First ascent of Khurdopin Sar, Karakoram, by Gaëtan Navarrete & Julien Priour

Gaëtan Navarrete (30) and Julien Priour (28) have made the first ascent of Khurdopin Sar, a 6,458m peak above the Khurdopin Glacier in the remote Shimshal area of the Karakoram.

The French alpinists arrived in Pakistan on 25 September, but bad weather prevented them from entering the high mountains before the start of October. With their guesthouse located in Aliabad (2300 m), this left them littler time to acclimatize. On October 8, the pair travelled to Shimshal to meet their two porters, who carried food for two days up to Chirinin at 3800m, after which they continued independently. They established Camp 1 at 4900m on the glacier, then Camp 2 the next day 400m higher, once again on the glacier. After resting for a day, the departed from Camp 2 at 6 a.m., crossed the Bergschrund an hour later, and climbed steadily up the south couloir to reach the west ridge which they followed to the summit. They reached this at 4:40 p.m., in severe winter conditions (read hard ice, –30 °C, and strong winds), which made the night descent challenging. They eventually returned to Camp 2 at 1 a.m., before descending to Chirinin the next day. A further three days were needed to return to Shimshal.

Asked about why this mountain in particular, Navarrete explained "We didn’t choose this particular objective beforehand. We went up the valley with plenty of food and an open mind. The dry and difficult conditions this year led us to explore the south faces, which were in better shape after the sudden onset of winter (a 15°C temperature drop in one week, accompanied by heavy snowfall). This peak seemed relatively accessible, being only two days’ walk from the Chirinin hut."

Khurdopin Sar had seen at least four previous unsuccessful attempt in the past, none of which reached the west ridge, and the French climb now marks the first confirmed ascent of this little-known summit.