After 40 years of unsuccessful ascents...

After 40 years of unsuccessful ascents Česen, Stražar and Livingstone first on Latok 1 from the north.



The Karakorum seven-thousander has remained an unfulfilled goal for more than 25 expeditions from around the world over the past four decades, but Slovenian alpinists Aleš Česen and Luka Stražar, along with Briton Tom Livingstone, succeeded in early August in climbing the first-ascent 2400-meter route in the north face of Latok 1 and reaching the 7145-meter summit on August 9, 2018, thus entering history with the second ascent of this Pakistani seven-thousander and the first successful ascent from the north side.



"Between July 14 and 22, we completed two acclimatization ascents (to 6300 m) on nearby peaks north of the Choktoi Glacier. Then we were caught in a longer period of unstable weather. On the night of August 5, we entered the north couloir of Latok 1. Up to 6500 meters, we climbed in the area of the north couloir, then turned right towards the col between Latok 1 and Latok 2 (6700 m). On the fifth day of climbing, we reached the summit of Latok 1 (7145 m). This was the second ascent of the summit, the first from the north side via the Choktoi Glacier, despite a colorful 40-year history of unsuccessful attempts from the north side. In the following two days of arduous and nocturnal descent, we safely reached the base of the mountain," detailed the ascent upon returning to the valley from Pakistan Aleš Česen (Alpski gorniški klub), leader of the Choktoi 2018 alpinistic expedition, which was also co-financed by the Alpine Association of Slovenia. Luka Stražar (Akademski AO) added some technical details: "Most of the climbing was on steep ice and snow, interrupted by more or less steep but shorter rock barriers. Technically, almost no section of the route was extremely difficult. The main challenges were the length of the route, obscure passages, and how to connect it all into a safe whole. The snow conditions in the wall were far from ideal, but excessive complaining about them would still seem completely unjustified." The two Slovenians and Briton Tom Livingstone reached the summit of Latok 1 on August 9, 2018; the 2400-meter first-ascent route, rated ED+, which is an upgraded highest grade on the French six-grade scale, they named Česen-Livingstone-Stražar.



The Karakorum seven-thousander, interesting due to its technical difficulty and aesthetic appeal, has been stirring imaginations and thwarting plans of alpinists from around the world for decades, but the Slovenian-British team found a route that enabled the first ascent of Latok 1 from the north side: "As with every ascent in the biggest mountains, we also this time focused most intensely on the aspect of safety. During our time under the mountain, we studied numerous avalanche paths and falling seracs. Accordingly, we plotted our ascent route in the upper part slightly to the right towards the west col. This seemed to us the fastest and safest line in the given conditions. For the same reasons, on the descent we precisely followed the ascent route, although in many places it was technically much more demanding than choosing a more direct descent route."



The summit of Latok 1 was conquered before the Slovenian-British expedition only by the Japanese expedition led by Naoki Takada in 1979, which approached via the south face. In 1978, via the north ridge, the first attempt on Latok 1 was made by the American expedition of the most experienced alpinists of that time (Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy, Jeff Lowe, George Lowe), but after 20 days of climbing, 150 meters below the summit, they had to turn back due to illness of one member. In the following four decades, Latok 1 was the goal of more than 25 expeditions of top alpinists; in 2015, Slovenian alpinists Luka Lindič and Luka Krajnc also attempted the north couloir, but due to heavy snowfall had to turn back at around 6200 meters.



The Česen-Livingstone-Stražar team succeeded after 40 years of unsuccessful attempts in overcoming the north curse of Latok 1, which, as they explain, is "a combination of several factors. That top fitness was needed for the climbed route is beyond doubt, but relying solely on muscles in such a wall quickly ends very miserably. A lot of experience and a feel for finding the best route in the labyrinth of snow couloirs, huge snow mushrooms, and rock barriers had to be invested. Thirdly, quite a bit of tactical thinking was needed about which part of the day to climb a certain section of the wall. Thus, we climbed a lot at night, which, for example, significantly complicates the orientation component of the ascent. Finally, of course, some luck with conditions and especially the weather is needed. Somehow we managed to combine all this into a whole and hoped to climb right to the summit."



In July this year, the attempt on Latok 1 by the Russian expedition ended tragically, as Sergey Glazunov was fatally injured, and Alexandra Gukova was rescued after several days in the wall in a dramatic helicopter operation, which the Slovenian alpinists and the Briton also witnessed. "The rescue operation was coordinated from our base camp mainly by the other Russian expedition present there, led by Victor Koval. We provided them support with some missing rescue equipment and acted as intermediaries for weather information when needed. When Gukova was rescued, we provided assistance to the helicopter team on the glacier, but did not unnecessarily get involved in the drama itself. Given that our approach to the route was completely different from the unfortunate Russian expedition, we tried to minimize the impact of the dramatic events. Of course, such a tragedy never leaves one completely indifferent," Česen reported from Pakistan.