When we talked to James Price a year ago about his solo adventure on the Baruta Wall, we needed lots of details and photos to believe the story of this young Brit, alone on the Karakoram’s mighty Batura range.
Sebastien Carniato of France climbed with Price during the preparatory stages of the trip and filmed a little with a drone during the solo endeavor. The resulting documentary gives a new dimension to this amazing adventure.
James Price at the beginning of his solo trip along the Batura Wall, with Shispare behind him. Frame from ‘The Call of the Karakoram.’
It sounds preposterous: The 25-year-old Price launched an off-season (September) attempt to solo the complete Batura Wall, all 14 km above 7,000m. (The entire range is 40-50 km long.) This included summiting Batura Main, Passu Peak, and the unclimbed Muchu Chhish! At the time, Price talked to us from a hospital in France, where he was recovering from frostbite sustained during the attempt.
The young British alpinist is far from a newbie. The Chamonix resident has extensive experience in the Alps, including the classic North Faces of the Eiger, the Grandes Jorasses, and the Matterhorn (solo).
In the summer of 2021, he opened solo routes on Maidon Sar’s northwest ridge and Passu North in the Karakoram. The 2020 Covid lockdown caught him in Hunza, where he had the whole range to himself. The long stay helped him create strong bonds with the locals. Since then, he also collaborated on a project to train young Pakistani climbers.
Price uses a puristic approach om his climbs: no porters, no support, and no base camps! He starts from the nearest village, even if it’s very far away. Last year, for example, Price set off from Passu, some 75km from the Batura range.
James Price approaches the top of the Batura Wall on skis. Frame from the film
As a preparation for the Batura Wall, Price bagged first ascents on nearby Pheker Peak (5,465m) and the first traverse of Mirshikar Peak (5,464m). Then he headed to the Batura Wall, where Carniato was able to shoot some drone footage. Otherwise, Price did all the filming himself. He summited Passu Diar (7,284m) and Passu Shar (7,470m). Then the weather turned for the worse.
What happened to James Price on the Batura Wall — how he returned 18 days later, alive but frostbitten — is revealed in the video below.
Meanwhile, Price has announced that he’ll try the Batura Wall again next year. Of course, the challenge will include Muchu Chhish. As he said in his previous interview with ExplorersWeb: “My dream is to traverse the Batura Wall, and Muchu Chhish just happens to be along the route.”
