New 750-metre M7+ and More Alpine Climbing News
Several big first ascents go down on rarely visited mountains
Last weekend, Swiss alpinist Silvan Schupbach completed the third new line of his long-term alpine project, the Six Forgotten North Faces. The project aims to highlight difficult, rarely climbed north faces outside the Alps’ most famous objectives, like the Matterhorn, Eiger and Grandes Jorasses.
In February 2025, Schupbach climbed The Cuckoo’s Nest, a new route on the north face of the 3,820-metre Nesthorn in Switzerland, with Peter Von Kanel and Carlos Molina. One month later, he completed a first ascent of the north face of Punta Pioda (3,237 m) with Philippo Sala and Roger Schäli. That route was named Luce e Tenebre.
For his third new route, Schupbach turned to the north face of the 3,870-metre Aiguille de Triolet in the Mont Blanc massif. Despite the area’s popularity, Triolet appeared to fit the project’s criteria. Schupbach climbed with Swiss alpinist Philippo Sala and British climber Tom Livingstone, who was in the Alps instead of attending the recent Piolets d’Or ceremony in Italy, where he received an award for a 2024 route on Gasherbrum III.
After following Jin-Go-Lo-Bar, opened in 1998, they branched onto unclimbed terrain and took a direct line through the centre of the headwall. Schupbach described sustained, exposed climbing and a poor bivouac at the crux. The team exited onto the east ridge but stopped short of the summit. The climbers named their 750-metre variation You Didn’t Ask, proposing a grade of M7+ with slopes up to 80 degrees. Another team repeated the new variation on the same day. Amaury Fouillade, Olivier Kolly, and Philippe Bruley followed a different start before joining the same new pitches and summiting.
In other alpine news, Italian climber Simone Moro left his attempt on Manaslu for a trip to the hospital. Moro said he experienced severe pain in his chest and left arm and quickly realized it was related to his heart. He added that doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
In late October, five climbers, Giorgi Tepnadze, Bakar Gelashvili, Temur Kurdiani, Vakho Blagidze, and Tornike Tepnadze, made the first ascent of an unnamed peak on the remote eastern side of Georgia’s Chaukhi massif, establishing an M5+. The expedition honored their late partner Archil Badriashvili, who was killed by lightning while climbing in August 2024; the team named the mountain Archil Peak in his memory, a name the locals supported.
Remote western Nepal continues to offer small teams opportunities for new routes and first ascents. On Nov. 3, American alpinists Benjamin Lieber and Alex Hansen made the first ascent of the 6,233-metre Changla Khang West, near the Tibetan border. The pair, climbing together for the first time in the Himalaya, summited in a single day via the 1,200-metre southwest ridge (WI4 M4), following scrambly buttresses, steep snow gullies, and a long snow-and-ice ridge capped by rock bands and a chimney of solid water ice. From the top, Lieber said, they had sweeping views into Nepal, India, and Tibet, including Nanda Devi and Mount Kailash.
In the Denyai Valley of Zanskar, India, a team of climbers established multiple technical first ascents on previously unclimbed peaks. The Dutch Alpine Club youth team, supported by coaches Bas Visscher and Niek de Jonge, and UIAGM guide Boris Textor, opened new alpine routes up to 6,135 metres, ranging from PD+ to D+ and up to 5b+/M4+, alongside several long multi-pitch rock climbs to 5.11. Highlights included first ascents of Chortan Rigib, Chotzangma, Nochung Ri, Rejam Ri, and Khang Chan Chenmo, showcasing the valley’s exceptional potential for exploratory alpine climbing.
