SAMAYA x PHILIPP BRUGGER
ABORTED ATTEMPT AT LUPGHAR SAR
On May 27, 2022, Philipp Brugger, Tomas Franchini and Lukas Waldner made the first ascent of Shaue Sar to an altitude of 6653 meters. The Shimshal valley is a very wild, isolated region with large glaciers and many seracs. Exploration here is rare and difficult, with very few climbers making the trip. In June 2023, Philipp, Tomas and Lukas returned to the region to try their hand at unexplored peaks.
"Last year, together with Tomas and Lukas, we headed to the Shimshal valley to attempt the first ascent of Shaue Sar at 6653 meters. After reaching the advanced base camp at 4600 meters, we set off for the 2000-meter-long North Face, with ice at around 85 degrees. We completed the climb in one go.
We had imagined climbing ten hours to the summit and six hours back down. It was more or less like the Alps, in Alpine style, except that it was a huge 6000-metre peak. We were very lucky and happy to make the climb, as the weather wasn't ideal.
This year, we realized just how lucky we'd been last year.
We had identified other peaks deeper in the valley, higher, wilder and more challenging. The possibilities were numerous, with at least five 7000-meter peaks. We knew we'd need a lot of luck, as the areas are wild and full of seracs, making attempts very dangerous. But we thought it was possible. That's why we went back this year.
We arrived at base camp in June, thinking we'd be able to attempt the climb in early July. Unfortunately, the mountain was covered by a thick blanket of snow, much heavier than in previous years. Weather conditions did not improve as the days went by.
Our objective was the magnificent Lupghar Sar at 7200 metres. We wanted to climb the 2,400-metre-long east face. Arriving at the foot of the face, we set up an advanced camp. We acclimatized on the neighbouring 6000-metre summit, but then realized that the climb was impossible. We went back down and tried the south face. Despite our abnegation, nothing was in condition. We'd arrived too early in the season.
There was nothing we could do.
A friend fell into a crevasse, cutting his hand slightly with the rope. Given his need for antibiotics and the weather forecast, we decided to return home more than two weeks early.
Usually, failure isn't a big deal. What's peculiar and frustrating about this expedition is that we didn't even get a chance to try. It's a very strange feeling.
It's hard to describe the feeling. If you make a good attempt, give it your all and despite all your efforts, it turns out that the climb is impossible, you turn back, but you've still had a good day.
When we were there, we walked on a glacier, realizing day after day that everything was too dangerous, with too much snow.
In the end, we put a lot of effort into exploring this, and we should make another attempt, but not next year, maybe in two years' time. I think with all this work, all the time we've invested in this project, we should go back one day."
