On the six-thousander Panmah Kangri

“My tactic of arriving later in the season didn’t work this time,” Thomas Huber tells me after his return from the Karakoram, adding that it was a “fully mixed” expedition. “It started incredibly well, but unfortunately it didn’t end the same way.” As reported before – the 51-year-old, the older of the two Huber brothers, had left at the beginning of August with 33-year-old South Tyrolean Simon Gietl, 59-year-old German climber Rainer Treppte and French cameraman Yannick Boissenot towards Latok I in order to tackle the 7,145-meter-high mountain via the north side.

Meeting with his brother

“In the beginning everything was in a flow,” reports Thomas. The journey was without any problems, and at the entrance to the Choktoi valley there was a very nice and emotional moment: “We met my brother Alexander and his climbing partner Fabian Buhl, who had experienced a great adventure on Choktoi Ri and were all smiles.” After the meeting with the two climbers, who started their way home, Thomas Huber and Co. pitched up their base camp.

After one week on top of a 6000er

Thomas Huber with Simon Gietl, Rainer Treppte and Yannick Boissenot (from r. to l.)

For acclimatization, the team then climbed the 6,046-meter-high Panmah Kangri. “It was going perfectly. After a week on site, we stood on our first six-thousander, the next stage was Latok III,” says Thomas. “We climbed up to Camp 1 at 5,700 meters and then down again.” Their plan was to climb via the South Pillar to the summit at 6,946 meters. “We calculated three days if everything went well and the conditions were good.”

Three weeks of dense clouds

But it turned out quite differently. The weather changed – and remained bad. “We didn’t see the summit for three weeks,” says Huber. Dense clouds were hanging over the Choktoi Valley, it snowed. Summit attempts were out of question. Once, says Thomas, they climbed up again to Camp 1 on Latok III but returned due to snowfall.

A lot of snow in the wall

North Face of Latok I, on the right the North Ridge

Huber, Gietl, Treppte and Boissenot also explored the approach to the not yet successfully climbed North Face of Latok I, “our actual destination this summer”, as Thomas says. “However, we totally rejected our plan.“ The wall was “snow-covered like in winter”, there was a lot of spindrift. “The Koreans and Russians who had previously attempted the North Face this summer had been injured by avalanches,” says Thomas. “Now I understand why.“

Touch and go!

The risks in the wall were not calculable, that already applied to the access, says Thomas. “The North Face seems invincible. If you go there, you have to say ‚Good-bye life‘ – and then touch and go!” According to Thomas, already the seracs on the way to the access, are “very active. You simply need luck there.“ Their possible alternative goal, the direct route via the North Ridge to the summit, is feasible, says Thomas – but not under the conditions that prevailed at the beginning of September.

Great atmosphere in the team

“We tried everything that was possible and justifiable from a reasonable climbers’s point of view,” Thomas Huber sums up. “More couldn’t be done, we simply have to accept that. It certainly wasn‘t the last time we were in the Choktoi valley. “I just like it over there,“ says Thomas. „We had a good time and a great atmosphere in the team. That’s what I took home with me.”

Camp 1 on Kokodak Dome (2014)

Actually, the tent is a place of refuge and security. And most of the time I felt safe when I lay in my tent in the mountains. But there were exceptions. For example in 2004 during my reportage trip to K2, when I woke up suddenly in the base camp at the foot of the second highest mountain on earth, because the glacier made noises under my tent floor, as if it wanted to devour me in the next moment. Ten years later, during the first ascent of the seven-thousander Kokodak Dome in western China, we pitched up Camp 1 at 5,500 meters at a quite exposed spot – and I wondered: What happens if a real storm is raging here? That’s what I remembered when I learned of the death of Italian Simone La Terra on Dhaulagiri earlier this week.

Bad feeling

Dhaulagiri

A violent gust of wind had blown the 36-year-old with his tent from a height of about 6,900 meters from the northeast ridge into the depths. His team partner Waldemar Dominik was an eyewitness of the accident. The Pole had had a bad feeling about the place that Simone had chosen and had searched for an alternative spot. When he returned, he saw from close by how the tent was caught by the gust. Dominik descended to the base camp and sounded the alarm. The body of La Terras was found and recovered the next day at an altitude of 6,100 meters.

Buried by avalanches

Manaslu

It is not uncommon that climbers die in their tents. Objectively, the highest risk of death in the tent is the Grim Reaper coming in the form of high altitude sickness. But as in La Terra’s case, there can also be dangers from outside. In the history of Himalayan mountaineering many climbers lost their lives because they were caught by avalanches while lying in the tent. Just remember the avalanche on 22 September 2012 on the eight-thousander Manaslu, which hit two high camps in the early morning and killed eleven climbers.

One step away from tragedy

Alexander (r.) and Thomas Huber in summer 2015 in the Karakoram

Alexander and Thomas Huber had better luck in summer 2015 on the 6946-meter-high Latok III in the Karakoram. The Huber brothers and their teammates Mario Walder and Dani Arnold were almost blown out of the wall by the blast wave of an ice avalanche. “We were lucky that we had dug out a small platform to position the tents perfectly. The small snow edge of this platform has saved our lives. Otherwise we would have been blown away,” Alexander Huber told me then. “It was much, much closer than I ever imagined. And that’s shocking.”

Blown along the ledge

Also the third ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1979 by a British expedition was not far away from a “tent tragedy”, when a storm broke loose in the summit area. “At 1.30 a.m. on 5 May the wind changed direction and rapidly increased in violence which snapped the centre hoop of the double-skin tunnel tent,” Doug Scott wrote at that time. “The team soon had their boots and gaiters on but at 2.30 a.m. the tent was blown two feet (about 60 centimeters) along the ledge.” The climbers left the tent on the double. A little later, it was torn by the storm and disappeared in the depths.

P.S.: After the first summit success of the 8000er spring season on Lhotse, one more from another eight-thousander was reported on Thursday. “The Himalayan Times” reported that Chinese Gao Xiaodan and her Climbing Sherpas Nima Gyalzen Sherpa, Jit Bahadur Sherpa and Ang Dawa Sherpa had reached the 8,485-meter summit of Makalu, the fifth highest mountain on earth. The 35-year-old from Lanzhou City, located in northwestern China, had not used bottled oxygen, it said. In spring 2017, Gao had scaled Mount Everest and three days later Lhotse too, both with breathing mask.

Alexander Huber in Innsbruck

The Huber brothers will continue to go on joint expeditions, but probably not to Latok I. Whereas Thomas Huber raved about the still unclimbed North Face of the 7,145-meter-high granite mountain in the Karakoram when I met him three weeks ago, his younger brother Alexander seems to have definitely written off the project due to their experiences last summer. I talked to the 46-year-old climber at the Alpine Trade Fair in Innsbruck last week.

Alexander, on Latok III, during your acclimatization for climbing the North Face of Latok I, you were are almost blown out of the wall by the blast wave of an ice avalanche. Your brother told me that never before it had been so close. Have you felt like he did?

It was definitely close. We had noticed the serac and therefore placed our camp far away from it. We were lucky that we had dug out a small platform to position the tents perfectly. The small snow edge of this platform has saved our lives. Otherwise we would have been blown away. In this respect, our risk management worked. But it was much, much closer than I ever imagined. And that’s shocking.

Did this extreme experience break your morale to tackle your original goal, the North Face of Latok I?

Yes, it broke our morale. But even if the serac had not collapsed, we would have noticed the bad conditions on the mountain the next day. We would have realized that it was impossible to climb further up and that we shouldn’t be there under such conditions and at such high temperatures.

Alex, Mario and Dani (l. to r.) at the summit of Panmah Kangri

What is your feeling when you remember this expedition?

I can accept it very well because it even was as it was. Mario (Walder), Dani (Arnold) and I climbed a small six-thousander at the end. In respect of mountain sports, that was not relevant at all because it was one dimension of difficulty lower than Latok I. But for me, it was a wonderful experience that I will always associate with this trip to Pakistan. To my mind, the expedition has got a name now: first ascent of Panmah Kangri, 6,046 meters, a beautiful free-standing mountain. Even though it is not extreme, we just have to be satisfied that finally everything turned out all right. We couldn’t achieve more than we did. If you have a problem dealing with this, you shouldn’t go to the mountains. We are doing an outdoor sport where the conditions decide whether we can climb or not. If you don’t want this, you have to look for another sport.

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Last year, you had already planned to go to Latok I but then called off your expedition due to the uncertain political situation in Pakistan. How did you experience the country this time?

In Baltistan, it was peaceful. In my view, there was no danger in the mountains. You can’t compare the situation there with this on Nanga Parbat. Whereas Nanga Parbat is easily accessible, the mountains of the Karakoram are remote and in addition located in a Shiite region where the Taliban are usually not as strong. I felt very safe in Baltistan. But if it had been possible, I would have avoided traveling on Karakorum Highway. Terrorism is a cold danger that you don’t sense. It only turns to be hot when it happens. You are traveling there in a state of continuing uncertainty. We didn’t notice any danger on Karakorum Highway, we saw nothing. But that doesn’t mean that it is really safe.

Alexander (r.) and Thomas – in the Karakoram last summer

Are you still fired up for the North Face of Latok I?

It is clear to me: The North Face of Latok I is so incalculably dangerous that I feel no more motivation to tackle it. I’m looking for other difficult goals without this incalculable risk.

Do you speak as a family father?

No, that has nothing to do with the fact that I have a family. I do love my life and want to experience it. Also in the past, I back-pedaled when I thought that the goals were too dangerous.

It’s a sign of strength to be able to do so.

I mean, this is absolutely necessary. Gamblers have never got far in the mountains. It is still possible to become well-known very quickly with relatively little skills but high willingness to take risks. But there are enough examples to prove that it doesn’t go well for a long time.

Thomas Huber on Choktoi Glacier, behind him the North Face of Latok I (l.) and Ogre (r.)

It was a hot, but from the climbers’ perspective a meager summer in the Karakoram: Most expeditions left Pakistan without summit successes. The German “Huberbuam” Thomas and Alexander, the Swiss Dani Arnold and the Austrian Mario Walder also returned empty-handed, but alive and “in one piece” – which was not a matter of course considering their experiences at the Latok group. Thomas, aged 48, the elder of the Huber brothers, told me the story.

Thomas, this summer you actually wanted to tackle the North Face of the 7,145-meter-high Latok I which has not yet been climbed. This did not happen. Why?

We have seen the North Face only from afar. We realized pretty soon that is was impossible to climb the wall under these conditions. It would have been possible to tackle the North Ridge. But this did not happen too, because another mountain battered us so that we lost our motivation and courage to push ourselves to the absolute limit again.

Latok III (arrow shows the pillar and the huge serac above)

Which mountain did batter you this way?

It started with the fact that there was a lot of snow in the Karakoram. We had about one and a half meters fresh snow in our Base Camp. At the same time it was very, very warm. This led to wet snow avalanches. We tried in vain to climb a 6000-meter-high mountain that we had chosen to acclimatize. We then switched to Latok III to acclimatize for Latok I. Latok III is nearly 7,000 meters high. We wanted to take a safe route via the south pillar. At night in Camp 1 at 5600 meters, we were surprised by an ice avalanche. Although it hit the ground 500 meters from our tents, the blast wave literally blew us in our tents from our campground. We stopped just before the abyss. We all were ashen-faced. Dani Arnold, who has already experienced a lot, said that never before in his life it had been so close. We then digged our tents one meter deep into the snow and fixed them. During the night, three more ice avalanches came down from the serac. In the morning, we saw the huge avalanche cone below our tents and only said: “We descend. Let’s get out of here!” We lost a backpack with crampons and all the other staff. So we were also forced to continue our descent.

Nevertheless you have already experienced many dangerous situations such as this. Why did this impress you so much?

We have already experienced a lot, but we’ve never before been so much in the hands of fate. That was a new experience in our lives as climbers.

On the left, the serac from where the ice avalanches came down

Did all four climbers feel like this?

Yes. We sat in the Base Camp and talked about what had happened. We were glad that we had survived. But then there were also discussions. As the temperatures were not decreasing but the weather was incredible good, I said: “We should dig ice caves for our tents and always climb at night. Then we might have a chance to climb Latok III.” But Alexander, Dani and Mario opposed. It was clear that I had to accept the team’s decision.

Then we tried a second time to climb the mountain that we had chosen for acclimatizing before, but failed again, because it was just too hot. I proposed to bring the material down and move to the North Ridge of Latok I because I thought it was safer. This was rejected again. At the end the weather forecast was so bad that we finished our expedition two weeks earlier than initially scheduled. I climbed alone to Camp 1 on Latok III to recover our material. Alexander, Dani and Mario could warm their climbing hearts with a summit. At the third attempt they were able to scale the 6000-meter-high mountain that was probably still unclimbed. They named it Panmah Kangri.

Latok I

Had you already written off Latok I when you experienced the ice avalanche on Latok III?

We realized at a very early stage early that it was impossible to climb the North Face of Latok I. We also talked to the Slovenians with Luka (Lindic – The Slovenians also quit their project to climb the wall). They called it the “Suicide Line”. It would have been like joining a death squad to climb one the two possible lines through the wall. We are climbers because we love life and not because we want to be dead heroes. In my opinion, the North Ridge would have been feasible because it is later illuminated by the sun. But there was a 3: 1 team decision against me. I was a bit unhappy, but in the end also grateful and happy that we survived. We have returned as friends, and that was okay.

Have you now given up the project Latok I North Face?

In this style, definitely. But you can not forget this wall. If you’ve ever stood below it, you, as a climber, are thinking: How can I make the impossible possible? I have some ideas about it, but I still have to think about it a bit longer. Never say never! Maybe I will go back there again.

Survived!

Alexander has three children, you too. Does that hold you back in extreme situations like now on Latok III?

I’m a family man for already a long time, so I can not say that it has the effect to hold me back generally. I know this situation for 16 years. I don’t think about my family any more when everything is going well on the mountain. But they are in my mind again when the danger lies directly in front of me. I definitely believe that in this case I decide, because of my children, with a more positive approach to life, rather than simply saying: “Go on! It’ll be all right!” I think, I start saying no earlier now. But if something happens like on Latok III, I can assess this very rationally afterwards. Seracs can just collapse. Whenever you go to the mountains or anywhere else, life itself is life-threatening. But I think, if you are really aware of the danger, you can handle even extreme situations in a safe way.

The entire team

Last year, you cancelled your Latok I expedition shortly before departure – due to the uncertain situation in Pakistan. How did you experience the country this time?

I have experienced Pakistan in a very nice way, not to say in a completely unspectacular way. Sure, you have to get used to the armed police. On every street corner, someone is standing with a Kalashnikov. But we were always safe, even driving twice over the Karakorum Highway. Actually, I can only recommend to anyone who has a good travel agency: Go to Pakistan! It’s an incredibly beautiful travel destination, especially in the Karakoram. For me it’s one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Unfortunately, the media often wrongly call Pakistan a terrorist country. In the meantime there is terror all over the world. You have to act correctly, choose the right place and the right route. Then you can travel in Pakistan in very safe way.

Without a queasy feeling?

I hadn’t this feeling this time. And I’m sure that I won’t have it the next time. I think the Pakistani military does a very good job and has the situation more or less under control.