Slovakian climbing duo - Dodo Kopold, Gabo Cmarik - managed the very interesting expedition in Karakorum this season.

Gabo and Dodo after 54 hours at Uli Biaho wall

Dodo Kopold

THE TASTE OF KARAKORAM ICE

Or

"While the ice changes to water you have still time enough to climb it."

We returned to Karakoram two months earlier than usually. At the beginning it was snowing and during the nights freezing but only in this conditions we were able to climb these difficult ice routes.

Photo: climbing the wall on Uli Biaho

40 hours on Hainabrakk

It was our second attempt in this route. During the first try we were hit by an avalanche and me by ice also. After this experience we started to climb at midnight, as we wanted to avoid falling of ice and avalanches.

The ice was in very good conditions. Steep, often 90 degrees and very hard. We climbed fast and after one bivi we reached the summit ridge of Hainabrakk. We wanted to continue to the summit but we couldn't climb the steep rock tower on the ridge in 5.375m. We descended the same way.

Hainabrakk ridge, 5.375m (no summit)

DOLZAG DIHEDRAL VI/6, 1.000m, 08.-09.06.2006

alpine style

Dodo Kopold, Gabo Cmarik

Shipton Spire (north face )

Steep ice, snow blown on the flats and long ridge with snow mashrooms. This is the north face of Shipton. Still unclimbed.

We climbed the first five hundred metres in this dangerous terrain. At eight o'clock in the morning Gabo climbed to belay. He was all green-red. He had sunstroke. He was sick so we went down.

54 hours in the wall of Uli Biaho

Three years I was watching this north-west face of Uli Biaho and searching the line we could climb it. But I couldn't find any safe way. The wall is steep, with hard ice and dangerous summit ridge. Till this time nobody tried this face.

We started to climb the dangerous couloir during the night time and in the morning we reached the bottom of the main ice wall. We climbed the first one hundred metres of the 90 degrees steep ice and then we continued in steep passages to the place of our rest place. We digged in the hard ice a small ledge for sitting. The night was cold and without sleeping bags it started to be horrible. So after few hours of rest we continued climbing.

The hardest place was in front of us. Thin ice was just sticked on the rock. Ten metres below the summit I had to make the belay because it was impossible to climb together to the summit. The snow ridge was not stable enough for two persons. It's like a big snow mashroom, like on Cerro Torre. We were rappelling down all night, using just the Abalaks.

Photo: five meters under the ridge og Uli Biaho

Uli Biaho, 6.417m

DRASTISSIMA VI/6 ABO, 2.200m, 21.-23.06.2006

alpine style, no bolts

Dodo Kopold, Gabo Cmarik