Česen, Stražar and Livingstone first on...

Česen, Stražar and Livingstone first on Latok 1 from the north face.



The Slovenian-British climbing expedition, consisting of Aleš Česen, Luka Stražar, and Tom Livingstone, has climbed a first ascent 2400-meter route in the north face of Latok 1 and summited the 7145-meter peak in the Karakorum on August 9, 2018, marking the second ascent in history on this Pakistani seven-thousander and the first successful ascent from the north side after 40 years of unsuccessful attempts.



Slovenian climbers Aleš Česen (Alpski gorniški klub) and Luka Stražar (Akademski AO) and Briton Tom Livingstone announced the good news on the evening of August 11, which spread through the climbing world at supersonic speed: "Aleš, Tom, and Luka have returned to base a few hours ago, we climbed a new route in the north face and reached the summit of Latok 1. Next ... sleep." Today they also reported that the ascent took five days and the descent two days. 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. This is the first successful ascent of Latok from the north side, from the Choktoi Glacier, after 40 years of unsuccessful attempts, more than 25 of them. Roughly, the route in the lower part of the wall follows a snow-ice band along the north ridge, then the ridge, and after about two-thirds turns right to the col. Details of the ascent will be known when the climbers safely return to the valley and homeland.



The Karakorum seven-thousander is interesting due to its technical difficulty and aesthetic appeal, so it has been stirring the imagination of climbers from around the world for decades. "The number of unsuccessful attempts somewhat diminishes the adventurous side of the expedition, but at the same time ignites additional motivation. We are aware that success largely depends on unpredictable snow conditions and weather, but in the most demanding walls of the Himalaya or Karakorum, we unfortunately cannot escape this fact. When visiting the Choktoi Glacier, the conditions and weather are the biggest unknowns, providing a great deal of uncertainty and adventure," emphasized expedition leader Aleš Česen before departure.



The summit of Latok 1 was conquered before the Slovenian-British expedition, which was also co-financed by the Alpine Association of Slovenia, only by the Japanese expedition led by Naoki Takada in 1979, which approached via the south face. In 1978, the American expedition of the most experienced climbers of that time (Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy, Jeff Lowe, George Lowe) first attempted to climb Latok 1 via the north ridge, but after 20 days of climbing, they had to turn back 150 meters below the summit due to illness of one member. In the following four decades, Latok 1 was the goal of numerous expeditions by top climbers; in 2015, Slovenian climbers Luka Lindič and Luka Krajnc also attempted the north couloir, but had to turn back at around 6200 meters due to heavy snowfall. This July, the attempt by the Russian expedition ended tragically when Sergey Glazunov was fatally injured, and Alexandra Gukova was rescued in a dramatic helicopter operation after several days in the wall.



"Although details are not yet known, I assess that the key to the ascent was going differently in the upper part than most other attempts - they did not follow the obvious line of the couloir, but headed right to the col between Latok 1 and 2, then reached the summit via the south side of the mountain. This is the most logical route, as Luka Krajnc and I also assessed in 2015. This ascent is the ideal picture of alpinism, where the entire face is unclimbed and you have to think with your own head and find the most logical line. Congratulations to the climbers for the top ascent, and in addition, great respect to Aleš, Luka, and Tom for staying there after the Russian drama on Latok 1 and being able to regroup for the ascent," was the first assessment by Luka Lindič.



More detailed information about the ascent will be known when the climbers return home. Česen and Stražar will arrive in Slovenia on Sunday evening.