Aleš Česen and Luka Lindič on Broad Peak...

Aleš Česen and Luka Lindič on Broad Peak and the North Summit of Gasherbrum IV



Slovenian alpinists Aleš Česen (Alpski gorniški klub) and Luka Lindič (AO PD Celje - Matica) accomplished top alpinistic ascents in the Karakorum range in Pakistan in July. For acclimatization, they climbed Broad Peak (8047 m) on July 12, 2016, as the only alpinists this year, and on July 26, they reached the north summit of Gasherbrum IV (7900 m) via the northwest ridge, which is only the fourth ascent of this technically very demanding route on the near-eight-thousander. Slovenian alpinists have not completed many similar ascents in recent years, especially in terms of the mountain's elevation and the wall's height, which are very significant in the case of Gasherbrum IV.



Česen and Lindič are a well-matched team that has climbed together on expeditions to the Indian Himalaya, Alaska, and now for the second time in the Karakorum. In 2015, together with Marko Prezelj, they received the prestigious Piolet d'Or award for the first ascent of the north face of Hagshu. They arrived in Pakistan on June 15 and reached the base camp below Broad Peak two weeks later. They completed two acclimatization trips and on July 12, as the only alpinists in this season so far, summited Broad Peak, the twelfth highest mountain in the world. This year also marks 30 years since the first Slovenian ascent of the 8047-meter peak: Bogdan Biščak and Viki Grošelj summited Broad Peak on July 28, 1986, and the next day, the first Slovenian woman on an eight-thousander, Marija Štremfelj, completed the success; a total of twelve members of the Karakorum 1986 expedition summited this eight-thousander.



Although a few meters higher but technically much less demanding, Broad Peak was just an acclimatization ascent for the Slovenian pair, who selected the ascent of Gasherbrum IV (7925 m) via the mighty west face, known as Shining Wall, as the main goal of the expedition supported by the Alpine Association of Slovenia. "We see the wall as a major challenge that must be approached with all respect, seriousness, and caution. We are aware that success on this wall is anything but guaranteed," emphasized expedition leader Aleš Česen before departing for Pakistan. Rising steeply more than three thousand meters above the Baltoro Glacier, this legendary wall is considered one of the most beautiful and demanding climbing challenges, but since conditions were not favorable, the Slovenians opted to climb the northwest ridge to the north summit of Gasherbrum IV (7900 m), as it was only the fourth ascent of this route. They completed the ascent between July 23 and 26 in alpine style without supplemental oxygen and safely returned to base camp on July 28 amid heavy snowfall.



"The big goal was the first ascent route in the right part of the west face, where we expected very delicate rock climbing at altitudes above 7500 meters. Unfortunately, the forecasted periods of good weather were too short for a realistic attempt in such terrain. Therefore, we directed our energy to the somewhat easier world of the northwest ridge of this mountain. As it turned out during the ascent, we acted completely correctly. On the day we reached the north summit, bad weather started overtaking us from the right. Only sober decisions and great perseverance brought us relatively safely back to the valley," Česen reported from Pakistan. The alpinists will return to Slovenia on Monday, August 8, in the evening.



"For the ascent on Gasherbrum IV, we had the longest window of good weather on the entire expedition, lasting two and a half days. Only our quick response and motivation allowed us to complete such a tour in such a short period. The unconsolidated snow caused us the most trouble on the entire tour, requiring a lot of strenuous trail-breaking. It was close to turning back before the north summit, as the weather was so bad. It's incredible that we enjoyed the sun for a few minutes on the north summit before bad weather caught us again on the descent. The descent was very demanding, all the time in very poor visibility and with numerous slab avalanches. I think we can be proud of how we executed the expedition in the conditions we had," Luka Lindič recounted the expedition.



The first ascent of Gasherbrum IV, the 17th highest mountain in the world, was achieved in 1958 via the northeast ridge by Italian alpinists Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri. The steep west face remained unclimbed until 1985, when the Austrian-Polish team of Robert Schauer and Voytek Kurtyka set out for it, climbing the wall in nine days in alpine style, but due to deteriorating weather and lack of food, they ran out of strength for the summit. A year later, the Australian-American team of Greg Child, Tim Macartney-Snape, and Tom Hargis summited Gasherbrum IV via the northwest ridge. This demanding route was repeated for the third time three decades later, between July 23 and 26, 2016, by the Slovenian team Česen-Lindič, who due to worsening weather ended the ascent on the north summit of Gasherbrum IV. Slovenian alpinist Slavko Svetičič had already ventured into the west face of the Karakorum giant in 1995, reaching 7100 meters during a solo ascent but perishing in a snowstorm on the mountain forever. The first to climb the west face (via the central rib) and summit was the Korean team of Bang Jung-ho, Kim Tong-kwan, and Yoo Huk in 1997.



"This is undoubtedly a top ascent. The west face of Gasherbrum IV is one of the most powerful and probably one of the hardest walls to climb on the world's highest mountains. The number of alpinists who have summited so far says a lot about the seriousness of ascending this mighty mountain, by any route. Unfortunately, the mountain has already taken our top Slovenian Slavko Svetičič during an attempt at a first ascent in the west face. Bad weather stopped Slavko then. As far as I know about the events on Česen and Lindič's expedition, the weather also influenced the course of events this time, as the guys were already breaking trail in deep snow toward the summit on Broad Peak, which they reached, and otherwise they didn't have longer periods of stable weather. I'm not yet familiar with the details of the ascent, but I believe the guys had to give everything in such snow conditions," assessed the ascent Miha Habjan, head of the Alpine Commission of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, and added: "Once again, a top ascent that only a truly experienced, physically and mentally very strong team can accomplish, which Česen and Lindič certainly are. After all, Slovenian alpinists have not completed many similar ascents in recent years, especially in terms of the mountain's elevation and wall height, which are very large in the case of Gasherbrum IV. I dare say that currently, both in Slovenia and elsewhere, there are not many alpinists capable of such an ascent. Hats off to the alpinists, and I'm already looking forward to the details that will show how serious an ascent the guys accomplished. Bravo!"