Why choose one of the three Trango Towers when you can just climb them all non-stop? That’s what Stefano Ragazzo and Silvia Loreggian of Italy achieved on the iconic Karakoram spires last month.
The pair finally shared the news of their summer climb after recovering their photos from their laptops, which had been smashed by falling rocks in Base Camp.
The so-called Trango Link-up took the climbers to the summits of the Great Trango (6,286m) via the American route, the Little Trango (5,445m) up the PM Wall, and the Nameless Tower (6,239m) up the classic Eternal Flame route, in a single push.
The greatest technical difficulties were on the Nameless Tower, but Ragazzo counted on his previous experience there: He rope-soloed Eternal Flame in 2024.
Nine days non-stop
Ragazzo and Loreggiaan on the Nameless Tower. The red line marks their route along the Little Trango and Great Trango Towers. Photo: Crimp Films
Alpine trend at Karakoram scale
Link-ups are a growing trend among high-performing alpinists. Examples of these enhanced challenges include Benjamin Vedrines‘ trilogies in the Alps and Kilian Jornet’s chain-climb of all the Alps’ 4,000m peaks and the U.S. 14,000-footers. Ragazzo explained that doing the same on the Karakoram’s Trango Towers was meant to add difficulty, altitude, and exposure. The closest equivalent is Sean Villanueva’s and others’ link-ups on the Patagonian spires.
On the highly difficult Eternal Flame route on the Nameless Tower. Photo: Crimp Films
