SAMAYA x TOM LIVINGSTONE
THE CHALLENGE OF THE UNEXPLORED CENTRAL K7
Photo credits: Tad McCrea - @mccreaphoto
Tom Livingstone and Tad McCrea, his climbing partner, spent seven weeks in Pakistan's Charakusa Valley in August 2023, attempting to open a route on K7 Central, at an altitude of almost 7,000 meters. Weather conditions did not play in their favor, forcing them to turn back just 150 meters from the finish. For Samaya, Tom looks back on this historic attempt.
K7 Central, one of the highest and most challenging mountains in the region, is located in Pakistan's remote Charakusa Valley. Peaking at 6850 metres, it represents a major challenge due to its isolation, extreme conditions, oxygen depletion and freezing temperatures, in addition to its technical difficulty. It is a demanding summit, and a major challenge for the few experienced climbers who have attempted it.
Tom and Tad's expedition was preceded by a handful of attempts, including those by the famous Pitri and Jeff Wright in 2022 and 2023, who had to give up just 100 meters below the summit. Each of these expeditions helped to reinforce K7 Central's reputation as a mountain of almost insurmountable difficulty, requiring the very best of mountaineers.
Tom, a renowned British mountaineer, is driven by the achievement of authentic challenges, at the heart of which he places the values of simplicity and direct engagement with the mountain. He evolves in alpine style, favoring lightness and speed. He has pushed back his limits several times and made mountaineering history with his Piolet d'Or-winning ascent of Latok I with Aleš Česen and Luka Stražar in 2019, and his ascent of the north-east pillar of Tengkangpoche in Nepal in 2021, where many climbers had previously stumbled.
Photo credits: Tad McCrea - @mccreaphoto
"I'd heard a lot about the Charakusa Valley in Pakistan: it offers a playground of high-quality routes and solid granite. It sounded perfect for Tad and me to go there. We wanted to open a new technical route on K7 Central, in alpine style. It's a type of climbing I really enjoy, involving difficult pitches in steep ice, mixed and rock, up to high altitude. To succeed, or at least make a good attempt, you need a good level in all climbing disciplines.
We first acclimatized and spent two nights on Pic Solu at 6050 meters, with our tent Samaya in which we slept quite well despite the short nights, sometimes disturbed by wind and snowfall.
Photo credits: Tad McCrea - @mccreaphoto
Then we set off to climb the uncharted summit, K7 Central. We began our ascent of the south face of K7 and enjoyed steep (approx. Wi5+) and welcoming ice slopes with relatively comfortable bivouac sites for four days. We were able to climb several pitches at a time - a rare gift in the mountains. We were constantly adapting to our environment and had to change our objectives several times depending on the weather conditions. Unfortunately, the window announced as favorable turned out to be quite incorrect, with snow falling every day and the weather changing rapidly.
Photo credits: Tad McCrea - @mccreaphoto
We reached the base of K7 Central on the fourth day. It's an impressive, aesthetically pleasing granite spire that would be ideal dry and snow-free. Unfortunately, a thick layer of snow covered the face.
On the fifth day, we started the last part of the ascent, but despite our best efforts, we had to turn back, so close to the goal that the weather made the operation dangerous.
Our flights home were fast approaching and the conditions weren't going to get any better. We were frustrated not to reach the summit, but that's sometimes the way it is when you're pursuing a big goal. A lot of stars have to align. We pushed hard, dealing with bad weather, changing conditions and the choice of route, but we had to face the facts and make it back down safely.
I'll always remember that the experience was very formative in preparing me for future projects, it gave me more energy and motivation, and I'm planning, one day, to return to Charakusa."
