GUNUNG · Pakistan

Kunyang Chhish

کنیانگ چش (Kunyang Chhish / Khunyang Chhish)

Information

Elevation: 7.852 m
Country: Pakistan (PK)
Location / Range: Hispar Muztagh, Karakoram — Gilgit-Baltistan, di sisi utara Gletser Hispar
Mountain type: Puncak batu & es tinggi — gunung tertinggi kedua di Hispar Muztagh, peringkat ke-21 dunia
Volcanic?: No (non-volcanic)
Coordinates: 36.2053, 75.2078
Difficulty: Sangat berat / ekstrem (ekspedisi 7000-an bersalju, teknis, terpencil) — hanya untuk alpinis elite; sangat jarang didaki
Best Season: Juni–Agustus (musim ekspedisi Karakoram)
Permits & Rules: Wajib izin puncak 7000-an dari pemerintah Gilgit-Baltistan/Pakistan, porter & liaison officer; pendekatan lewat Lembah Hunza-Nagar dan Gletser Hispar/Kunyang
Hazards: Longsoran salju (avalanche) di punggung selatan yang sudah merenggut nyawa, jurang es (crevasse), eksposur ketinggian ekstrem, cuaca Karakoram yang cepat berubah; tercatat sebagai salah satu gunung dengan tingkat fatalitas tertinggi di Karakoram

Description

Kunyang Chhish (7,852 m) is the second-highest mountain of the Hispar Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, and the 21st-highest peak in the world. Its name in Burushaski roughly means 'the corner peak'. The massif rises on the northern flank of the Hispar Glacier and comprises five summits (Main, South, East, West/Pyramid Peak and North). What makes it extraordinary is its rise above local terrain: its south side climbs almost 4,000 m above the Kunyang Glacier base camp and about 5,500 m above the Hunza valley over roughly 33 km — a steep, pointed and complex peak. Its climbing history is harsh: 1962 and 1965 attempts each killed climbers in an avalanche and a ridge collapse; the first ascent came only in 1971 by a Polish team led by Andrzej Zawada via the South Ridge, though team member Jan Franczuk died in a crevasse. The second (and only other recorded) ascent of the main summit was by British climbers Mark Lowe and Keith Milne via the North Ridge in 1988. In July 2013 the East summit (7,400 m) was first climbed by an Austrian/Swiss team via the South Wall — a feat that was a finalist for the 2014 Piolet d'Or. With only a handful of successful ascents and several deaths, Kunyang Chhish remains one of the most demanding and deadly 7,000ers in the Karakoram.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

Punggung Selatan/Tenggara dari Gletser Pumari Chhish (rute pendakian pertama 1971)

Sangat berat / ekstrem — 7000-an bersalju, terpapar, dan panjang

Ekspedisi berminggu-minggu bergaya berkemah bertingkat (siege)

The first-ascent route of Kunyang Chhish's main summit (7,852 m). On 26 August 1971 a Polish team led by Andrzej Zawada — with Zygmunt Andrzej Heinrich, Jan Stryczyński and Ryszard Szafirski — reached the top via the more direct but still very long South/South-East Ridge, climbing from the Pumari Chhish Glacier. The route involves exposed ice and snow terrain at extreme altitude; team member Jan Franczuk died in a crevasse at about 6,450 m. Kunyang Chhish was then among the highest unclimbed peaks in the Karakoram, and the line has been repeated only once (via the North Ridge, 1988). This is not a trekking route — it is for experienced alpine expeditions with official permits only.

Source

South-West Face — Kunyang Chhish East (rute pendakian pertama 2013, Piolet d'Or 2014)

Ekstrem (alpin-style dinding es/campuran ~2.700 m)

±5 malam di dinding (14–19 Juli 2013)

The route on the East summit (~7,400 m), long regarded as one of alpinism's great unsolved problems. On 14–19 July 2013 Simon Anthamatten (Switzerland) with Hansjörg and Matthias Auer (Austria) made the first ascent via the ~2,700 m South-West Face in alpine style, bivouacking five nights on the wall. The feat won the 2014 Piolet d'Or and the Karl Unterkircher Award. An earlier attempt by Steve House and Vince Anderson (2006) stopped about 300 m below the summit. A purely technical route for elite alpinists.

Source

Climbing Experiences

Kunyang Chhish is almost never climbed: the 7,852 m main summit was first reached only in 1971 by a Polish team, with just one other recorded ascent (1988). Modern attention has centred on the East summit (7,400 m), first climbed by an Austrian/Swiss team via the South Wall in 2013 and a finalist for the 2014 Piolet d'Or. The sources below — the award film, an American Alpine Journal report, PlanetMountain news and interview, and an ExplorersWeb history feature — document real ascents on one of the deadliest peaks in the Karakoram.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.