An international team of four climbers has made three first ascents in 30 days in the Shimshal Valley in northern Pakistan.
Masha Gordon, Oswaldo Freire, Jack Sturm, and Joshua Jarrin did their first ascent on Peak 132 in the Karun Koh range. The climbers named the 6,060m peak Mashallah Sar, meaning “God has willed it.” They ranked the 1,000m line as TD, M4.
Shams Sar and the 500m line they used for their first ascent. Photo: Masha Gordon
They also climbed Peak 143 (5,850m) in the same range, naming it Shams Sar. The 500m route is D+, M4.
Their third unclimbed mountain was Peak 144 in the Karun Koh range. They named the 5,750m mountain Pozeve Sar.
Pozeve Sar. Photo: Masha Gordon
As we reported earlier, the team had a difficult approach to Karun Koh’s base camp via the southern side, because the struggled to find a passage through the ravines to the glacier. They also had to fix ropes for their porters.
Once in base camp, the foursome first studied options for new routes on 6,977m Karun Koh. Eventually, they came up with two main lines, and executed one of them.
A collage from the recent expedition. Photos: Masha Gordon
