All-women teams have been exceptionally active around the world this year. This month we’re highlighting two of them: a Slovenian women’s expedition to Zanskar, India, and an Italian pair in the Pamir Alai of Kyrygzstan. Two other highly ambitious expeditions in 2024 involved American women: Chantel Astorga, supported by an AAC Cutting Edge Grant, nearly completed a new route up Shivling in India with Fanny Schmutz; and Michelle Dvorak, armed with a McNeill-Nott Grant, got high on the unclimbed southeast buttress of Chaukhamba III, also in India, with Fay Manners, before a rockfall incident forced them down. Just this month, Babsi Zangerl made her extraordinary flash of an El Cap free route. Plenty more women’s climbs will appear in the 2025 AAJ: See the gallery above for a little preview!
Anja Petek on the east ridge of Lalung I during the first known ascent of the peak. Photo: Patricija Verdev.
LALUNG I, FIRST ASCENT, VIA EAST-WEST TRAVERSE
Our all-female expedition to Zanskar, India, was comprised of Ana Baumgartner, Urša Kešar, Patricija Verdev, and me (all from Slovenia). On August 26, we left the road with 18 porters to climb in the Lalung Valley. Our main goal was Lalung I and neighboring peaks. The day after our arrival at base camp, we explored higher up the valley. It took an entire day to make a 20-kilometer round trip on moraine and glacial terrain, and, as the weather was poor, we didn’t see much of the higher peaks.
The four Slovenian women climbed four new routes and dealt with numerous bears at base camp during their expedition to the Lalung Valley in northern India. Expedition Photo.
On August 31, Patricija and I climbed a new route on a granite north-northwest face not far from base camp. This buttress, which starts at around 4,200 meters, lies on the south side of the valley and rises to Peak 5,346m. One route had been climbed previously near the center of this face, by Indians Korak Sanyal and Spandan Sanyal (see AAJ 2018). Our new route, Connection (VI-), took 15 hours and involved around 1,400 meters of climbing.
Before moving up to an advanced base camp, we had a nighttime visit from a bear. It was an unpleasant encounter, with the animal sniffing around our tents for food. All four climbers were happy to relocate to a bear-free advanced base at 4,800 meters. Urša had difficulties with the altitude, however, so after a couple of days she and Ana returned to base camp, where they and our cooks and liaison officer had to deal with a full-on bear saga. After more than 10 nighttime bear visits, resulting in Patricija’s tent being ripped, heaps of food stolen, and the toilet tent demolished, they managed to scare off the bears with fire and enjoy a few peaceful nights.
During this period, Urša and Ana climbed two more new routes on the north-northwest face of Peak 5,332m, finishing on the northwest ridge. Meanwhile, on September 9, Patricija and I left advanced base for the east ridge of unclimbed Lalung I (6,243m), camping a little way above the start. We’d had a forecast for a good weather window, but a snowstorm on the 10th forced us to set up tent in the middle of the day and sit out the bad weather. The storm lasted all the next day, but the 12th dawned clear and we climbed late into the night.
Lalung I (6,243m) from the north. The peak was traversed from left to right, with four bivouacs en route. Photo by Patricija Verdev.
Day five on the ridge required even more determination, and it wasn’t until 1:30 a.m. that we settled down for a rest, having climbed the final difficult mixed pitches. In a moment of carelessness brought on by fatigue, we lost our tent poles to the wind and slept in the open in bivouac sacks. The next morning was foggy, making it hard to navigate, but after some snow slopes, we reached the summit at 9 a.m. on the 14th.
We proceeded with a long descent along the west ridge and then five rappels on the north face to reach the glacier at 6:30 p.m. It took another eight hours to reach advanced base. Next day, we descended to base camp. Just before stepping off the moraine, we saw three silhouettes, Ana, Urša, and Freni, who brought smiles to our tired faces. We named our route Here Comes the Sun (M6+ AI5+, with around 2,000 meters of climbing).
— Anja Petek, Slovenia
AK-SU VALLEY, PIK 3,850, MESSY DREAMERS
Camilla Reggio (left) and Alessandra Prato in Kyrgyzstan. Photo by Camilla Reggio.
Camilla Reggio and I met on the Eagle Team of the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) and immediately became friends, connected by our huge passion for the mountains. We decided to plan our first expedition together and ended up in Kyrgyzstan, with the intent of climbing on the incredible granite of the Ak-su Valley in the Pamir Alai mountains. We hoped to open a new route.
Walking up and down the valley in search of possible lines, we were impressed by the 500m south face of Pik 3,850m (a.k.a. the south buttress of Pik Slesova). The following morning, August 12, we brought all our gear up to the wall, walking and scrambling for hours with incredibly heavy haulbags to reach the base. We found a five-star bivy spot—a small cave for two people lying close together—and got to work.
Messy Drreamers (15 pitches, 7b) on the south face of Pik 3,850m in the Ak-su Valley of Kyrgyzstan. Two prior routes ascended the same face, one on either side. In back is the well-known Pik Slesova (a.k.a. Russian Tower). Expedition Photo
We opened the first pitches, placing cams and pitons and one bolt for each anchor, and then returned to base camp, as excited as little kids. We returned the following day with food and sleeping gear. The route that followed was amazing, but harder then expected. We mostly opened it traditionally, bolting only when strictly necessary (10 lead bolts in 15 pitches). In all, we spent about a week of effort on the route, with four bivies in the cave, including one night with a terrible storm, trapped in the dripping cave and wondering if we would drown. The very next day, we managed to climb all the wet pitches and open the last ones, reaching the foresummit of Peak 3,850m (about five or six pitches of easy climbing from the true summit) in the dark, screaming with joy after 15 pitches of struggles.
When we finished the rappels, we had a final night in our luxury hotel and went back to the base camp the following morning, with backs destroyed by the heavy sacks but hearts full of happiness and satisfaction. We called our route Messy Dreamers (500m, 7b). [The two women free climbed all but two pitches of Messy Dreamers during the first ascent; Nordic climbers Elias Annila and Misha Mishin repeated the route soon after and freed the eighth and 12th pitches at 7b and 7a, respectively.]
— Alessandra Prato, Italy
KILIAN JORNET ON THE CUTTING EDGE PODCAST
Born and raised in the heart of the Pyrenees, Kilian Jornet is the GOAT in mountain running and skimo, and he’s an accomplished climber too. This past summer, Jornet used his extraordinary fitness and deep reservoir of mountain savvy to tackle one of the greatest challenges of the Alps: a traverse of all 82 of the range’s 4,000-meter peaks, solely by foot and bike. The fastest previous time for this link-up was 60 days. Jornet did it in 19.
Cutting Edge host Jim Aikman interviewed Jornet about his “Alpine Connections” project—the preparation, the physiological and psychological challenges, and the real dangers of covering hundreds of kilometers of serious alpine terrain at speed, often alone. For context on the history of grand Alpine enchainments and commentary on Jornet’s latest feat, Jim spoke with Colin Haley, elite climber and Chamonix resident; Buzz Burrell, one of the originators of the Fastest Known Time (FKT) movement; and Dougald MacDonald, editor of the American Alpine Journal. Don’t miss it!
The Line is the newsletter of the American Alpine Journal (AAJ), emailed to more than 80,000 climbers each month. Find the archive of past editions here. Interested in supporting this publication? Contact Heidi McDowell for opportunities. Got a potential story for the AAJ? Email us: [email protected].