An Italian team is attempting an alpine-style climb of 7,932m Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan’s Karakoram.
Federico Secchi, Leonardo Gheza, and Gabriele Carrara aim to repeat the iconic Northeast Ridge route first climbed by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri in 1958 during the first ascent of Gasherbrum IV.
Photographer Ettore Zorzini will accompany the climbers to 6,200m and take drone footage of the ascent from there. The expedition is backed by the Italian Alpine Club.
Leo Gheza, Federico Secchi, and Gabriele Carrara. Photo: Ettore Zorzini
An Italian team led by Riccardo Cassin first climbed Gasherbrum IV via the Northeast Ridge and the North Summit in 1958. On Aug. 6, members Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri summited from Camp VI at 7,544m. The initial 107m on the Northeast Ridge, the easiest section they encountered, took three hours, with increasingly difficult climbing from there.
The summit ridge featured five rock towers, with the third deemed the highest. They navigated Class 4 and 5 climbing on unstable rock, then traversed from the North Summit to the main summit, where they topped out at 12:30 pm.
The Bonatti-Mauri route. Photo: Alfonsi
Traversing the pinnacled ridge to the main summit was considered the crux of the climb. After enduring a snowstorm at Camp VI, they descended the next day via a dangerous route to Camp V at 7,193m, where Toni Gobbi and Giuseppi de Francesch awaited. De Francesch narrowly escaped a fatal fall during the support effort. Other team members included Giuseppe Oberto and Dr. Fosco Maraini.
The upper section of Gasherbrum IV. On the left side of the photo is the Northeast Ridge, which ascends to the North Summit. From there, a traverse leads to the main summit. Photo: Sebastian Alvaro
Never repeated
The 1958 route to the summit hasn’t been repeated since that first ascent, despite some attempts over the years.
One of those attempts ended in tragedy. In 2018, an Italian military team aimed to climb the Bonatti-Mauri route to mark its 60th anniversary. Climber Maurizio Giordano was killed by a falling serac, and the expedition failed to complete the Northeast Ridge route.
Disintegrating glaciers on the Northeast Ridge route may make the start difficult. This 2004 photo shows a Spanish attempt that successfully climbed Gasherbrum III. Photo: Sebastian Alvaro
As we reported last week, another party also aims to climb Gasherbrum IV. French climbers Charles Dubouloz and Symon Welfringer will attempt the Southwest Ridge via the West Face (Shining Wall) and then continue along the ridge to the summit.
