Mugs Stump Award Funds Pakistan Karakorum Expedition (Hardwear Sessions)

Doug Chabot, a Montrail athlete, received a 2009 Mugs Stump Award for an 2-person expedition to Kuk Sar II, a peak in the Pakistan Karakorum. Doug and his partner Bruce Miller will head to Pakistan in late summer. Here, Doug provides us with a preview of his plans:

By Doug Chabot

Pakistan Karakorum Expedition, August-September 2009

Last summer (2008), I was in northern Pakistan volunteering for Greg Mortenson of Central Asia Institute (CAI) with my wife Genevieve, CAI's International Program Manager. We spent 2 weeks in the Chapurson Valley which parallels the Afghanistan border. We stayed with locals who are also CAI employees and while there I started inquiring about the nearby climbing and past history with climbing expeditions. I confirmed that three expeditions have been up the Chapurson to explore and with many peaks 5,500m-6,100m being summited. An adjacent valley had never seen any exploration by climbers. When I inquired why, they said that the valley is dominated by Kuk Sar II and that its north face is "Impossible". That was music to my ears.

The locals are very familiar with the terrain since they regularly hunt Ibex in this area. Although they have no photos, their story is the same; a steep, icy face which is unclimbable. The rock in this region appears to be good, so I'm hopeful the face can be climbed relatively safely, all things considered.

I will be in Pakistan volunteering for CAI before the climb. My plan is to trek up glacier (2 days) and get a first-hand look of the peak to determine if it's climbable as well as pick out our basecamp. Bruce Miller, my partner, will arrive in Pakistan and we'll meet in Skardu where I have a large cache of climbing gear and basecamp supplies. Our cook, Rasool, will meet us there.

Once packed up we will drive to Gilgit and head north on the KKH before veering off into the Chapurson Valley, a 6 hour dirt road. At its end we will stay in the last village with our friend, Sarfraz Khan and his family. A 2-3 day trek from here should bring us to basecamp where we will live for the next five weeks. According to the maps, there are lower angled, 6,000 meter peaks nearby to aid in our acclimatization.

Because of CAI's work in Chapurson Valley I have a remarkable relationship with many of the people there. Although this is not essential to an expedition, it can only help our goal. When I left last summer the locals were excited to have me return to try and climb this "impossible" peak.

The Mugs Stump Award generously chose us as one of this years recipients. Mugs Stump was one of North America's most prolific and imaginative climbers until his death in a crevasse fall in Alaska in May 1992. The award committee looks for climbs that present an outstanding challenge - a first ascent, significant repeat, or first alpine-style ascent - with special emphasis placed on climbers leaving no trace of their passage.