Simon Messner and Martin Sieberer of Tyrol have returned home from Pakistan after retreating from an unclimbed peak. Their planned goal, which they’d kept quiet about, was 6,745m Chumik Kangri. Ironically, another team summited the peak just days later.
A long-closed region
Sieberer, 37, described Chumik Kangri as “a massive, complex mountain,” located in the Saltoro area of the Karakoram. It had been closed to foreigners for decades because it lay near areas disputed with India.
Climbing permits for the region were issued again this year, luring some high-level alpinists toward several unclimbed peaks that rise from the top of the Siachen Glacier. Previously, the Siachen was known as “the highest battlefield in the world” after the frequent exchange of fire between the Indian and Pakistani armies.
On the Siachen Glacier. Photo: Sieberer/Messner
Among those drawn to the area were Martin Sieberer and his usual partner, the accomplished Simon Messner, the son of the legendary Reinhold. When they reached base camp, Chumik Kangri was still unclimbed. But the Tyroleans were not the only ones with that goal in mind.
Sieberer and Messner needed several days to acclimatize. When they were finally ready for an alpine-style attempt, the weather turned bad and the route they had in mind proved to risky.
“After three weeks, we bailed,” Sieberer wrote on social media.
Shortly after, on September 15, another team — Michal Czech and Wadim Yablonski of Poland and Adam Kaniak of Slovakia — achieved the first ascent of the peak. If Sieberer was frustrated because another team snatched the first ascent, he didn’t show it. Gracefully, he expressed only support and appreciation for the Polish-Slovak team.
They were more focused
“We…spent some time in Base Camp together, bouldering around the camp,” Sieberer confirmed. “We left in very bad weather, but some days later, conditions improved and there was a week-long awesome window.
“I kept in contact with them after we left the mountain, so I was informed of their summit. I am really happy for them.”
On a rainy day at 5,800m, Martin Sieberer takes solace with a gummy bear. Photo: Martin Sieberer
“They were highly motivated and actually more focused than we were, since we had a film crew with us,” Sieberer said.
At the time of speaking with ExplorersWeb, Sieberer was also waiting for details about the new route. “It definitely has to be a tough one, since they went for the south face,” he said.
Since Sieberer’s comments, the Polish-Slovak team has shared some photos and details of the climb.
“[The] 1,100m line [involved] two bivouacs in the thin air, and a descent as committing as the climb,” the climbers wrote on Instagram.
They climbed the route, named The Great Gig in the Sky, in pure alpine style along the rock-and-ice pillars of the south face. The degree of difficulty was M6, A1, ED1, according to member Adam Kaniak.
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“This expedition was the essence of exploration and adventure,” Kaniak added. “Our expedition was the first in this region since 1978. The absence of photographs, maps, and information forced us to discover everything completely on our own.”
Here is his description of the route itself:
The entire expedition was further complicated by the difficult access to the wall and the difficult descent, where we had to make about 20 rappels. The route itself offered many beautiful pitches on high-quality rock, but also countless meters in serious mountain terrain. Until the end, it was not certain whether we would manage to get from the pillar to easier terrain that would allow us to climb to the very top.
