One year after their impressive first ascent of Ghamubar Zom V, Yudai Suzuki, Kei Narita, and Yuu Nishida of Japan returned to Pakistan’s Hindu Raj and made another first ascent: this time, of the West Face of 6,523m Thui 2.
Thui 2 had been climbed only once, and that was 46 years ago from a different side. This was the first repetition and the first ascent of the difficult west face, in alpine style.
The team reached the base of the face, picked their line, and waited. After 12 days of heavy snow, they set off as soon as the skies cleared. They made the ascent in one four-day push. It was far from easy.
No retreat
The climbers had to dodge avalanches and falling rocks but never retreated. “We took a rational yet aggressive approach to our chosen line,” Suzuki noted.
After two bivouacs at 5,810m and 6,250m, their final challenge was a forced bivouac right on the summit in rough conditions. Suzuki described that night as a “terrible experience.” At the same time, he says it added extra merit to the climb.
Back on flat ground, Suzuki is not hiding his pride in their “beautiful line.” It is not only beautiful but also 1,450m long, with difficulties up to M7, A2. The team has graded it as ED+ (extremely difficult plus; the maximum in European Alpine standards). Their name for the new line is Spider’s Thread.
Dream trio
These three Japanese twenty-somethings are quickly accumulating a series of bold ascents worldwide. Last year, in addition to the first ascent of Ghamubar Zum V, they also climbed a hard new line on Ausangate in the Andes. And this year, they established Dream House, a highly difficult new route on Quitaraju in Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.
The Japanese team on the summit of Quitaraju this past summer. Photo: Yudai Suzuki
