Česen and Livingstone First on the Western Ridge of Gasherbrum III

Česen and Livingstone First on the Western Ridge of Gasherbrum III

100 years ago, at the Olympic Games in Chamonix, a special medal for mountaineering achievements was awarded for the first time, and during the time of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, top climbers Aleš Česen and Tom Livingstone climbed in alpine style a 2000 vertical meters long first ascent route on the western ridge of Gasherbrum III (7952 m) in the Karakoram. This was only the third ascent of this highest non-eight-thousander, and they graded the route ED+, which is an elevated highest level of the French six-grade scale. The upper part of the ridge was dizzily sharp and steep, and one of the most difficult pitches was the very last one, which on August 4, 2024, brought them to the 15th highest mountain in the world, otherwise they needed seven days for the ascent and return to base camp.

The well-coordinated Slovenian-British climbing team Aleš Česen (Alpine Mountaineering Club) and Tom Livingstone, after two years since bad weather forced them to retreat, returned to Gasherbrum III (7952 m), an almost eight-thousander in the Karakoram, and this time succeeded in reaching the summit. The idea for the ascent was born to Česen already in 2016 with Luka Lindič after climbing on Broad Peak and Gasherbrum IV. Česen invited the British climbing partner and friend Livingstone to the project two years ago, but weather crossed their plans and 'we had to first adjust the ascent route to the northern side of the mountain, later already relatively high (around 7800 meters) admit defeat to nature and descend to the valley. We invested a huge amount of energy and time in the project. Also because of that, we decided to try again this year. Essentially, we didn't change the tactics much, but we hoped that we could turn the experiences and knowledge gained on the mountain to our advantage.'

At the end of June this year, after a six-day picturesque approach along the Baltoro glacier, they reached the foot of the mountain and after a few days of rest, started the standard acclimatization process - along the normal route on the neighboring Gasherbrum II, an eight-thousander, on which despite good attendance, they several times broke trail for other teams, and on some trips also combined forces and good energy with an Austrian colleague. 'Quite unstable weather in July contributed to us spending much more time for sufficient acclimatization than planned. Exactly on the last day of the process, when we started descending from 7000 meters, it got complicated, as I started feeling dizzy, which can be one of the signs of altitude sickness or even edema, but with complete absence of any other signs. The situation would be negligible or even funny if it passed quickly. But it only got worse and getting off the mountain in that state was not funny at all,' remembers Česen. After returning to base camp, there was agonizing and technically inefficient communication with doctors at home, for which the Slovenian climber warmly thanks Dr. Pierre Muller and Dr. Julija Šter for all the help and support. After unsuccessful search for medicines in Pakistan, which he could potentially get through porters or military helicopter, they had no choice but to wait and hope that the illness passes, although regeneration was hindered by the high altitude. After a good week, Česen's health condition improved to the extent that they decided for another attempt at the ascent - aware that with all the waiting and weather conditions, they have at most one real attempt for the planned ascent.

Gasherbrum III, despite its enviable 7952 meters, is a rarely visited mountain. Until the first ascent in 1975, accomplished by Polish climbers Wanda Rutkiewicz, Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz, Janusz Onyszkiewicz and Krzysztof Zdzitowiecki, it was one of the highest unclimbed peaks in the world. Later, only a Spanish team ascended the highest non-eight-thousander, in 2004 along the first ascent route. In 1985, a Scottish team tried something similar to what the Slovenian-British team did now, but didn't succeed, so Česen and Livingstone succeeded in only the third ascent of Gasherbrum III, and the first on the western ridge. 'It's clear why the mountain is unvisited. Besides the bad luck that it doesn't exceed the magical limit that attracts crowds, 8000 meters, it is practically just as high. On top of that, it is technically much more demanding than the surrounding Gasherbrum I and II, which exceed the magical limit. Not to mention the nearby K2,' Česen explained before departing on the expedition.



'The first day was simple. Over the icefall and southern Gasherbrum glacier, we ascended in a few hours to the plateau at a height of less than 6000 meters, where we had a tent set up (so-called ABC). From there, the serious climbing only begins. Due to high temperatures in the lower parts of the mountain, we started climbing the first day in the middle of the night. For safety, we had to climb at least 800 meters of ice slope towards the saddle between Gasherbrum III and IV before morning sun. In mid-morning, we set up a decent bivy above the saddle just before the start of the rock part of the western ridge at 7100 meters. We knew that from here on, return by the same route could be problematic. This worried us a bit in light of my health condition, if it worsened again,' Česen describes the initial challenges of the ascent after returning to Slovenia.

In the detailed report of the Scottish climbers who tried to climb the ridge in 1985, they read that they left a coil of rope just below the ridge during retreat. When they started climbing the next morning, they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the rope: 'There it lay, neatly coiled, weighted with a small rock, as if nothing happened. The tooth of time had gnawed only the color on the upper side in 39 years, on the lower it still indicated that it was once blue. The found rope also indicated the start of serious climbing. If we're completely honest, it's hard to talk about any excesses of pleasures above seven thousand meters. Nevertheless, at times it seemed that the climbing was (almost) enjoyable and especially the upper part of the ridge was dizzily sharp and steep. Towards the end of the second day of climbing in the ridge area, it became overhanging and too steep. Somewhere at the height where the Scottish team turned, we with one rappel redirected to the northern part of the ridge. After endless delicate traverses, dusted with sugary snow, we started digging a shelf for bivy under the summit rock head, at 7800 meters. It wouldn't be wide enough and in the end we had to accept an open sitting bivy uncomfortably high. When I think back now, still quite extreme night, then just the given situation that you accept.'



'When we were wading the steep, deep and completely unprocessed sugary snow the next morning, I thought to myself that this is some of the most demotivating things I've experienced. Also gasping for that bit of air that remained at this height was not much help. It's hard in all this mosaic of memories that remained in our undernourished brains to single out key places. But one of the more annoying pitches was the very last rock one, at least 7900 meters high. It wasn't any overhanging place, but a mixed pitch, where you like a cat stuck your claws of crampons and ice axes into weathered rock, dusted with snow. No claw held the entire weight, and we stopped thinking about any protection right away. I jokingly asked Tom how he grades such a pitch. We agreed that you simply can't,' vividly describes the 42-year-old from Kranj.

'And the summit? We reached it in mid-afternoon, August 4. We hugged, photographed, and smiled. We didn't have will or energy for more. The foggy weather disappointed us a bit. Not so much because of the views, but we weren't completely sure which gully to turn into for descent. We descended towards Gasherbrum II, where at around 7400 meters we joined the normal route on that mountain. The descent didn't pass without inconveniences, but nothing particularly shocking. In two bad days we were back in base camp. Happy that we completed such a huge project that we started two years ago? Surely somewhere deep. But we felt mostly exhaustion,' are the eloquent words of Aleš Česen, who emphasizes that the biggest challenge of this expedition for him was 'patience, otherwise I've never been physically so 'worn out' as here. I thought a bit that it's maybe the years, but Tom had the same feelings, despite being a decade younger.'

The first ascent route on the western ridge of Gasherbrum III (7952 m) they named Edge of Entropy: 'Edge of course refers to the western ridge, entropy a bit philosophically a bit scientifically as a quantity that in nature denotes disorder and by the law of thermodynamics can only grow over time - so our 'disorder' grew with height both in terms of terrain (increasingly broken, undefined, hard to protect), as the feeling of disorder in our heads grew due to fatigue and lack of oxygen.' The route, which gains 2000 vertical meters, they graded ED+, which is an elevated highest degree of the French six-grade scale.

Česen and Livingstone were together on an expedition in 2018, when with Luka Stražar they climbed a first ascent 2400-meter route in the north face of Latok 1 to the 7145 meter high summit and thus inscribed in history with the second ascent of this Pakistani seven-thousander and the first successful ascent from the north side. For this feat, which seemed unattainable for four decades, the trio received the Golden Ice Axe award. Aleš Česen received the Golden Ice Axe already in 2015 for the first ascent in the north wall of Hagshu (2014, 6657 m) with Luka Lindič and Marko Prezelj. Tom Livingstone this year already has a successful expedition in Alaska, where with Slovenian climber Gašper Pintar they climbed a first ascent route in the 1600-meter south wall of Mt Dickey.

Besides the Golden Ice Axe, the most prestigious mountaineering award, which in good 30 years of awarding has been received ten times by Slovenian climbers, it's worth mentioning the Olympic history of alpinism. At the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924, they awarded a special medal for mountaineering achievements, received by members and Sherpas of the British expedition to Everest in 1922. Olympic medals for achievements in alpinism were awarded only four times, but from alpinism developed sport climbing, where Slovenia remains a superpower with two-time Olympic champion Janja Garnbret.