THE FIRST ASCENT OF LINK SAR
Last August, four AAC members, funded in part by our Cutting Edge Grant, completed the remarkable first ascent of Link Sar, a 7,041-meter peak buried deep in the Pakistani Karakoram and long considered one of the world's greatest unclimbed mountains. The multi-generational team—Graham Zimmerman, Steve Swenson, Chris Wright, and Mark Richey—returned with an incredible success story only made possible by leveraging the different strengths and experiences each member brought to the effort.
THE LINK SAR TEAM
Read more from the Link Sar team and dive into podcasts, live interviews, articles, and more below.
MARK RICHEY
STEVE SWENSON
CHRIS WRIGHT
GRAHAM ZIMMERMAN
SYNERGY
THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP ON THE FIRST ASCENT OF LINK SAR IN PAKISTAN
By Steven Swenson and Graham Zimmerman, 2020 American Alpine Journal
PIOLET D’OR AWARD WINNING ASCENT
FIRST ASCENT VIA THE SOUTHEAST FACE, 2,300M, AI4 M6+ 90°, JULY 31-AUGUST 8 ROUND TRIP FROM AN ADVANCED BASE AT 4,700M
“Another much-coveted problem, this time in the eastern Pakistan Karakoram, Link Sar had received at least eight attempts before 2019. But the difficulties are not just about climbing the peak: the Indo-Pakistan conflict has made this region an on-off affair (largely off) when it comes to obtaining a mountaineering permit. Steve Swenson first attempted Link Sar in 2001 with a strong American team, and then again, after a number of failed permit attempts, in 2017 with Chris Wright and Graham Zimmerman. Having now discovered a feasible line of ascent, these three decided to reinforce the team in 2019 with the addition of Mark Richey. Six days after setting out from Advanced Base, they reached the top. During that time they had waited out a 36+ hours storm, and on the summit day recovered from a 35m leader fall due to avalanche and overcome an ungradable final pitch of deep, steep and unstable "Peruvian" snow. A little over two days were then needed to reverse the route. These climbers succeeded because they were persistent, used their 126 years of combined climbing experience, and understood what partnership meant.” —The Piolet d’Or Awards, 2020
Photo by Matteo Della Bordella
