Mick Fowler and Victor Saunders have made the first ascent of Yawash Sar in the Karakoram.
40 years after their first trip to Pakistan, Fowler and Saunders returned to the country and climbed the north west face of the 6,258m peak, reaching the summit during a seven-day outing from base camp. The expedition was supported by Berghaus and the two climbers used kit from the brand’s high performance Extrem range.
The line taken by the veteran pair on the north west face
Yawash Sar is the highest and most spectacular peak in the Khunjerab sub-range of the Karakoram range. Fowler and Saunders agree that it could justifiably be called ‘the Matterhorn of the Khunjerab’. In 2022, it was attempted from the south by a British team, who were defeated by difficult climbing on loose rock at around 6,000m.
After securing a permit to climb on the mountain, Fowler and Saunders flew to the region in late August. They trekked in to Yawash Sar and established a base camp on meadows at an altitude of around 4,600m, below the First Koksil Glacier. From there, they embarked on an alpine style attempt on the mountain via the north west face, and became the first people to reach its summit on Saturday 14 September. Once they had descended safely and had trekked back to the roadhead several days later, Fowler and Saunders were able to send a message back to the UK to confirm their success.
Mick Fowler takes up the story: “The face was complex and we were fortunate to find good climbing conditions and, after extensive binocular research, weave our way through numerous probable cul-de-sacs without reaching any impasses. A notable feature of the climb was a lack of good bivouac sites and at one point, we endured an excruciatingly uncomfortable hanging bivouac in strong winds.
“The position, distinctive objective and continuously excellent climbing combined to make us feel that this was one of the best ascents that we have done together. It was absolutely brilliant!”
Mick and Vic described the peak as ‘Matterhorn of the Khunjerab’
Mick Fowler (68) and Victor Saunders (74) first climbed in Pakistan together in 1984, and it was 37 years ago that they made their renowned ascent of The Golden Pillar of Spantik, which lies a few hours away from Yawash Sar. Fowler and Saunders were regular climbing partners in the 1980s when both men lived in London. After Spantik, they didn’t climb together for three decades until reuniting in 2016 to achieve a first ascent on the north face of Sersank in the Indian Himalaya. They had planned more expeditions before Fowler’s cancer diagnosis delayed them. Following successful treatment, Fowler returned to fitness and expeditions, and now explores the greater ranges with the additional challenge of needing to use a colostomy bag.
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