GILGIT: A three-member Czech expedition team has successfully summited Muchu Chhish, a 7,453-meter mountain in the Karakoram Range that had never been climbed before.
The historic ascent was confirmed on Wednesday by its tour operator. Irfan Karim, Manager at Magpie Tours Hunza, announced in a statement to HUM News English, “The first Alpine-style summit of Muchu Chhish peak, 7,498 meters in the Hunza Valley, was achieved by a team of three Czech alpinists.”
The triumphant climbers, Zdenek Hak, Radoslav Groh, and Jaroslav Bansky, began their final push on July 1 after a period of acclimatization and reached the summit on July 5 at 10:20 am. Karim further revealed that the climbers documented their journey on film, which is set to be showcased in the Czech Republic in March 2025.
Muchu Chhish, located in the Batura Muztagh sub-range of the Karakoram in Hunza Valley, Gilgit-Baltistan, had long been one of the highest unclimbed peaks in the world. The mountain poses significant technical difficulties and dangers to climbers due to its steep slopes, glacial icefalls, and extreme weather conditions. It involves very steep snow traverses, several ice pitches, mixed terrain, and is unrelentingly steep up to the summit ridge.
The Czech team’s successful ascent follows several unsuccessful attempts in recent years. Czech climbers had previously tried to conquer Muchu Chhish in 2020, 2022, and 2023, but each effort was met with insurmountable challenges. An earlier attempt by a Spanish expedition in 1999 managed to reach 6,650 meters on the south ridge but was ultimately unsuccessful. Similarly, a three-member Czech expedition in 2020, which included climbers Pavel Kořínek and former politician Pavel Bém, was forced to abandon their attempt due to bad weather. The climbers tried again in 2021 but were defeated by excessive snow on the ridge.
Last year, a team comprising Pavel Kořínek, Pavel Bém, Radoslav Groh, and Tomas Petrecek came close to the summit but were trapped by severe weather at 7,200 meters, just below the final rock pyramid.
The successful ascent of Muchu Chhish marks a significant milestone in the history of mountaineering and adds a new chapter to the legacy of exploration in the Karakoram Range.
