Muztagh Tower

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Brandon-

climber

Done With Tobacco

Topic Author's Original Post - Apr 13, 2011 - 11:12pm PT

I found the Sella photo of the peak in a book I'm reading and know very little about it.

Wikipedia lists only a few ascents. Is this a commonly climbed peak?

It's one of those images that sticks with you.

http://www.summitpost.org/muztagh-towers-karakoram-pakistan/397928

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Apr 13, 2011 - 11:44pm PT

apparently:

1956 Northwest Ridge, Hartog, McNaught-Davis, Brown, Patey
1956 Southeast Ridge, Magnone, Paragot, Contamine, Keller
1976 Southwest Ridge attempt
2008 Northeast Wall, Kozjek, Miškovič

http://www.summitpost.org/muztagh-tower-7273m-in-a/125954
http://www.summitpost.org/muztagh-towers-karakoram-pakistan/397928
http://www.pbase.com/davecollier/image/65276417
http://himalman.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/climber-lost-on-muztagh-tower-in-the-karakorum-another-tragedy-in-mountain/
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/newswire-pavle-kozjek-missing-muztagh
http://www.peakware.com/peaks.html?pk=188
http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=10518

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Apr 13, 2011 - 11:44pm PT

According to:
http://www.everestnews.com/4002expcoverage/mustaghtower7284.htm

"Muztagh Tower can be completed in as little as six weeks (Pindi to Pindi) or as long as nine weeks."

"From the South West route it has four high altitude camps. Camp 1 is after the ice fall at 16,000ft, following the Upper Chagoran Glacier, above the White tiger is the Camp 2 at 18000ft, turning toward west ridge after crossing the snow slope where fixed rope is recommend you reach the Camp 3 at 20,400ft near the Col (first rock wall), continue climbing the south west ridge after crossing the Brown Patey camp you are near Camp 4 at 22000ft. The second rock fall is below to the Sandy hangs 10. Continue further up is the west summit at 23,860ft. The other summit called the east summit."

Ascents
1 - 1956, British, West side
2 - 1956, French, East side
3 - 1984, British, West side http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1985_files/AJ%201985%2074-76%20Duff%20Mustagh.pdf
4 - 1990, Goran Kropp, Rafael Jensen
attempt - 1996, Canadian + American, NW Ridge
(less than 10 persons had summitted, as of 2007)
partial - 2008, Slovenian, NE face, reached ridge and did not summit, Pavle Kozjek died when he fell from a high bivouac site. Then his partner had an epic solo descent.

[Ed and I both have "armchair Mustagh fever"! - so I took the opportunity to update the wikipedia entry... :-) ]

Ed Hartouni

Trad climber

Livermore, CA

Apr 14, 2011 - 01:48am PT

an attempt of the French route:
2005 Bruce Normand, Steve Brown, Nicolas Bernard, Philippe Oberson, Patrycja Paruch, Markus Schneider, Markus Stratmann.

2006 American Alpine Journal page 365

Brandon-

climber

Done With Tobacco

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 14, 2011 - 07:34pm PT

Clint, you and Ed aren't the only ones with 'the fevah!'.

That's such a quintessential mountain.

I've got the fever, and the only cure is more Mustagh.

I find it telling that more folks here don't have much to say about it.

Clint Cummins

Trad climber

SF Bay area, CA

Apr 14, 2011 - 07:57pm PT

Nice, Ed. I didn't know about that attempt.
The AAJ overlay photo of the French East approach is amazingly bad!
The unique part of the French route is pretty much all hidden on the photo.
But I guess the French route goes to the right of the Slovenian line given above?