K6 Central

An attempt on the South Face of K6 in the Pakistan Karakorum. The early part of the expedition had bad weather, but they used the time to establish an Advanced Base Camp on the far side of ‘Hidden Col’ at 5400m. From here they spent 2 days finding a route to the cirque below the unclimbed Changi Tower (6500m) and to the ‘Polish Col’. A ‘marginal’ weather window was used to make the first ascent of Changi Tower via it’s North Ridge. Climbing was 600m on high quality granite, and graded M6, 5.10, A2. They now intended to attempt the central pillar on the South Face of K6, but found that the route was threatened by huge seracs, so moved the ABC to find an alternative target, and settled on the SW Ridge of K6 West (7040m). The route was very sustained with a wonderful variety of climbing over 1800m, climbed with two bivouacs, grade M6. They descended the same route, largely by rappels, and reached base camp just before a storm came in.