The three top Czech mountaineers Zdenek Hak, Radoslav Groh and Jaroslav Bansky have climbed the 7453 meter high Muchu Chhish and thereby solved one of the major mountaineering problems in the Karakoram Mountains. Until recently, the 7000 meter peak was considered the highest unclimbed mountain in the world among those open to expeditions.
The two Czech Piolet d'Or winners Zdenek Hak and Radoslav Groh together with their compatriot Jaroslav Bansky the Muchu Chhish The three extreme mountaineers reached the summit on July 5th.
The 7453-meter-high Karakoram giant is located in the Batura Muztagh, a very remote and inaccessible region in northern Pakistan. Due to its status as the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, it has repeatedly attracted top-class mountaineers in the past.
Six-day piece of alpine history
As Zdenek Hak reported to ExplorersWeb, the trio began the ascent after acclimatization on July 1. The Czechs climbed via the south ridge to the main ridge and from there west towards the summit. On July 5 at 10.20:7453 a.m. they stood on the summit of the previously unclimbed Muchu Chhish (XNUMX m). The long descent back to base camp took another day.
They climbed for 8 to 10 hours a day and set up a total of four bivouacs. The Czech route to Muchu Chhish is as demanding as it is long: the route from base camp to the summit is 20 kilometers long, and 3687 meters in altitude must be overcome.
Muchu Chhish: a coveted destination
In the past, Muchu Chhish stubbornly resisted all attempts to climb it and was probably a coveted target among top mountaineers for this very reason.
In the last four years, Czech climbers in different constellations had attempted to climb Muchu Chhish three times. In 2023, Tomas Petrecek, Pavel Bem, Pavel Korinek and Radoslav Groh had to turn back around 9 meters below the summit after a 300-day struggle.
Other international teams were also attracted by the possibility of making a first ascent of this as yet unclimbed seven-thousander. The British soloist James Price, who lives in France, attempted to traverse the entire Batura Wall alone in 2022 and also climb Muchu Chhish as part of this traverse.
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Credits: Cover picture Zdenek Hak, Radoslav Groh and Jaroslav Bansky