New Alpine Mixed Route on Shivling in Himalayas

Simon Gietl and Vittorio Messini have made the first ascent of a new route on Shivling, a stunning 6,543-metre peak in the Indian Himalayas.

Their route is called Shiva’s Ice and it climbs up between the North Pillar and Shiva’s Line. The North Pillar was climbed by Hans Kammerlander and Christoph Hainz in 1993.

As Planetmountain.com reported, Messini and Gietl worked on the difficult approach between the end of September and start of October. There were heavy snows that slowed things down.

Due to the conditions, their main objective wasn’t going to go. After stashing some gear and resting, they spent two days climbing up to nearly 6,000 metres before retreating for rest.

They then went back up their fixed ropes and joined the North Pillar. In total they spent three nights on the mountain.

They gave their new 1,500-metre route a grade of M6 WI5 and noted similar to routes on the Grandes Jorasses but 3,000 metres higher.

For more, visit Gietl’s Facebook page here.