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Rakaposhi: The Taj Mahal of Karakorum, part 3 Final
Nov 8, 2004 13: 58 EST
Rakaposhi, the Shining Wall, is also known as Dumani, the Mother of Mist. Towering as an impressive massif with several points, the highest of them is 7,788 m (25,550 feet) high.
The mountain, just as beautiful as both her names, poses well visible from the Karakorum Highway, her silhouette dominating the Hunza Valley, West of K2 in Pakistan. In PeakWare’s summit log, Faisal, from Lahore writes, "Rakaposhi is a ‘Taj Mahal’ of Snow. Once if you see it, You want to see it again."
Today part 2 in the ExWeb Rakaposhi series: The Ridge.
The world's longest ridge
The first Rakaposhi summit, in 1958 by Mike banks and Tom Patey, members of a strong British team, was considered as one of the most difficult climbs of that time.
Rakposhi is a fine mountain any way you climb it, but there's a final unclimbed challenge: Right on the Shinning wall, Rakaposhi offer the longest ridge in the world: Climbing 3000 vertical meters (10,000 ft) and running 9 km (5,6 miles) long.
Rarely attempted, The Rakaposhi NW ridge remains unclimbed. The latest serious attempt took place in August 2001, by a skilled French team.
Sketchy escape options
The members: Manu Pellissier, Manu Guy, Ildi Kiss, Isabelle Carrier and Jawed Ali planned to attempt the ridge in alpine style, spending about seven days on the mountain.
They also considered the possibility of setting one camp in the lower section of the ridge - climbing in semi-alpine style - as they had to overcome a vertical tower right at the beginning of the climb. Once on the ridge, escape options were scarce and unclear.
A truly remarkable challenge
The climbers didn’t even know if, after summiting, they would be climbing back retracing their own steps, or by the opposite side of the mountain. An unclimbed ridge in a possible whiteout or a storm were some of the difficulties that might lie ahead, and the challenge really remarkable.
A sheer vertical rock wall, 700m high
On August 17 they set their BC at 3200m. In front of them stood 4500 vertical meters of ridge up to the summit of Rakaposhi. The first 3000m were on rock, with some patches of snow and the need of aid climbing at some points. Then came a flatter section but, between it and the summit raised the most difficult part: a sheer vertical rock wall, 700m high.
Change of plans
Alter some acclimatization on nearby peaks and scouting the route, the climbers were ready to go… but then the weather turned bad. It took two weeks of delays to actually mount on the ridge. Meanwhile, conditions worsened and fresh snow was accumulating over the rock.
The team encountered very bad conditions on their first ascent up to 5000 m, before the real summit bid. So bad that they decided to abandon their primary target and head instead for the Japanese route on the North Ridge - a much shorter way to the summit, but also difficult.
Surrender
Isabelle, Ildi, Manu P and Jawed went for it… but didn’t get very far. After an exhausting struggle they got to 5000 m and set up a bivouac. Higher up there would be no place to plant a tent; they’d have to climb with sleeping bags only.
They left the bivouac, and began a final ascent. But after climbing more than five hours, they had only gained one hundred meters. The weather alternated between sun and sudden storms. On September 10, they lost hop and surrendered.
“Ok, some other time," Pellisier said, "meanwhile, we’ll keep on dreaming.”
The French team returned from Rakaposhi to a world changed by the terrorists attacks on NYC; Pakistan was tense. But far from the cities, over the Hunza Valley, the mighty Rakaposhi remained silent, waiting for new dreamers to attempt its faces and ridges.
Wednesday: Rakaposhi Ridge expedition 2005!
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2004
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