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Chogolisa: The doomed bride of Karakorum, part 2
Oct 15, 2004 09: 07 EST
Beautiful Chogolisa right behind the Gasherbrums massif, at the head of the Baltoro Glacier (Karakorum) is also known as the Bride Peak. In part 1 of this Chogolisa 3-part series, we described the tragedy of one of her first summit attempts; Austrian ace climber’s Hermann Buhl’s death.
Today we continue with part 2 of Chogolisa’s story:
Buhl died as a cornice gave way under him - the tracks of his boots disappearing into the void. His climbing partner, a young Kurt Diemberger, stood in horror at the tracks. Many years and other tragedies later, Kurt still finds it difficult to talk about Hermann and the accident.
The bride was offered no rest
It seemed that the bride was unwilling to be touched. But she was given no rest. In 1958, a Japanese expedition from Kyoto University led by T. Kawabara made the first ascent of Chogolisa II, placing M. Fujihira and K. Hirai on top
Chogolisa I, the main summit, remained untouched until August 2, 1975 - summit day for Fred Pressl and Gustav Ammerer, members of an Austrian expedition led by Eduard Koblmuller.
The climb didn’t go without fighting the Mountain’s mean intentions: Koblmuller almost suffered the same fate as Buhl; he too fell through a cornice! Luckily he was roped and the climbing mates were able to pull him back to safety.
Only small, hard-core teams have tried her since
Since then, Chogolisa has not had many attempts. She is not an 8000er; and too difficult for expedition outfitters to include as a guided option. Only small, hard-core teams have tried her since.
After Ammerer and Pressl’s climb via the West Ridge, the second summit didn’t come until 1984, when a French team of B.Aucher, P.Dubois, J.M.Galmiche and E.Monier climbed their way up the South ridge. They started the climb from the broken Kaberi glacier.
British L.Elliot, A. Fanshawe, H.Irvine and S.Lamb made the first traverse of the mountain, ending on the North Summit, the joining point of the North (left) and NE (right) ridges in 1986. That same year, a Spanish team led by Gregorio Ariz, and climbers F. de Pablos, R. Portilla and J.C. Tamayo opened the NE ridge.
Trapped in unrest between nations
And as if things were not tough enough, in the late nineties the Pakistan Government prevented expeditions to climb Chogolisa, due to its proximity to an area of hostilities between Pakistan and India.
The latest attempt on the mountain was launched this past summer, as all attention was focused on the crowded 8000ers (K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrums I and II). A small team went quietly to try their luck on Chogolisa’s steep slopes and knife-sharp ridge. Read all about that expedition on Sunday, in the third and last part of Chogolisa’s ExWeb special report.
Chogolisa (or Bride Peak) is a mountain at 35° 07' N 76° 35' E in the Karakorum (Pakistan). Chogolisa has several peaks, the highest on the SW face (Chogolisa I) rises to 7,665 meters (25,147 ft.).
Image of Chogolisa, courtesy of Mountain.ru
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