One of the peaks in the Gasherbrum massif, its immense West Face looms over the glacial junction of Concordia. The Name "Gasherbrum" is often claimed to mean "Shining Wall", presumably a reference to this face's tendency to reflect the rays of the setting sun, but in fact it comes from "rgasha" (beautiful) and "brum" (mountain) in Balti, hence it actually means "beautiful mountain."[3]
Despite its lower height relative to the surrounding eight-thousanders, Gasherbrum IV is a venerated challenge among mountaineers.[4] As of 2024, only 17 people have successfully summitted the mountain.[5]
Notable ascents and attempts
Walter Bonatti on the Gasherbrum IV summit during first ascent in 1958
1958 First ascent by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri on an Italian expedition led by Riccardo Cassin via the Northeast Ridge and the North Summit. Traversing the pinnacled ridge to the main summit was considered the crux of the climb.[6]
1980 First attempt of ascent via the East Face by Americans Craig McKibben and Steve Swenson unsuccessful due to weather conditions.[7]
1985 First ascent of the 2,500 m (8,200 ft) high West Face by Wojciech Kurtyka (Poland) and Robert Schauer [de] (Austria). However, bad weather, depletion of food and fuel, and extreme exhaustion forced them to stop at the north summit.[6] The climb has been called the "most remarkable alpine-style ascent of the 20th century" and was cited in support of Kurtyka's 2016 Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award.[8]
1986 First ascent of the Northwest Ridge by Greg Child, Tim Macartney-Snape and Tom Hargis, involving an open bivouac on the north summit. This was the second ascent of Gasherbrum IV.[6][9]
1993 Japan's Yasushi Yamanoi makes an unsuccessful ascent attempt via the East Face.[7]
1995 Slovenian climber Miroslav "Slavko" Svetičič died while attempting a solo climb of the West Face.[10]
1996 Korean expedition consisting of Kim Chang-ho and Lim Saeng-muk attempted to summit via the East Face. Climb was abandoned after reaching about 7,400m due to avalanche warning.[7]
1997 First complete ascent via the West Face by a Korean team, via the central spur. Bang Jung-ho, Kim Tong-kwan and Yoo Huk-jae reached the summit after a sieged ascent quoted as 5.10 A3.[6]
1999 Second ascent of the Northwest Ridge by Kang Yeon-ryong and Yun Chi-won, part of a 13-member Korean team.[6]
2008 Third ascent of the Northwest Ridge by a Spanish team composed of Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo, José Carlos Tamayo, Mikel Zabalza, and Ferran Latorre.[11] The team did not get to the main summit, but stopped at a minor peak a short distance from the true summit.[12]
2012 A French expedition attempting a summit of the "Shining Wall" the mountain's West Face was abandoned mid-route due to an avalanche.[13]
2016 Slovenian pair Aleš Česen and Luka Lindič reached North Summit of Gasherbrum IV on July 26th via the Northwest Ridge. The pair wanted to summit via the West Face, but weather conditions and heavy snow altered their route.[14] This was the fourth successful summit of the Northwest Ridge.[15]
2018 An expedition by German David Göttler and Italian Hervé Barmasse to be the first to climb the mountain's Southwest Face had to be abandoned midway due to poor weather.[16]
2018 A Spanish expedition consisting of Oriol Baro, Roger Cararach, Iker Madoz and Marc Toralles abandoned their summit attempt because of the bad weather. They had planned to reach the summit via the still unclimbed South Pillar.[17]
2018 An Italian expedition aiming to replicate the first ascent by Italians Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri on the sixtieth anniversary of the climb ended in tragedy as Maurizio Giordano was hit by falling ice and killed on the descent.[18]
2023 An expedition made up of the Piolets d’Or winning climbing pair, Sergey Nilov and Dmitry Golovchenko via a completely unknown route up the southeast ridge ended in tragedy as Golovchenko was lost in a fall.[19]
^Child, Greg (1987). "Gasherbrum IV's Northwest Ridge". American Alpine Journal. 29 (61). New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club: 17–25. ISBN 0-930410-29-7.
^"AAC Publications - Asia, Pakistan, Gasherbrum IV, West Face Solo Attempt and Tragedy". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^Carbonell, Rafael (August 8, 2008). "Oro en el Himalaya". El País.
^"mounteverest.net - Interview with Juan Vallejo, member of the Spanish team". Archived from the original on 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
^"Accident stops French attempting the 'Shining Wall' of Gasherbrum IV". www.thebmc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^"Aleš Česen and Luka Lindič: the Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV North Summit interview". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^gripped (2016-07-31). "Ales Cesen and Luka Lindic Make Fourth Ascent of Gasherbrum IV Route". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^"Summit attempts on Gasherbrum IV abandoned Adventure Sports - DW.COM". Adventure Sports - with Stefan Nestler. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^"Summit attempts on Gasherbrum IV abandoned Adventure Sports - DW.COM". Adventure Sports - with Stefan Nestler. 2 August 2018. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^"Adventure Sports - DW.COM". Adventure Sports - with Stefan Nestler. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^Bernardi, Federico (2024-01-10). "A Climber We Lost: Dmitry Golovchenko". Climbing. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
^Jerzy Wala, The Eight-Thousand Metre Peaks of the Karakoram (orographical sketch map, revised), Kraków, Poland, 1994
