Flying under the radar, French climbers Symon Welfringer and Pierrick Fine quietly ventured into the Karakorum and after some acclimatization, climbed a new route up the south face of Sani Pakush (6,951m), located in the Batura Muztagh area. It is only the peak’s second ascent and its first in almost 30 years: A German team climbed the NW ridge back in 1991.
The Batura massif has gained attention recently, as small teams look for new routes to climb alpine-style. Sani Pakush itself repelled one such attempt just over a year ago: Peter Thompson and Philip de-Beger attempted the NE spur, but failed to reach the mountain’s base because of an extremely broken glacier, as they reported to the British Mountaineering Council.
File image of Sani Pakush. Photo: Symon Welfringer’s IG
