The North Ridge of Latok I Remains Unclimbed After 40 Years

Reports came in last week that two Slovenians and a Briton completed the first ascent of Latok I’s North Ridge. Unfortunately, some details got lost in translation. While the trio did knock off the second ever successful summit of the peak, and the first ever from the north, they deviated from the integral ridge line.

Latok I (7,145m) was first climbed from the east by Japanese climbers in 1979. Since then, some 40 odd teams have been shut down by the north ridge.

A month ago, Russians Alexander Gukov and Sergey Glazuno made it to within 600 feet of the summit before Glazunov fell to his death and Gukov was rescued in dramatic fashion. The north ridge was first attempted in 1978 and is still considered on of the biggest unclaimed prizes in modern mountaineering.

While Slovenians Aleš Česen and Luka Stražar and Briton Tom Livingstone did summit Latok I from the north last week, it turns out they only traveled the north ridge for 2/3 of their route. Reports are conflicting, but at this point we know the group moved to the north or south face for the final climb to the top. While not the grand prize, a major climbing accomplishment none the less.