Key section at 7200 m.

The countdown has begun. It is only over one month to the award of Piolet d’Or, an Oskar in the mountaineering world. Main internet sites tell about nominated teams and persons. The names of Denis Urubko and Igor Chaplinsky are well known by Russian active mountaineers. Other nominations and their achievements usually stay in the shade.

Here is one of the nominations for Piolet d’Or with a new route solo to Cho-Oyu (8201 m.).

The strongest mountaineer from Slovenia Pavle Kozek achieved a new route on the southwest wall of Cho-Oyu. This unique ascent took him just 14,5 hours.

Pavle avoiding the frozen waterfall through 5-th category cliffs.

On the 2nd of October Pavle Kozek performed a solo ascent to Cho-Oyu through a new route on the southwest face. His route crosses the non-touched part of the wall and exits at the western ridge. The last 900 meters to the summit the route goes up the ridge through the “Polish route”. From Advanced Base Camp at 6200 m. to the top of the mountain Pavle needed only 14,5 hours. His route goes to the left from “Yamanoi” and 1100 meters of it crosses the unclimbed part of the mountain. The key of the route turned out to be a round-way of a frozen waterfall (UIAA 5-) at 7200 m.

Pavle took off to ABC at 3.30 and got to the ridge at 10.00. According to the “Fast & Light” technique, he carried minimum equipment – three thermoses with Isostar, 6 energy bars, spare gloves, a bivouac bag and a photo-camera.

Pavle’s route.

On the ridge his tempo was considerably reduced by knee-high snow that did not allow him to move fast. At 18.00 he was at the summit and began to descend using the classic route. In darkness he got to camp 2 at 7200, where he got into an abandoned tent and slept for two hours inside his bivouac bag. In morning dusk he was up and before 12.00 managed to descend to the base-camp. That was a solo climb via new route in one day.

Pavle at base-camp.

After Pavle revised the history of mountaineering and consulted Margaret Howley, it turned out that there were no ascents to an 8-thousander in one day and without knowing the route (in climbing one would say on-sight).

Pavle Kozek is famous in Europe. He has done some very severe climbs like the “Devil’s Direttissima” on the east wall of Cerro Torre (ED+, VI, 8-, A4, WI 5+), the first ascent through “Slovenian route” on south face of Shisha-Pangma (8046 m.) only in 3 days. Above that he was on Mount Everest without oxygen, and to the summits of Broad-Peak, Gasherbrum II and Gangapurna.

A very interesting internet page of Pavle Kozek