Baghirathi II, the video of the Pou brothers attempt in India

No go for Iker Pou and his brother Eneko who recently returned home empty-handed from the Indian Garhwal Himalaya where they failed, due to enduring bad weather, to climb a new route up Baghirathi II (6512m). The two Spaniards had originally planed on attempting to free the stunning La Estrella Imposible (1300m, 6c A3+ 60°, established in 1984 by the Spanish alpinists Juan C. Aldeuger, Sergio Martinez, José L. Moreno and Juan Thomás) but as soon as they reached the foot of the mountain they realised that conditions were prohibitive. Hnce their decision to switch to nearby Baghirathi II, less exposed to the bad weather.

After having set up Base Camp at 4400m and a small ABC at 5200m, Iker and Eneko managed to establish a first camp on the face at 5500m and climb, via nine pitches, up to 5700m circa where they were forced to abandon their attempt. The two believe that a further circa 200m of steep rock would have led to easier terrain and the summit.

“The conditions were really harsh” wrote Iker on his blog “It snowed 28 out of the 30 days which we spent on the mountain, and the cold was extreme, such that we had to use all of the clothing we had taken with us to keep ourselves warm. We had not anticipated that it would be that cold at this time of year- we chose this time of year to carry out the expedition precisely because the weather is normally stable and good.”

Despite these difficulties the two managed to climb 600m (100m easy ice + 500m rock) past difficulties up to 6c.