BURSTAlpine climbers Thomas Huber, Miquel Mas and Víctor Sans have established Wild Soul, a 600-metre, 21-pitch 5.12 A2+ on Biacherahi Central (5,700 metres) above the Choktoi Glacier in the Latok region of Pakistan’s Karakoram. They believe was the first ascent of the granite tower. Mas described the setting as “one of the most remote, isolated and wild places on the planet,” with the climb combining technical rock climbing, altitude and a truly wild environment.
The expedition was shaped by short weather windows, with continuous snowfall and poor conditions keeping the climber off the surrounding mountains for days. After carrying their equipment to advanced base camp at approximately 5,050 metres, they waited for a chance to climb. When just five days of favourable conditions finally arrived, Huber, Mas and Sans went all in, reaching the summit and returning to base camp before the weather deteriorated. “Those five days were incredibly intense,” Mas said on Planet Mountain, adding that there was “no room to waste time” because everything depended on making the most of the short window.
The route followed cracks and corners through the upper section of the tower, as the team worked on where the route would go as they progressed. Mas said reaching the summit was “one of the most special and eagerly anticipated moments of the expedition,” describing the atmosphere as magical. The climbers did encounter signs of previous attempts in the middle section of the wall, but based on their checks on the ground, they found no evidence that the summit had previously been reached. “For this reason, we currently consider Biacherahi Central to have remained an unclimbed summit until now, and ours to be its first ascent,” Mas said.
Mas said the route left the team “deeply satisfied” and that they had made a dream come true, one forever connected to the mountain they watched from base camp each morning, seemingly calling them to climb it.
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