Risht Peak first ascent in Pakistan's unexplored Yarkhun valley
Symon Welfringer reports about an expedition with fellow French mountaineers Aurélien Vaissière, Pierrick Fine and Antoine Rolle to Yarkhun valley in Pakistan which resulted in the first ascent of Risht Peak (5960m) right at the end of the Risht glacier.
Photo by archive Symon Welfringer
Bad weather was brewing and we had to hurry down. We rappelled down the entire face in the storm, just to make sure that we were tired enough already!
The following day we skied back down to basecamp, feeling exhausted but also very satisfied about our new route. After some rest, we thought about where we might climb to end the trip in style. Our eyes turned to a beautiful gorge full of even more beautiful cracks that split the walls from bottom to top.
In order to climb as much as possibile, we climbed in two teams and established two new routes. While Antoine and Aurel made the first ascent of Sueurs chaudes (150m 6c+ max) Pierrick and I discovered an incredibly beautiful and committing line, in such a remote place like Yarkhun valley! Although the quality of the rock was poor on some pitches, in particular the fifth, this added to the spice of the day and many pitches provided really nice cracks with good pro. Our route, Removable Crux (250m, 7b + 250m) was established with trad gear only. This marked the end of our trip and by far my best expedition experience to date. Pakistan rocks!
Thanks to: Millet mountain, Petzl, Au vieux campeur, Elbec socks, 4 ultra, Hard bar. And special thanks to our weather forecaster Ambroise Guiot, and Ishaq Aali for the organisation