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from here: https://www.climbing.com/culture-climbing/climbers-new-summit-peru/?utm_source=Mountain+Tactical+Institute&utm_campaign=fa2d4fb6fe-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_14_04_59_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-108b308039-274756150&mc_cid=fa2d4fb6fe&mc_eid=83876508f4 Last month, professional European alpinists Dani Arnold, Alexander Huber, and Simon Geitl climbed some outrageously beautiful new terrain on Jirishanca (6,125m), in Peru’s Cordillera Huayhuash range. Photos circulated soon after, showing the men jamming steep grey limestone, perched on exposed bivy ledges, and smiling on what looked to be a summit. But the most widely shared image was one taken directly below the mountain’s southeast aspect. In the photo, a bright red line traces a weakness in the steep rockwall before branching onto the East Ridge. The climbers proudly touted their effort as a new route: Kolibri (5.11d A2), which ended on the mountain’s “east summit.” The only problem? The east summit doesn’t exist. The stunning southeast side of Jirishanca with the line of Kolibri marked. Kolibri climbs sections of the route Suerte(also known as the Italian Route) and finishes on the East Ridge, which was first climbed in 1957. From this foreshortened angle, the “east summit” does indeed look prominent. But another, more honest angle (shared below) depicts this feature as merely a brief bump in an otherwise steep landscape. (Photo: Dani Arnold) Where is Jirishanca’s “east summit”? Climbing has, for better and worse, written extensively about Jirishanca over the last three years. In 2022, Americans Josh Wharton and Vince Anderson freed Suerte (5.13a WI 6 M7; 1,060m) during the same period that Canadians Quentin Roberts and Alik Berg established Reino Hongo (M7 AI 5+ 90° snow). Afterward, the Canadians accepted alpinism’s greatest formal honor: the Piolet d’Or. Two years later, Jirishanca became the backdrop of a great debate when Reel Rock made a film about Suerte—but photoshopped key moments out. So when I—who’d edited or written no fewer than four in-depth articles about the mountain—first saw the image of Jirishanca marked up with the supposed line of Kolibri, I was surprised I hadn’t heard of an “east summit” before. Wharton had climbed high on the same ridge in 2015 and 2019 before reaching the main summit. Had he ever considered stopping on this so-called sub-peak? When I connected with Wharton over email, he told me he was unaware of any “east summit.” “I actually reached [the Kolibri team’s] high point on my very first trip to Jirishanca in 2015, climbed well beyond it in 2019, and ultimately made the actual summit in 2022,” he told me. “What they are describing as a ‘summit’ is really just a flat spot in the ridge about six to eight pitches of non-trivial climbing from the actual summit.” Wharton explained that, compared to the relatively straightforward rock climbing that comprises the lower section of the mountain, Jirishanca’s steep, snow-choked summit ridge is actually the mountain’s crux “in terms of logistics, conditions, and tactics.” The summit ridge may not have a flashy mixed or rock grade, but it includes real, consequential fifth-class snow climbing. Dani Arnold stands in slings during a steep mixed pitch on Kolibri. (Photo: Dani Arnold) Wharton also said that, generally, he was not hyper-critical of those who end alpine routes below the summit. “I’m not a ‘summit guy’ when it comes to trivial snow fields, a five-foot summit boulder problem, or even three pitches of 5.8 atop a 15-pitch 5.13, for instance,” he said. However, for big, technical mountains like Jirishanca, he admits that, for him, “the true summit does count for something.” I then reached out to Quentin Roberts to ask if he’d heard of an “east summit.” He said no, and sent me a photo of Jirishanca from a more sobering perspective, circling the flat bump which constituted the Europeans’ “summit.” Jirishanca from the southwest. The red circle marks roughly where the Kolibri team labels the “east summit.” (Photo: Quentin Roberts) What were Arnold, Geitl, and Huber thinking? Thoroughly confused, slightly annoyed, but still hopeful some logical answer existed, I decided to ask Arnold to explain himself. Was he aware of other climbers who recognized the east summit? Was he at all interested in reaching the main summit? Over email, he said he was “not sure” about other parties ending their routes where he ended his, and acknowledged that the team’s ultimate goal was, indeed, to gain the main summit. When Arnold and his team breached the steep rock crux low on the mountain, they felt certain they would stand on top. But conditions would have it otherwise. “It turned out that the most challenging part was not where we thought it would be,” he explained, describing the upper slopes as having “extremely dangerous” snow conditions. “You can dig down a meter and still won’t find any holds.” During this email exchange with Arnold, any remaining benefit of the doubt I had dissipated. Arnold, Huber, and Geitl had retroactively lowered their definition of success midway through their climb. They wanted the main summit. They realized the main summit was too dangerous/difficult to attain. They looked around, noticed they were on a relatively flat piece of terrain, and decided their “route” ended on that “summit.” That doesn’t seem very sporting to me, and it sets a poor example to any aspiring alpinist who looks up to these professionals. The team poses on their summit, with the top of the mountain conveniently out of view. (Photo: Dani Arnold) What they should have been celebrating I was truly disappointed to realize these climbers had probably invented a new summit merely for the purposes of sharing an archetypal climbing success story. I’m not sure whether their decision was the result of inflated egos or the sponsor-induced pressures of being a modern-day professional alpinist. Regardless, it felt like there was an underlying sense of inadequacy at play. I thought back to something the American alpinist Colin Haley had written for Alpinist in 2016. He titled the Facebook series “No shame in failure.” “[…] Climbing to the very top of a mountain is always more difficult than climbing only partway to the top of a mountain. … More painful are the times that we badly want to reach the top of the mountain, but the various forces that make alpinism difficult turn us down below. However, just because we’ve failed does not mean we can’t be proud of our effort. … When I see climbers claiming success without reaching the top of the mountain, it makes me believe that there must be some sort of misplaced shame in an attempt. …” Haley went on to share anecdotes about the numerous near-miss successes of his career, including, most notably, Patagonia’s Torre Traverse (5.11 A1; 2,220m) in a single day with Alex Honnold—save for two straightforward pitches of rime-ice climbing. Haley didn’t pretend there was some new, previously unknown sub-summit two pitches below Cerro Torre’s real summit. He chalked the experience up to an attempt—itself among his best climbing accomplishments—and returned the next year to finish it up. In the high-stakes game of alpinism, the Jirishanca team’s approach feels like a fundamentally dangerous idea to promote: that “success” only happens if you reach a summit. Instead, I wish they were emphasizing their decision to prioritize safe, secure climbing over achieving their goal. After all, the summit wasn’t impossible, it was unexpectedly difficult. I want to celebrate this team for ending their attempt when the terrain exceeded their risk tolerance. I do not want to celebrate them for inventing a new summit because they felt obligated to share a textbook definition of success. That is not the spirit of alpinism.

Wonderful tale. Thanks for sharing. Super cool you found a life partner who is also your partner partner. That's rare.

Hey! Looking for an experienced climber to join me for a 3-person rope team on a Rainier summit attempt via Camp Muir and the Disappointment Cleaver route. Itinerary: Aug 9 (Saturday ~8am) – Morning start hike to Camp Muir Aug 10 (Sunday early AM/midnight) – Summit push Who I’m Looking For: Glacier travel + crampon/ice axe experience Know how to rope up, travel in rope team, self-arrest and crevasse rescue Solid fitness — let me know what other climbs you've done and or other conditioning stats. Speed is safety for all of us Good attitude, okay with turning around if conditions demand it Gear: We have most group gear needed already so Glacier rope travel kit (harness, axe, helmet, headlamp, crampons, carabiners, slings, prusiks) Mountaineering boots (compatible with crampons) Snow overnight (tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, snow stakes) Forecast looks decent so far. Ranger blogs says it's been pretty good condition so far for how late it is in the season: https://mountrainierclimbing.blogspot.com/ If you're interested, email me with your: Mountaineering experience Fitness level Weight Gear list Any questions

Thanks, Gene.

I have a permit for climbing Mount Rainier from August 15-16th. Let me know if you want to join, looking to get a couple people to form a rope team. I have summited Rainier three times previously. Feel free to contact me here or at my email elithompson90909@gmail.com.

Have you done mt adam in July? If not , I can join.

Nice! Link to my report below - cool to see the conditions change throughout the season. https://spokalpine.com/2025/07/21/dakobed-glacier-peak-frostbite-ridge-ii-ai2/

Want to hit shucksan this weekend?

Hello! First time posting here! My name is Hayden Lohr and I would say I’m an intermediate mountaineer, I’ve hit eldorado, mt Anderson, mt hood and the likes. Me and my buddy who is more a beginner (he has done hood and a few other climbs, trained crevasse rescue a few times but has yet to be on a glacier) are aiming to do mt shucksan this weekend via sulfide glacier. It is his first glacier but I figure based on his expertise and the boot pack with a third party member it is a fine start, looking for anyone free august 9-10?

Sorry wrong board pls ignore I’ll put where it needs to be! Hello! First time posting here! My name is Hayden Lohr and I would say I’m an intermediate mountaineer, I’ve hit eldorado, mt Anderson, mt hood and the likes. Me and my buddy who is more a beginner (he has done hood and a few other climbs, trained crevasse rescue a few times but has yet to be on a glacier) are aiming to do mt shucksan this weekend via sulfide glacier. It is his first glacier but I figure based on his expertise and the boot pack with a third party member it is a fine start, looking for anyone free august 9-10?

Does anyone know the current conditions of the traverse on north? Looking to climb it this week and not sure whether to expect snow or rock.

So great that you could check in @Martin Volken, this is the kind of first hand info and history that makes keeping the lights on around here worth it! Please dig around the site and add some more history and beta!

Hi all; Just came across this and joining the conversation 24 years later, lol. The name came from the fact that a Falcon swooped us on the exposed summit ridge. Essentially the last pitch. I am a bit surprised to hear about the less than stellar rock report. I found the rock to be pretty good, but then again, I had a great capacity of kidding myself regarding rock quality at the time. But seriously... What I do remember for sure is that the line was a nice plum line to the top and that the camping the Summit Chief Valley was really amazing. Below is a link to the few photos I was able to find. Jeff Hansel might have some more. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1cec_PLE8JFHNmJdzzIyb3to_9tNYGgdA

🤣 Great TR. Cool seeing the north side of the mountain get more visitors lately

Excellent work on the route, and even better work on the TR!! Thanks much for sharing. P.S.: We probably met you at the East Ridge high camp the previous evening.

Background: This is a trip report for the frostbite ridge of glacier peak. WHo was there? Me (the slab doctor), the anchorman, and capt. Kirk himself. In yearly tradition we go climb something every summer. Unfortunately the final disciple (Professor Science) was unable to make the trip due to life choices outside of his own comprehension. Day 1: after getting to the North Fork Sauk trailhead somewhat late in the afternoon, the disciples hiked up to the PCT and then down slightly to camp in the large bowl just below the ridge. stats: 11.5 miles and 4.8k gain Day 2: We slept in and hauled butt down to the Kennedy creek crossing. we had heard that you must actually wade to get across this but it was no issue for us to cross on logs. We then started the climb up to glacier creek and left the PCT there. Shortly after leaving the PCT we were at the toe of the kennedy glacier (3:45 pm?). There is a nice bivvy site here. We decided to attempt to make it up to the bivvy at 8.8k. Going up the side of the Kennedy was horrendous work. Large patches of glacial till/mud, exposed blue ice, and loose gravel made for tedious going. We made it to 8.8k camp at 7:30/8pm ish and were all pretty kicked in at this point. The bivvy was one of the best I have had, a beautiful inversion left us above the clouds with stunning views of Baker, Shuksan, and the North Cascades. Unfortunately the anchorman had the piles & was shitting a lot over the last 2 days. There are 2 flat spots for tents at the 8.8k site, but only 1 of them has a substantial rock circle. I would highly recommend not sharing this route with other parties for this reason, and for the significant choss hazards on the ridge that arise late season. stats: 12 miles and 5k gain Day 3: We were going by 7:30/8am up towards the rabbit penis on what I can only describe as some of the worst choss of my life. We were kicking down serious amounts of rockfall, I'm talking 4 or 5 basketball sized rocks at a time that would not stop and continue off the ridge until they were out of sight. Again I would really not want to be behind another party on this route, unless there was significantly more snow. After going tucking around to climbers right the rabbit peen we got on a short section of steep snow and then a cool sidewalk with significant exposure above the upper kennedy. We gained the ridge again after the sidewalk and crossed over to the other side. Here we went almost between the rabbit ears, and after spotting a cairn on the other side of the ridge we down climbed and began the short up and down section before the final ice pitches.IMG_3263.HEIC The ice was pretty trivial and we probably could have soloed all of it but out of an abundance of caution we pitched out the lower section. We then de-roped and simul soloed the final 100 ft of snice / steep snow. If you stay to the right side you will put out exactly below the summit rock jumble. After shmoozing it on the summit with a cool party of climbers from Kerala who offered us whiskey & cigs, we began our mad dash out. Our goal was to make it to the (former) Mackinaw shelter camp site which would leave us with a cool 5 miles to complete monday morning --some of our disciples had work the next day >: ) . We again busted serious ass and were at the shelter by 7pm ish that day?? 15 miles and 3k gain Day 4: an early wake up allowed us to do the 5.5 miles back in about an hour and a half and everyone got to work on time. 5.5 miles and 500ft gain.

Nice romp, great pics, and a pretty significant "attempt" I'd say!

Very cool trip! Thanks for posting.

That is totally schwack-afied badassery.

@traildirt Any chance you'd do a brief 'whats in my pack' list for this? Also wondering what y'all did for food, you must have been stoked to not eat a freeze dried meal at the end!

Nice work. I had a similar experience on the Forbidden Glacier - very marginal in approach shoes. If I did this route again, I'd go early season and/or wear boots.

Thank you! I worked hard on this one.

Awesome work! Been curious about rock in the marble creek drainage for a while and glad to see some climbing out there!

Awesome job on the climb and the write-up, that was a treat to read.

Whoa. How many caches of food did you have???