One of the great remaining problems in the Karakoram has finally fallen. A star Czech team has summited Muchu Chhish (7,453m), the highest unclimbed peak in the world. It is in the Batura Muztagh range of northern Pakistan.
The climbers will give a complete report once they return home, but for now, Zdenek Hak has updated ExplorersWeb with great news.
Zdenek Hak, Radoslav Groh, and Jaroslav Bansky took six days to reach the elusive summit.
“We started on July 1 after the acclimatization,” Hak wrote us over WhatsApp. “We climbed via the south ridge to the main ridge, and then we continued westward to the summit. We stood on top on July 5 at 10:20 am and took one more day for the descent. [We] finally re-entered Base Camp on July 6 at 6 pm.”
Groh at the team’s third camp. Photo: Hak/Bansky
“We climbed some 8-10 hours a day and made four bivouacs,” Hak explained. “The total length of the route from Base Camp was 20km and 3,687 vertical meters. The length from Camp 1 to the top was 14.29km, and altitude gain was 2,300m.”
The team has also forwarded the first images of the climb. They show varied conditions, from sheer rock in the lower sections…
Hak on the section between Camp 1 and Camp 2. Photo: Groh/Baskly
To the steep mixed ramps leading to Camp 2…
Groh traverses steep snow ramps to Camp 2. Photo: Hak/Bansky
To the corniced summit ridge…
Hak traverses the summit ridge of Muchu Chhish. Photo: Groh/Bansky
When asked about conditions, Hak admitted they found loads of snow. “Luckily, we had a snow plow: Yaroslav!”
Winning team
Czech climbers have tried to reach the difficult summit three times in the last four years. One of last year’s members was on this year’s successful summit bid: the young Piolet d’Or winner Radoslav Groh. For this 2024 attempt, he enlisted Zdenek Hak, with whom he opened an impressive new route on Cholatse in Nepal last year.
Hak, meanwhile, brought another former partner to complete the threesome: Jaroslav Bansky, with whom Hak bagged the first ascent of the vertiginous Chumbu (6,859m) in 2022. Pavel Korinek, who led the three previous attempts, was not part of the team this time.
The summit ridge of Muchu Chhish, with the summit at the upper right. Photo: Czech Muchu Chhish 2024 team
A coveted prize
For years, Muchu Chhish has been the highest unclimbed peak in the world (among those open to expeditions). This made it a coveted reward for many highly skilled teams of exploratory alpinists. It also drew bold soloists such as James Price, who tried to traverse the entire ridge (known as the Batura Wall) in 2022.
On the other hand, its flanks of broken seracs and avalanche-prone gullies led to a summit ridge that felt neverending and which discouraged most climbers and pushed back the few who tried.
Hak and Groh climb the last few meters before the summit of Muchu Chhish. Photo: Jaroslav Bansky
The Czechs previously attempted to reach the summit in 2020, 2022, 2023. Last year, Pavel Korinek, Pavel Bem, Radoslav Groh, and Tomas Petrecek found a way to the ridge. They progressed until bad weather trapped them at 7,200m at the bottom of a final rock pyramid, barely 250m below the top. After running out of supplies and fuel, they had to retreat.
The Czech expeditions on Muchu Chhish over the years. In 2023, they reached the base of the final rock pyramid (the red flag). Photo: Muchu Chhish Czech Expedition 2023
