Mark Richey, Steve Swenson and Freddie Wilkinson have scored a major coup with their first ascent of Saser Kangri II (7,513m) in the Indian Karakoram.
The three made a four-day alpine style ascent of the South Face to reach what was dubbed, according to certain criteria, the second highest, unclimbed independent mountain in the World.
In September 2009 Richey and Swenson, with fellow American Mark Wilford, and British mountaineer Jim Lowther made two attempts on the South Face, during the second reaching a creditable high point close to 7,000m.
Poor bivouac sites, and then on the last day cold, windy weather, forced them down.
This August conditions were better. Whereas in 2009 the initial long broad couloir had been entirely hard alpine ice, this summer it was covered in firm snow, allowing the three climbers to move together.
At the top they cut right through steeper mixed ground and the "ice chimney" to a bivouac site made possible by the ever-inventive Richey's Ice Hammock.
The Ice Hammock is a light section of fabric with tape loops each end. When filled with snow it can be moulded into a flat ledge and a tent erected on top.
The three stopped early on their second day to allow plenty of time to eat, drink and get some sleep before next morning following a major ramp system cutting up right to the headwall.
Near the top they broke back left via a feature named the Escape Hatch to reach the summit slopes, where at c7,000m they cut a more commodious tent platform, sheltered by an overhang. The weather still looked perfect and optimism rose for a summit push the next day.
Four pitches of technical climbing gained the summit ridge, from where the three reached the highest point via straightforward snow walking. It was amazingly windless, cloudless and relatively warm.
They down-climbed and rappelled to their tent to spend a second night, and then the following day made more than 30 rappels to the glacier.
Throughout the trip Swenson had been plagued by a sinus infection and his condition slowly deteriorated during the climb. He spent the last night sitting up in the tent coughing phlegm.
When he reached advanced base at 5,800m the team used the satellite phone to call a helicopter, which evacuated Swenson to the oxygen-rich Leh. There, his health quickly improved.
In 1985 an Indo-Japanese expedition reported making the first ascent of Saser Kangri II via the North West Ridge. They reached what they termed the West Top, which they felt was the same height as a more easterly summit. However, thorough research by the Americans before their 2009 attempt showed that the East Summit was higher.
In fact, the West Top is not really a top at all but just a shoulder on the North West Ridge. From Saser Kangri II summit, approximately one kilometre distant, the Americans could clearly see that it was lower.
The accolade of the highest unclimbed independent peak in the World is generally given to Gangkar Puensum (Kangkar Punzum: 7,541m) in remote northern Bhutan. No permission has been granted for this peak since attempts in the 1980s.
The photo shows the South Face of Saser Kangri II. The line of ascent followed the great snow slope, then a ramp slanting up right at 45° through the mixed ground above, eventually cutting back left to gain the ridge right of the highest point.
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