WIND OF SILENCE AND SUPER THURAYA: 2 NEW ROUTES IN THE MIYAR VALLEY

 

In September 2023, Francesco Ratti, Alessandro Baù, Lorenzo D'Addario, and Jérôme Perruquet traveled to the Miyar Valley to attempt to open new technical routes. This wilderness area is virtually unexplored, offering vast possibilities for mountaineers, although the terrain is dangerous, nearly inaccessible, and requires as much technical and physical skill as it does mental fortitude. For Samaya, Francesco looks back on the course of their expedition and the two new lines they were able to establish.

"Our destination for this expedition was the Indian Himalayas, specifically the Miyar Valley, which lies in the northern Himachal Pradesh region. It is located directly north of New Delhi, between Pakistan and Tibet. The main town in this region is Manali, a charming mountain town. We were looking for an area with good potential for opening new technical routes, and here we found a very quiet valley, offering numerous opportunities to explore unclimbed faces and peaks.

We arrived at our base camp during a very good weather window, and we decided not to waste time resting, starting our acclimatization phase immediately. The following days went perfectly: we reached the top of the Takdung Glacier, where we set up our high camp at 5100 meters. We spent two nights there to allow our bodies to get used to the altitude. During those two days up there, we climbed the southeast ridge of Enzo Peak at 5600 meters, a very beautiful and easy ridge that had not yet been climbed, perfect for our acclimatization. During our stay at the advanced base camp, we also studied the unexplored southeast face of Neverseen Tower, which was our main objective. We tried to spot the best line for our attempt. The conditions in general were quite good, the face seemed dry, but temperatures were high, and during the day, snow melting from the top of the mountain tended to make part of the face wet. We had to find the right line for our new route to avoid these water flows coming from the high snowfields.

When we returned to base camp after the acclimatization phase, we were very enthusiastic; we had a good feeling about our project and the mountain conditions.

However, bad weather arrived, and temperatures dropped. It snowed down to 4500 meters. We were going to have to face more ice and snow than expected. For nearly ten days, the weather remained very unstable, and I personally began to doubt our chances of achieving our goal. Eventually, the weather improved, but temperatures remained quite cold—the freezing level dropped from 5500 to 4200 meters.

For such an expedition, we needed equipment that was highly effective while remaining lightweight. To open such routes, we carry a lot of gear and have to transport heavy loads in the mountains. Every piece of equipment must be 100% reliable while being as light as possible. Samaya's equipment fully met my expectations for such an expedition. The tents were very reliable and functional, while offering excellent comfort and quality insulation. Moreover, they are the lightest tents on the market. Especially in the second part of the expedition, we had very cold nights up there, and in the Samaya tents, I was always warm and dry!

Despite the snow on the face, we decided to try our luck, and in the end, we managed to open a magnificent new route on the unexplored southeast face of Neverseen Tower at 5800 meters!

We named this route "Wind of Silence" because in the valley, there was always a small cold wind that kept us in silence and concentration.

Once our main goal was achieved, we still had a few days of good weather, and we decided to open another route on an unexplored pillar a little lower down at 5400 meters, where the rock looked incredible. It was arguably the best granite in the region, on which we were able to open another magnificent line. We named this second route "Super Thuraya": "Super" for the quality of the rock and "Thuraya" in reference to the satellite phone company that caused us some trouble with local police, as they are prohibited in India.

Now that I am back home, I am very happy with our project. The routes we opened are truly magnificent, and I would have signed up for such a result before leaving. I also shared many emotions and beautiful moments in the mountains with my friends, so I know that this experience has brought me a lot, not only on a technical level but also on a human level.

On the other hand, every time I complete a big project, I know it is only a matter of time before the question "what now?" has to be answered."