

Our approach from North America to base camp will require approximately 10 days. We will then spend approximately 3 weeks in and above base camp before reversing the process. Thus, our expedition will last about 6 weeks, beginning in early July 2007.