November 2018. Mount Nirekha – North face successful ascent. Mount Khangri Shar – failed attempt.

༄Cold. We were both to the point where moving was the only option for staying alive. Two days later searching Italian pyramid weather station records we learned it was -22 C that night. After 16 hours on the move, our bodies were taxed and Fredrik was coming down with a severe influenza virus.

Alpinism. The word conjures elitism in my mind, confusion in others, and overall not a clearly defined principle of exactly what it means in the Himalayas. Simply put, and by my standards, it means climbing a mountain with no Sherpa support, no established camps, no fixed ropes and with no supplemental drugs (including oxygen). To cut it down even further to the core, it means pain and suffering.

Why. Why should someone pursue this style of mountain climbing? This, alpinism. Cliched and oft-referenced, Messner speaks of the “murder of the impossible”. When climbers utilize Sherpa support, bottled oxygen, established camps, and fixed ropes, they have a much more pleasant mountain experience and are far more likely to make the summit of the peak. Sounds like the right choice, no? The murder of the impossible removes the sport, removes the challenge, removes the edge, removes the uncertainty, a death of the art. A nice packaged holiday. I do not condemn any mountain pursuit, everyone going into the mountains is winning in my book. The game of Himalayan alpinism is something I choose to do alone and only for my own reasons.

Swedish mountaineer Fredrik Sträng and I pursued unclimbed Khangri Shar in November 2018. We failed. We actually never reached any of the climbing on the peak because we watched our route shed rockfall consistently over a period of days. As a consolation prize, we made a successful first ascent of a mediocre line of choss, Alpine ice and snow on the North face of 6126m Mount Nirekha. We nearly froze on the descent. The climb did not inspire Fredrik or I, yet it did solidify our friendship and plans for future lines in the Greater Himalayas.

-Luke Smithwick
Gulmarg, Kashmir
February 24, 2019