2018 Honoured ascents

(1) Russian, 2008
(2) Satisfaction!, 2017
(3) Polish, 1983
(4) Spanish, 1983

Complete southwest face, Satisfaction!, 2,600m, ED+ WI5+ M7.
July 25 - August 1 round trip from base camp.

Satisfaction by Zdeněk Hák and Marek Holeček from the Czech Republic is probably the last logical line on the huge west face of Gasherbrum I. It is the first full ascent of the face, and completes a direct line to the summit first attempted back in 1983 by Jerzy Kukuczka and Voytek Kurtyka. Holeček had made four previous attempts on this line, in the process losing one climbing partner and parts of several toes. The successful ascent, beginning on July 25, took six days, with the last bivouac at 8,000m.

The final rock band above 7,800m had presented such a high order of technical climbing that it took a full 12 hours to complete just 80m. The descent from the summit, via the Normal Route along the Japanese Couloir, was first through a white inferno, then down avalanche prone slopes. They returned to base camp eight days after leaving.

Zdeněk Hák

• Czech Republic

Year of birth: 1980

Czech mountaineer, rock climber and ski mountaineer. Works as UIAGM mountain guide since 2010. Junior Czech downhill ski team member. Háček started climbing and ski mountaineering racing in 1997 during his studies at the Hotel School in Turnov, Czech Republic. Hacek specializes in solo speed climbs of alpine faces. In 2016 Háček skied down the highest mountain in Afghanistan Noshaq (7498m) for which he was awarded the Czech Climb of the Year Award in the category of ski mountaineering. In 2017 Háček established with Marek Holeček a new route up the Southwest Face of Gasherbrum I (8080 meters), Karakorum. The new route called Satistaction! was established in alpine style is rated ED+, M7, WI 5+. Awarded third place as the Czech Climber of the Year 2017. In 2018, Háček together with Holeček established a new route up Kyazo Ri in Nepal, ED+ ,WI 4+,M6,3+UIAA. Háček lives in Rokytnice nad Jizerou, Czech Republic and has two children. In his free time, Háč ek climbs sandstone towers in Český ráj

Marek Holeček

• Czech Republic

Year of birth: 1974

Czech mountaineer, rock climber, documentary film maker, writer, photographer and lecturer. Marek was born and lives in Prague with his wife and daughter. He has done more than 30 expeditions to the Asian Mountains, South and North America, Antarctica. All in alpine style. Marek has completed 13 first ascents and solo ascent up the Japanese Couloir to Gasherbrum I so far. Marek was nominated for the Piolets d'Or 2014 award for the first ascent of Talung (7348m), Nepal. He also received honorable recognition Golden Piton Awards 2006 for the first ascent of Meru Central (6310 m n. m.), India. Marek received seven awards and five honorable recognition for the best climb of the year from the Czech Mountaineering Association. Marek is a author of the successful book, autor and co-autor of 6 documentary films. He often writes articles for Czech and foreign magazines and websites, prepares lectures for the public and motivational lectures for companies.

In 2017 Marek established with Zdeněk Hák a new route up the Southwest Face of Gasherbrum I (8080 meters), Karakorum. The new route called Satistaction! was established in alpine style is rated ED+, M7, WI 5+. Awarded second place as the Czech Climber of the Year 2017. In 2018, Marek together with Hák established a new route up Kyazo Ri in Nepal, ED+ ,WI 4+,M6,3+UIAA. 

Northeast face and traverse, Shukriya, 2,700m, WI5 M6,
August 18-24 round trip from base camp.

The beauty of this coveted line, the full commitment of a difficult alpine-style ascent followed by a traverse of the mountain, and the fact that it was the first ascent of the face, makes Shukriya on the northeast face of Shispare a masterpiece of modern high-altitude climbing. Beginning in 2007, Kazuya Hiraide (Japan) attempted Shispare three times before 2017, once by the northeast face. For his fourth attempt he teamed with fellow countryman Kenro Nakajima. Conditions were poor in the Hunza Valley last August, and the pair battled unstable weather throughout the five-day ascent, experiencing much snowfall and spindrift avalanches. In reaching the summit they had made only the third overall ascent of this elegant, sharp pyramidal peak in the Western Karakoram.

The descent of the original 1974 Polish-German route on the northeast ridge and north spur, with complex route finding in bad weather, was certainly no pushover, and two more days were required before the Japanese could regain base camp.

Kazuya Hiraide

• JAPAN

Year of birth : 1979

2009 Mt. Kamet (7,756m) in India with Kei Taniguchi.

This climbing got the Piolet d’Or in 2009 for the first time as an Asian.

Kenro Nakajima

• JAPAN

Year of birth : 1984

2013 K6 (Pakistan),2014 Hkakabo Razi ((Myanmar),2016 Loinbo Kangri (Tibet).

Start climbing with Hiraide from 2014.

South face, 2,200m, WI6 M5+.
October 14-21 round trip from base camp.

The immense south face of Nuptse will always provide a difficult, high-altitude challenge. Even the unrepeated route of the 1961 first ascent is widely regarded as one of the first, if not the first, technical big faces climbed in the
Himalaya. Benjamin Guiguonnet and Hélias Millerioux tried a new line on the left side of the face in 2015 and '16. On their second attempt they were accompanied by Frédéric Degoulet, reaching 7,400m before bailing. Tenacity paid off in 2017, when all three Frenchmen completed the line and reached the summit of Nuptse Northwest (climbed several times previously from the opposite side). Their route was a bold outing with much steep and difficult terrain. It was committing, not without objective hazards, and required highly technical ice climbing, with at least a dozen pitches of WI5 and above. The climbers bivouacked five times on the ascent and once during the descent (largely by rappel) of their route. This ascent may be destined to gain iconic status in the realm of modern technical Himalayan climbing.

Frédéric Degoulet

• FRANCE

Year of birth : 1982

Fred is at the forefront of an exciting new breed of ice and mixed climber. He has taken his competition experience of dry tooling into the high mountains and achieved ambitious new routes previously thought of as impossible. These achievements have seen Fred included twice in recent years, in the Piolet d’Or long list. As well as the successes of the Gang, Fred was notably in the media, including TV coverage in 2015 opening a new difficult line in the Ecrins Massive, something of a rarity these days.

Benjamin Guigonnet

• FRANCE

Year of birth : 1988

Ben is one of the most gifted mountaineers of recent years. His impressive figures speak for themselves: an 8c climber, 8a block, 8a on sight in trad, grade 7 in ice, M10 on sight and a guide at 23 years old. The man who is cut like a SNCF sandwich doesn’t seem so imposing but he is a monster in the mountains ! This skinny beast is obsessed by kit weight optimisation. Based in Nice, he lives for climbing and alpinism. Ben has been prolifically opening and repeated extreme routes on major alpine summits and around the world, pushing the boundaries of difficulty and altitude.

Hélias Millerioux

• FRANCE

Year of birth : 1987

Over the last few year Helias has been one of the most active high altitude mountaineer of his time. Often featured in more than one film at the same mountain festival, Helias has accumulated an impressive list of ascents with some legendary climbers at high altitude. This experience has made Helias extremely experienced at managing expeditions. He is an extremely strong mixed climber with a great deal of experience including 8 high altitude pursuits in Argentina, Peru, Alaska, Nepal and Pakistan. Notably the Slovak Direct route on Denali over 8 days, Siula Chico in Peru and he has attempted a new route on Diamir Face of Nanga Parbat. 

Southwest face, Obscured Perception, 1,400m, WI5 M6 A0 70° snow.
September 28-October 2 round trip.

The southwest face of shapely Nilkanth (a.k.a Nilkantha, 6,596m) in India's Garhwal Himalaya was described in 2000, by the party that made the first ascent of the west ridge, as a "technical super-alpine challenge". Reaching the foot of this face is not straightforward and involves exposure to objective danger. Continuous tricky mixed ground and beautiful steep ice then lead all the way to the summit, 1,400m above. It was climbed for the first time last autumn with four bivouacs by a three-member American team, which found difficulties up to WI5, M6, A0, and 70° snow, the crux high on the wall in an area dubbed the Castle. They named the route Obscured Perception and it hasn't escaped our notice that women formed the majority of this party.

The southwest face had been the objective for a couple of expeditions before 2015, when it was the goal of Anne Gilbert Chase and Jason Thompson. In order to make a three, they decided to invite Caro North. As a preamble to their attempt (which subsequent bad weather did not allow) these three climbed to 6,400m on the west ridge, which they planned to use for descent. The knowledge gained would prove useful in 2017, when Chase and Thompson decided to return to the mountain. This time Chantel Astorga was recruited as the third member. The three made their final attempt on the southwest face on September 28, reaching the summit on the morning of October 2 and descending the west ridge the same day.

Whilst it was a team effort, with shared decision-making and everyone working hard to achieve the objective, the majority of the climbing, including the crux pitches, was led by either Astorga or Chase. This ascent, and Astorga and Chase's recent landmark four-day ascent of the Slovak Direct on the south face of Denali (2,750m, Alaskan 6, 5.9X M6 WI6+), one of the most difficult and direct routes on the mountain, are representative of the increasing rise in the levels of female alpinism. We hope that their ascents will continue to inspire and encourage women alpinists, as they inspire us all.

Chantel Astorga

• USA

Year of birth : 1985

Highway Avalanche Specialist for State Transportation Department, Alpinist, and Ski Mountaineer. While working on Yosemite Valley Search & Rescue Chantel learned the techniques of light and fast climbing. Teaming up with different partners for big wall speed ascents, speed linkups, and fast rope solo ascents has given her the ability to take these skills to the big mountains. She has climbed a number of difficult routes in the Alaska Range. In the winter months she is focused on work, training, and ski mountaineering.

Anne Gilbert Chase

• USA

... 

Jason Thompson

• USA

... 

We would like to give a special mention to another American, Alex Honnold, for his outstanding contribution to climbing in the year 2017.

In the mountains he made two short new rock routes in Alaska's Ruth Gorge, and a remarkable series of climbs in Antarctica, where in the famous Fenris Kjeften Range of Queen Maud Land, Honnold reached the summits of 14 peaks by routes of varying difficulty. Notable was the east pillar (dubbed Dark Tower) of Stetind (2,588m), climbed with Cedar Wright. Historians of Antarctic mountaineering feel this is probably the hardest on-sight, all free rock route on the continent. Climbed in cold, windy conditions, and with runout pitches on poor rock, it gave Honnold "the scariest lead of my life".

That has to say something! Of course, all this was very much overshadowed by the astonishing free solo of Free Rider on El Capitan. On this sensibly well-choreographed ascent, Honnold exhibited complete mastery at a level probably unequalled in the history of rock climbing. Regular climbing partner Tommy Caldwell was convinced that in terms of mind control, it was "one of the pinnacle sporting moments of all time".

But we shouldn't forget Alex Honnold's other commitment, on-going through 2017. The Honnold Foundation, founded in 2012, has the simple vision to improve lives and reduce environmental impact by working with partners to promote solar-powered energy worldwide. Last year, work continued with the Solar Energy Foundation (SEF) to carry out much needed installations in Ethiopian villages.

ALEX HONNOLD

• USA

Year of birth: 1985

- Professional rock climber and hard-working athlete
- Most celebrated achievements : first and only free-solos of the Moonlight Buttress (5.12d, 1,200 feet) in Zion National Park, Utah, and the Northwest Face (5.12a) of Half Dome (2,200 feet), Yosemite, California.
- Yosemite’s first “Triple Solo” in 2012 : climbing, in succession, the National Park’s three largest faces-Mt. Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan—alone, and in under 24 hours.
- First and only free-solo of El Capitan’s “Freerider” route (5.13a, 3,000 feet) in 2017