Piolet d’Or winners Giorgi Tepnadze and Bakar Gelashvili of Georgia have just opened a new route on 7,100m Koh-e Langar in the Hindu Kush.
The expedition was a tribute to former teammate Archil Badriashvili, who died last year when struck by lightning while climbing in the Caucasus.
Badriashvili’s dream
Bakar Gelashvili, left, and Archil Badriashvili at the Piolet’s d’Or Ceremony. Photo: Piolets d’Or
When the three friends won the Golden Ice Axe in 2021 after their first ascent of Saraghrar Northwest (7,300m), they decided they would return to the area for further climbs. Badriashvili’s death put an end to his dreams, but his partners traveled to Afghanistan at the beginning of August to climb as a tribute to him.
Significantly, Koh-e Langa, the peak chosen for 2025, rises between Saraghrar and the lesser Languta-e-Barfi, another peak the Georgians ascended for the first time during their previous expedition.
Three new routes
Even before setting foot on Koh-e Langar, the expedition was a resounding success. The team’s two acclimatization climbs were both done on uncharted terrain. Tepnadze and Gelashvili achieved the first ascent of 6,125m Mudrichili Peak on August 13, and a new route on 6,833m Languta-e-Barfi — “The Bride of Hindu Kush” — a few days later.
In 2021, the Georgian team, with Badriashvili as a member, had completed the first ascent of Languta-e-Barfi from the Pakistani side of the peak. This time, they climbed in Afghan territory, although they approached the mountains via Pakistan.
On Mudrichili Peak, the climbers needed five days from Base Camp at 3,559m to the summit and back. The route gains 1,827 vertical meters over technical terrain.
They climbed the new, 2,033 vertical meter route up Languta-e-Barfi in a three-day push, with one bivouac on the way up, and a second one on the ridge at 5,900m after reaching the summit. Both routes were 5th Caucasian grade (approximately, TD — very difficult — in classic alpine climbing grades).
Languta-e-Barfi. Photo: Georgian Mountaineering Federation
The main goal
After the two lesser peaks, the team climbed Koh-e Langar, summiting on September 2. The peak’s altitude is usually given as 7,134m high, but the team’s InReach on the summit indicated 7,125m.
On the summit of Koh-e Langar on September 2. Photo: Georgian Mountaineering Federation
There are not many details of the climb yet, but they graded their 2,334-meter-long route as 6th Caucasus category — equivalent to an ED in the Alps. They completed it in a single, four-day push in alpine style.
Koh-e Langar. Photo: Georgian Mountaineering Federation
