On June 18, Radoslav Groh and Zdenek Hak climbed the 3,000m Southwest Face of 6,270m Hunza Peak in Pakistan’s Karakoram.
The Czech pair made the ascent in a 20-hour, alpine-style push, according to Aktivtono and an Instagram post from their sponsor, Hudysport. They trekked two or three days via the Batura Glacier to the base of the wall.
Hunza Peak lies in the Batura Muztagh above the Hunza Valley and near the Ultar Sar massif. Its southwest face, a steep wall of rock and ice, had been unclimbed until now.
Hunza Peak. Photo: Radoslav Groh/HudySport
Hunza Peak’s climbing history
In the summer of 1991, a British team, including Crag Jones and Mick Fowler, made the first ascent of Hunza Peak, via the southwest ridge, after an earlier unsuccessful attempt on Ultar Sar. That season, a Swedish team also ascended Hunza by an unspecified route. Both climbs were in alpine style.
Jones and Fowler proceeded from the Hasanabad Glacier to the col between Hunza Peak and Bublimoting, then mounted the southwest ridge from there over three days.
From the Hunza Peak expedition. Photos: Radoslav Groh via HudySport
An Austrian party that included Harry Grun, Klaus Bonazza, and Jakob Karner attempted a 1,200m section of the southwest face in 2008, but failed due to bad weather.
Groh and Hak’s first ascent of Mucchu Chhish last year was ExplorersWeb’s top expedition of 2024. They named their new route on Hunza Peak Eid al-Adha (“Feast of Sacrifice”).
Climbing the upper section of the Southwest Face of Hunza Peak. Photo: Radoslav Groh via krkonossky.denik.ck
