The great weather in the Karakoram is not only helping progress on the 8,000’ers but also on the Trango Towers. On the Nameless Tower, the “Three Marins” have prepared the Eternal Flame route, fixing ropes until the Snow Ledge.
Now, Edu Marin is focused on freeing all the pitches. “The battle has started,” Marin announced. “The good weather window will last a few more days, so this is our big chance to send Eternal Flame,” he posted on his Instagram.
One of the first comments Marin received under his post was a message of encouragement from Thomas Huber, who first free-climbed the route. Coincidently, Huber also climbed the route with a sibling, his brother, Alex.
Neighbors on the Towers?
The Marins may not be alone on the Trango Towers. Ace climbers Barbara Zangerl of Austria and Jacopo Larcher of Italy had the same goal in mind (to free-climb Eternal Flame) last summer. Then, just like Marin, they were forced back by bad weather.
Zangerl’s sponsor, Vibram, has confirmed she is going back to Trango but revealed no specific goal. They mention the “Trango Tower” in the singular, which is the usual name of the Nameless Tower, where Eternal Flame is. However, Zangerl posted a picture of the Great Trango Tower before departing. Larcher last posted he was in Pakistan but again, there were no details. We’ll have to wait to know more.
Barbara Zangerl climbing on the Trango last year. Photo: @paolosartophoto
Zangerl started as a top sport climber, the first woman to send 8b on boulders, and one of the few capable of sending 9a sport routes. When a back injury forced her to switch to alpine and big wall climbing, she simply achieved new triumphs in these new disciplines. Notably, she has free-climbed five routes up El Capitan and completed the Eiger’s Odyssee (1,200m, 8a+) in one day with Larcher.
Jacopo Larcher went through a similar evolution, from the hardest boulder problems and sport routes, to high-difficulty trad sends, and the granite big walls of Yosemite. You can read more about him here.
