©Berman
The first ascent of the southeast pillar of Ultar Sar, Batura Muztagh, via Shooting the Moon (3,100m, M5 WI4), June 6-11. The climbers descended the same route, reaching the base of the mountain on the 13th.
Ultar Sar rises around 5,000m above the village of Karimabad in the Hunza Valley, Western Karakoram. Despite the highest point lying no more than 10km from the Karakoram Highway, there is no easy route to the summit. After approximately 15 attempts, this complex mountain was eventually climbed in the summer of 1996, when two separate Japanese expeditions pioneered different routes from the south. However, starting in the early 1990s, ambitious parties had also attempted the elegant 3,100m southeast pillar rising out of the so-called, and difficult of access, Hidden Valley. After more than half a dozen attempts, the highest point reached prior to 2025 was 6,500m, by two Japanese alpinists in 2011.
Ethan Berman (USA-Canada), Maarten van Haeren (Canada) and Sebastián Pelletti (Australia) had the southeast pillar as their goal in 2024, reaching around half-height on their best attempt. They returned in 2025, and after acclimatizing up to 6,500m above the Batokshi Col south of Batura I, they left a base camp placed at 4,400m below Ultar Sar and headed into the glacial cwm below the pillar. On June 6, they started up the route and on the following days would typically "wake" at 10-11 p.m. and climb till around lunchtime to avoid the main heat of the day. The crux was the rock pillar above 6,650m, which gave relatively sustained mixed climbing on largely good granite and led to a final campsite at 7,150m. The three reached the summit at 9 a.m. on June 11 and rappelled to their previous 6,650m bivouac the same day. Unfortunately, bad weather forced them to wait there a day before continuing down, making a total of more than 70 rappels to reach the cwm below the pillar.
The jury noted this to be a beautiful and much attempted line with hard climbing at high altitude. It exemplified a very high level of commitment, self-sufficiency, spirit of exploration and team effort, fundamental criteria for a Piolet d'Or.
Ethan Berman
Canada/USA
Born in India and looked after by a Tibetan nanny, it was only a matter of time before Ethan found his calling in high mountain landscapes. With climbing roots sewn between craggy outcrops in Thailand and granite monoliths in Yosemite, in recent years he has focused on alpinism, which has taken him to the Himalaya, Andes, Saint Elias, and Alaska Range, and kept him busy at home in the Canadian Rockies.
Ethan is a key figure in contemporary North American alpine style. He gained international recognition in 2021 when he was awarded a Piolet d'Or for a new line on the famous Emperor Face on Mount Robson with Uisdean Hawthorn, Running in the Shadows (2 300 m, US VI, M6 AI5 A0).
Ethan also connects to the landscapes that inspire him through his work researching changes to snow and vegetation dynamics using satellite imagery.
Maarten van Haeren
Canada
Maarten was born and raised in The Netherlands, allowing him to explore Europe through backpacking and bike touring. At the age of 18, he moved to Ontario with his family to enjoy Canada’s natural wonders and embark on a new adventure. He lives in Exshaw, Alberta in the Bow Valley with his wife Lin and their cat Freya Since moving there in 2013, he started his ACMG Mountain Stream program. He is currently certified as an ACMG Alpine Guide and enjoys guiding ice and mixed climbing throughout Alberta and British Columbia in the winter. During summer time, the mountains keep calling, through rock climbing and alpine adventures. He has pursued ice and mixed climbing throughout North America, and alpine climbing expeditions to Pakistan, Nepal, the Yukon Territories and Scotland, where he has established new alpine routes over the last decade. Maarten has opened 40+ multi-pitch ice, mixed, rock and alpine routes on 3 different continents.
Sebastián Pelletti
Australia
Sebastián’s dual Australian / Argentine Nationality enabled him to move to Patagonia at age 21. He fell in love with Torres del Paine and its surrounds. As an IFMGA Mountain Guide, he guided for 10 years throughout Patagonia and the Andes.
He had previously climbed with Ethan Berman during a traverse of the Serra Peaks in British Columbia in 2023. In December 2024, together with Hernán Rodriguez, he pioneered Ultima Ronda (AI3, M4) on Trono Blanco (2,170 m), a peak in the Paine Massif. The following year, he opened Kundalini (700 m, 7a) with Nicolas Navarrete on the east face of Cuerno Norte, then Norteado (500 m, 5.11+) on its west face with Hernán Rodriguez.
"Paine seems to continue providing endless opportunity for creativity, and I’m super lucky to have awesome partners to get out there with and enjoy the whole experience..."
