First ascent of The Secret Line on the north face of Tirich Mir (7,708m) in the Hindu Kush, Pakistan, from July 17-23. Traversed the mountain by descending the normal route to the northwest.
Tirich Mir is the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush and as such was relatively popular in the latter half of the 20th Century. However, lying in the far corners of northwest Pakistan, very close to the border with Afghanistan, it is accessed through Chitral and has seen almost insignificant activity since 9/11 due to the perceived heightened terrorist threat in that area. For some years, the Japanese alpinist Kazuya Hiraide had been interested in the north face and in 2019 a local agent told him that tourists were now being granted permission to re-enter the area. He applied for a permit but was refused. Then COVID-19 intervened, and it was not until the summer of 2023 that he and Kenro Nakajima reached the mountain.
Direct access to the vast north face of Tirich Mir is blocked by an icefall almost 1,000m high. A Czechoslovakian expedition, which in 1967 established the current normal route via the Upper Tirich Glacier and northwest ridge, first climbed though the icefall to see if there was a route from that side. It has not been climbed since and the intervening years have made it very dangerous. Nakajima commented that he had “never seen an icefall with so much widespread destruction”.
The Japanese pair needed a work-around. Using satellite photos, they plotted a route into the glacier basin below the north face that would follow the initial section of the normal route and then cross a high col on the long northwest ridge of Tirich Mir. After inspecting the col and caching gear, they acclimatized to 6,300m on the normal route, then set out from base camp at 4,600m on July 17. That night they camped at 5,400m and the following day crossed the 6,200m col. The far side was steep and exposed to rockfall in the warmer than normal temperatures that month. Taking a pragmatic approach, the pair fixed four ropes to aid a retreat. Eight rappels and some downclimbing took them to the western end of the basin. That same day they crossed the basin, unvisited since 1967, to the foot of the north face and camped at 5,500m.
Next day, complex route finding led to their third bivouac (at 6,150m), where they were able to use an ice hammock to construct a tent platform.
Difficult snow and ice led to a poor fourth bivouac at 6,750m. Above, lay the biggest uncertainty of the route - a large serac barrier. Fortunately, the following morning they were able to pass this on the left via hard ice and reach the 7,200m col between Tirich Mir and Tirich West I, where they made their fifth bivouac. They had now joined the normal route, which arrives at this point from the far side.
On the 23rd Hiraide and Nakajima left their camp and set off for the summit. There were many different lines on the broad upper ridge and the two climbed a couple of steep pitches, which they rappelled during the descent. Mostly, they simul-climbed, reaching the summit at around 9:30 a.m. and regaining their camp at noon. Feeling strong, they continued down the normal route, rappelling the crux couloir to the Upper Tirich Glacier and descending this to 6,300m. Next day they regained base camp.
This long, complex and highly committing adventure was considered by the jury to be a splendid traverse of a high-altitude mountain. Jury members also noted that almost no prior information was available to help with the ascent of the hidden north face. The use of 200m of fixed rope to access the climb (sadly not removed after the ascent) was considered a minor flaw compared to the overall scale of the undertaking and its successful completion.
Kazuya Hiraide
Japan
1979 - 2024
Hiraide discovered mountaineering through a university club. In 2001, he made the first ascent of Kula Kangri East Peak (7,381m) in Tibet and climbed Cho Oyu, his first of five 8,000m summits, and then skied back down (he also won an award at the Asian ski-mountaineering championships). He went on to form an emblematic mixed-rope party in alpine style with his female compatriot Kei Taniguchi with first ascents on the northwest Ridge of Spantik (7,027m), the east ridge of Mustagh Ata (7,564m), China (2005), first ascent on the north face and northwest ridge of Shivling (6,543m), India (2005), first ascent of the southeast face of Kamet (7,756m), India (2008). This last one, called Samurai Direct (1,800m, M5+ AI5), was recognised with a Piolet d'Or in 2009, the first awarded to Japanese climbers and also to a woman.
In 2015, the Hiraide-Nakajima team climbed the north face of Api (7,132m) in Nepal with Takuya Mitoro and the next year, they did the first ascent of the north-northwest face of Loinbo Kangri (7,095m) in Tibet. Then in 2017, the two men hit it big in Pakistan by successfully completing the first ascent of the immense northeast face of Shispare (7,611m), one of the highest peaks in the Batura Muztagh above the Hunza valley. It's another story of perseverance, because since 2007, Hiraide had already attempted Shispare three times (including once via this northeast face), which has only seen two ascents in all. For this ascent, they received one of the Piolets d'Or 2018, the second for Hiraide.
In 2019, the duo was back in Hunza country on Rakaposhi (7,788 m) on the south face and south-east ridge, an immense route, 4,000m high. While the technical difficulties are not exceptional, the adventure is total, on an isolated and little-frequented ground. A Piolet d'Or was awarded in recognition of the values set out in the Piolets d'Or charter.
After Tirich Mir, all Kazuya's attention was focused on the west face of K2. As he had pointed out before their one-way departure:”In my heart, I have expectations, hopes, worries, fears... I can't limit myself to just one word.”
Kenro Nakajima
Japan
1984 - 2024
Introduced by his father to the mountains when a child, Kenro made a name for himself in Himalaya in 2006 (first ascent of Panbari Himal, 6,905m) and then on the south face of Dingjung Ri South(6,196m). From 2014, he teamed up mainly with Kazuya Hiraide and their numerous alpine-style climbs (Api, Shispare, Rakaposhi) brought him international recognition, including two Piolets d'Or in 2018 and 2020.
Of Tirich Mir, Kenro noted: ”The north face, as if surrounded by a fortress, remained silent... I love this kind of exploratory climbing! ”
In 2017, after their ascent of Shispare, they walked to K2 to study its west face and identify a possible line. In the summer of 2024, they were finally ready to take up their challenge, even if "the probability of succeeding is low. Our first goal is not to reach the summit, but to discover a world we don't yet know." The tragic conclusion of this last daring adventure is well known, but today the entire alpine community, particularly in Japan, recognises Kenro as a visionary pioneer.
