Climbers to Attempt the Dangerous Ogre 1
Four climbers are heading to attempt one of the most sought after but rarely climbed peaks in the Karakorum
Ogre 1 in Gilgit-Baltistan is one of the most legendary mountains in the world of hard alpinism. There’s no easy way to the summit, it rises to 7,285 metres and is often shrouded in cold and challenging conditions. Four Europeans are going to attempt the peak this summer, the team includes Francois Cazzanelli, Matteo Della Bordella, Silvan Schupbach and Symon Welfringer.
The mountain, also known as Baintha Brakk I has only been climbed three times despite the over 20 attempts over the past 50 years. There have also been several epics, including one in 1977 after the first ascent of the peak by Doug Scott and Chris Bonington. While encountering storms and whiteout conditions, Scott fell and broke both his legs. He had to crawl on his hands and knees to reach safety for over eight days. ”It was a long night waiting for the first light of dawn, which was ages coming,” Scott wrote in his book, The Ogre. “There was no wind, no sound at all, just a penetrating cold kept at bay by involuntary shivering and creating friction heat by rubbing arms and legs.”
The second ascent was on July 21, 2001, by Urs Stocker, Iwan Wolf, and Thomas Huber. And the third and only other ascent was by Hayden Kennedy, Kyle Dempster and Josh Wharton in 2012, for which they received a Piolet d’Or. “I think alpine climbing comes down to 40 per cent luck, 40 per cent motivation, and 20 per cent skill,” Kennedy said. “You have to be really motivated to do that. You just keep building and dealing with the bad rock and dealing with whatever.”
The north face of Ogre 1 is one of the biggest unclimbed challenges in the Karakorum. In 2012, Herve Barmasse and Daniele Bernasconi waited for weeks to make an attempt, but bad weather kept them at bay. It’s not yet known what route the team currently heading there will attempt.
