| Baintha Brakk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 拜塔布拉克峰 | ||
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Baintha Brakk (Urdu:بائنتھا براک) orThe Ogre is a steep, craggy mountain, 7,285 metres (23,901 ft) high, in thePanmah Muztagh, a subrange of theKarakoram mountain range. It is located inGilgit-Baltistan,Pakistan.[2] It is famous for being one of the hardest peaks in the world to climb: twenty-four years elapsed between the first ascent in 1977 and the second in 2001.
Baintha Brakk rises above the north side of theBiafo Glacier, one of the major glaciers of the central Karakoram. It lies about 75 kilometres (47 mi) north ofSkardu, the major town of the region, and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the roadhead atAskole.[3]
Baintha Brakk is exceptional in its combination of altitude, height above local terrain, and steepness. It is a complexgranite tower, steeper and rockier than most other Karakoram peaks, although similar to theLatok peaks next to it. For example, its South Face rises over 3,000 m (9,800 ft) above the Uzun Brakk Glacier in only 2 km (1.2 mi) of horizontal distance.[4]
It is because of this steep, rocky nature that Baintha Brakk has been both so difficult to climb and so attractive a target for extremely high-levelmountaineers.
Following two unsuccessful attempts in 1971 and 1976, the peak was first climbed by two Britons,Doug Scott andChris Bonington, in 1977.[5] The other members of the party wereMo Anthoine, Clive Rowland,Nick Estcourt, andTut Braithwaite. Estcourt, Anthoine, and Rowland all reached the lower West Summit at 7,150 m (23,460 ft), while Braithwaite was injured early on byrockfall.[6] They climbed via the Southwest Spur to the West Ridge, and over the west summit to the main summit. The ascent of the summit block required difficultrock climbing that extended the boundaries of what had been done at over 7,000 metres (23,000 ft).[6]
The descent proved more dangerous still: On the firstrappel from the summit, Scott broke both legs.Later, Bonington broke two ribs and contractedpneumonia. Also, much of the week-long descent tobase camp was in a major storm. However, they were all able to reach base camp, where they had a long wait for assistance.[6]
The second ascent of Baintha Brakk was made by Urs Stöcker, Iwan Wolf, andThomas Huber, on 21 July 2001, via the South Pillar route, following their first ascent of the subsidiary peak Ogre III (circa 6,800 metres (22,300 ft)).[7] They noted that there were more than 20 unsuccessful expeditions in the interim.[8]Mountain INFO magazine characterized their ascent as "arguably the most notable mountaineering achievement during the entire 2001 season."[9]
A third ascent by a new line on the peak's South Face was made by Americans Kyle Dempster andHayden Kennedy on August 21, 2012. Compatriot Josh Wharton had also accompanied them on the climb but had to abandon the attempt at approximately 6,800 m (22,300 ft) due toaltitude sickness.[10] Earlier in their trip, the two and Slovenian Urban Novak had made another first ascent of a new line on the massive east face ofK7 (6,934 metres; 22,749 ft).[11]
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