Russian Yuri Koshelenko, winner of the Piolet d’Or, who as usual climbs unnoticed through the deserted valleys of the Himalayas, has once again managed to achieve his first ascent.
The unnamed peak is located in Rangtik Topko, a side valley of Zanskar, in the Ladakh region of India. The climbers’ GPS gave an elevation of 6,218 m.
Koshelenko joined Bayarsaikhan Luvsand and Mikhail Pups in Zanskar. Koshelenko noted that there had been no previous expeditions in that area and that even peaks higher than 6,000 m do not require a climbing permit or a liaison officer.
The team reached the summit on June 11 after an eight-hour climb from the glacier. Koshelenko told ExplorersWeb that the climb was long, about 2,000 meters in elevation, but not technically difficult.
“We climbed to the top at the same time (without ropes),” he said.
After discussing possible names with the locals, they decided to name the mountain peak Vajrayogini, after a Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom.
Growing popularity
The area is becoming popular with small climbing teams ready to explore the many unclimbed peaks around Zanskar. Last year Patrick Tirler and Moritz Sigmund opened a demanding new great wall route in the same Rangtik Topko. Around the same time, Francesco Ratti, Gerome Perruquet, Alessandro Bau and Lorenzo D’Addario tackled two new rock routes in the adjacent Miyar Valley, and a team of young local climbers made two first ascents in the area, probably close to the Russian’s recent achievement.
Like the 2023 Indian climbers, Koshelenko and his partners aimed for snow-capped peaks rather than big rock faces.
Koshelenko is no stranger to first ascents. Last fall he joined Alexey Lonchinsky in climbing the unclimbed 6,645m Rolling Kang Shar in Nepal.
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