British Charakusa 2013

Although the Charakusa valley is much frequented, there are still some unclimbed peaks in the area, The main objective of this duo was the first ascent of Link Sar (7041m), a very complex peak which has foiled several strong climbers in the past. They made a couple of recce runs on K6 (aka Baltistan Peak, 7282m) to introduce Houseman to the area, and to check out the current condition of the faces. The line on Link Sar that they hoped to climb starts on the north face and is huge and complex, and will require vertical and overhanging dry tooling to reach the rocky summit. Unfortunately, very hot weather did not bode well for north faces or even for acclimatising on lower peaks, as they were dangerously falling apart. Griffith is already planning a return visit.

This expedition received the Nick Estcourt Award for 2013.