On June 11, Ethan Berman, Sebastian Pelletti, and Maarten van Haeren made the first ascent of the Southeast Pillar of 7,388m Ultar Sar in Pakistan’s Karakoram. Their outfitter, Abdul Ghafoor of Pakistan Higher Ground Expeditions, announced the news.
In 2024, the trio made a first unsuccessful attempt on this line. This year, supported again by a 2025 Cutting Edge Grant from the American Alpine Club and the John Lauchlan Memorial Award from the Alpine Club of Canada, they succeeded in climbing the 3,100m route alpine style. The route tackles steep snow, ice, and mixed terrain up to 6,500m, followed by mixed climbing, a rock barrier at 7,000m, and the final rock pillar to the summit.
Ultar Sar, also known as Bojohagur Duan Asir II, lies in the Batura Muztagh of the Karakoram. It rises 5,300m above the Hunza River, a striking yet perilous peak. Its Southeast Pillar, sometimes called the Hidden Pillar or the Walker Spur of the Karakoram, has long been considered one of the range’s last great unclimbed challenges.
Ultar Sar. Photo: Alpine Adventure Guides
Past attempts
Ultar Sar had numerous failed attempts before its first ascents in July 1996 by two separate Japanese teams via the Southwest and South Ridges.
The Southeast Pillar, however, had resisted all efforts until now:
- In 1992, Toshio Narita’s team retreated from 5,400m due to technical difficulties.
- In 2000, Jerome Blanc Gras, Yannick Graziani, Erwin le Lann, and Here Qualizza were stopped by poor weather before starting the pillar.
- In 2005, Graziani and Christian Trommsdorff reached 5,800m, roughly halfway up the pillar.
- In 2011, Fumitaka Ichimura and Yusuke Sato made a strong alpine-style attempt. They started from a 4,300m Base Camp on September 6 and reached 6,500m after a week, but worsening snow conditions forced their retreat.
- In 2018, Tim Miller, Bruce Normand, and Christian Huber reached Camp 2 at 5,900m after cold, wet weather from June 14 to June 30. A brief weather window allowed them to continue climbing, but four days of snow trapped them, and a small avalanche buried their tent, killing Huber. Miller rescued Normand, and a Pakistani Army helicopter saved the survivors.
- In 2024, Berman, Pelletti, and Van Haeren reached 6,000m before unstable snow stopped them.
The whole span of Ultar Sar’s Southeast Pillar. Photo: Christian Trommsdorff
As Colin Haley noted in 2007, the Southeast Pillar of Ultar Sar, which is longer than Latok I’s North Ridge, demands sustained technical climbing, particularly in the mixed section from 6,500m to 6,900m and the rock barrier at 7,000m.
The 2024 attempt on Ultar Sar. Photo: Ethan Berman
Berman, Pelletti, and Van Haeren reached the Hunza Valley a month ago, after a tumultuous week of travel, including many flight cancellations and unplanned nights in multiple cities en route, due to tensions between Pakistan and India.
The three climbers last month, with some Pakistani friends. Photo: Sebastian Pelletti
