New Difficult Alpine Route is 1.4 km Long
Kei Narita, Yuu Nishida and Yudai Suzuki have established a new 1,450-metre alpine route in Pakistan
Alpine climbing takes a level of know-how, commitment and focus that other styles of climbing don’t require. Alpinists are often in the backcountry for days or even weeks at a time in an effort to complete their objectives. The routes are long, there are deadly hazards and nearly everything from base camp to base camp is unknown.
And that’s what makes this new route by Japanese climbers Kei Narita, Yuu Nishida and Yudai Suzuki so impressive. Like the few alpine climbers out there pushing the limits, these three climbers have established a route that only a handful of other climbers in the world could repeat.
Narita, Nishida and Suzuki recently made the first ascent of a 1,450-metre technical line called Spider’s Thread on the west face of Thui II (6,523 m) in Pakistan. They climbed it in alpine-style over four days and graded it ED+ M7 A2, which means that it’s extremely difficult and requires solid climbing skills on ice, mixed and aid. While this isn’t the most cutting-edge alpinism of the past year, it ranks as one of the most impressive of the season.
About the climb, Suzuki said: “After waiting for 12 days for the weather window, I am so proud and lucky to draw such a beautiful line towards the summit. Also the terrible bivouac at the summit (6523m) made me so painful, cold, and uncomfortable, but that experience even added some spice for this climb. After the sunrise, I saw Ghamubar Zom 5, which we climbed last year. That was a truly magical moment.” This is the second known ascent of the peak after the 1978 first ascent.
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