Papert and Smith-Gobat at the summit of Torre Central

A sport climbing shoe on one foot, an ice shoe with crampons on the other – Ines Papert should patent this idiosyncratic technique. The German top climber recently created it in a difficult passage in the East Face of the 2800-meter-high Torre Central in Patagonia. “The pitch left me with no other choice”, says Ines. She really used all means to fight up the extremely difficult route “Riders on the Storm”: “I took my ice axes not only for climbing but for protection too.” Along with the 36-year-old New Zealander Mayan Smith-Gobat, the 41-year-old Papert succeeded the only fifth climb of the route on the granite tower which had been opened by the German climbing legends Wolfgang Guellich, Kurt Albert, Bernd Arnold, Norbert Baetz and Peter Dittrich in 1991.

Extreme challenge

Mayan: “A new experience”

Ines and Mayan were accompanied by the photographer and mountain guide Thomas Senf. The German, born in the town of Leipzig, lives and works in Switzerland for 15 years. The team had set out to free climb the extremely difficult route through the 1300-meter-high for the first time. Guellich and Co. had failed doing it in this style as well as the climbers who had followed them. Also for Ines and Mayan, in the end this challenge proved a too hard nut to crack. After all, they “freed” two more pitches and found a very difficult five pitch variation, the two female climbers report. The notorious “Patagonian weather” with snow, rain and storm prevented them from completing their project. An extreme challenge on an extreme route, says Mayan: “Quite often my fingers, my hand or even my whole body cramped in an icy crack, which was a new experience for me”, says Mayan.

Scary moment at night

Women’s power: Ines (l.) and Mayan

At the beginning of their expedition Papert, Smith-Gobat and Senf used one of the rare good weather windows in the region to climb through the route to the summit. Ines speaks of a “magical” moment at the highest point: “We embrace each other, we are speechless. There is no wind, no cloud in the sky. For a moment, we are the happiest people on earth.” But there were also other moments – so in the night after the summit success, when a boulder, the size of a refrigerator, fell from the wall into the valley. A stone hit the portaledge of the climbers and tore the tent into two halves. Ines and Mayam escaped with a fright.

Papert technique without Papert?

“I had plenty of luck in this wall. Although it appears attractive to come back to complete the project, I decided against it”, says Ines. However Mayan has not yet given up the first free ascent of the extremely difficult route. She wants to return to Torre Central – even if she has to use the newly launched “Papert technique” of climbing.

Stephan Siegrist

Who says that there is nothing left to explore! During their expedition in northern India this fall, the Swiss mountaineers Stephan Siegrist, Dres Abegglen and Thomas Senf first climbed three shapely mountains, all of them almost 6,000 meters high: Bhala (also called “Spear”, 5,900 m), Tupendeo (5,700 m) and Te (translated “Crystal”, 5,900 m), each of them on challenging routes. Indian Kashmir is still regarded as an insider tip among climbers. Because of the conflict with Pakistan, the mountain area had been closed to foreign visitors for a long time, until it was reopened in 2003. “The region was simply somewhat forgotten”, Stephan Siegrist tells me. The 42-year-old top climber has become almost an expert for Kashmir in recent years.

Stephan, three first ascents during an expedition cannot be matched by many other climbers. Have you been on a roll?

The motivation was very high. We climbed the first two peaks rather quickly. It is a great advantage that the time you need to acclimatize for altitudes up to 6,000 meters is much shorter, you almost don’t need any time. And the weather conditions were great.

“Crystal” – with the distinctive secondary peak

How did it happen that you climbed as many as three mountains?

First we climbed Spear. We had a picture that showed this mountain from the north side. It was technically much easier than we had thought before. Then we set off to climb Tupendeo. We still had time, the weather was fine. So we tried it three days later and were successful. We found that it was exactly the mountain we had seen and photographed from Kishtwar Shivling last year. After two and a half weeks the good weather was over and it was snowing for a week. But we had still enough time left, our expedition was planned to take six weeks. Further down the valley, there was another very aesthetic, distinctive mountain, the Crystal. Our primary goal was not the main summit but the secondary peak that really looks like a crystal. It has steep rock walls on all sides and a snow cap. After we had made it up to the top, we abseiled and climbed up to the main summit.

Siegrist, Senf and Abegglen (l. to r.)

That sounds like real adventure. Did you feel like explorers?

Yes, that’s exactly what we are interested in. It’s not just about performance but adventure and experience too. We have not looked for the simplest possible routes. There would have certainly been easier ones. We also wanted to test our abilities. Then it may happen that your attempt is a complete flop. I think we do some kind of exploring where a good performance is needed too.

There is only a single village in this remote valley. I assume that it is very rarely visited by western climbers. How did the local people receive you?

It is still an adventure to visit remote villages like Kaban in this Kashmiri valley. Especially the children have most probably never before seen a Westerner wearing these funny clothes and carrying climbers’ equipment. We are always trying to take enough time for these contacts. We had a liaison officer who spoke the language of the locals. The people there are extremely helpful. Immediately, you are invited to eat and spend the night in the village. The locals are also interested in what you are going to do. But they can hardly understand why you want to climb this or that mountain.

Stephan in action

You’ve been in Indian Kashmir, a political conflict area. Didn’t you worry about your safety?

I was in this region for the third time now since 2011. There are members of three religions, living absolutely peacefully in their separate valleys. But on our way back, there was a new conflict between Muslims and Hindus. You must be aware that you are traveling in a not entirely stable region. If you behave not arrogant but quite normal and cautious, you – as a visitor from the west and as a Christian – are not affected. But it’s no longer really dangerous. In Kathmandu, it is no less dangerous. I would even go there with my family.

In 2014, you found your destination for this year’s expedition. Did you pick out a new goal again?

There are still very interesting mountains in the north.

Means that you have not been there for the last time?

(He laughs) It is very possible.

Ines Papert on the summit of Pig Pherado Shar

Great success for Ines Papert: The German top climber tells on Facebook that she and Thomas Senf have opened a new route through the north face of 6718-meter-high Pig Pherado Shar in Nepal. The mountain is located near Namche Bazaar, the main village of the Khumbu region close to Mount Everest. The 39-year-old woman climber reached the summit alone. “Unfortunately Thomas couldn’t climb to the highest point because of incipient frostbite on his toes”, Ines writes on the Facebook page of one of her sponsors. “It was the coldest adventure of my lifetime.”

Firstly climbed in 1960

With her spontanous meanwhile removed statement on Facebook  that she has been the first who ever climbed Pig Pherado Shar, Ines was probably wrong. According to a report of the Himalayan chroniclers Elizabeth Hawley and Richard Salisbury in a publication of the American Alpine Club Pig Pherado Shar was firstly climbed 53 years ago. Hawley and Salisbary write that a French team headed by Robert Sandoz reached the summit of the mountain, which is also known as Likhu Chuli I, on 21 October 1960 “via the steep, difficult west ridge“.

Plan was changed

Originally, Ines Papert and Thomas Senf wanted to open a new route through the north face of 6487-meter-high Tengkangpoche. Why they changed their plan, we will certainly find out in the next few days. The Swiss Ueli Steck and Simon Anthamatten had firstly climbed via the Tengkangpoche North Face in 2008. For this performance they were awarded in 2009 with the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar” for climbers.