Somewhere high on the Southeast Face of Gasherbrum VI, three Polish climbers are racing the clock. Jacek Pawel Czech, Szymon Kita and Aleksandra Kita have set off from Base Camp on their third and final attempt on the roughly 7,000-metre peak — the only unclimbed point on the entire Gasherbrum massif in Pakistan's Karakoram.
The build-up has been a story of trial and error. Their first line ran into a dead end, so the team shifted left on the face and tried a new route. That second push took 14 hours round trip: nine hours to gain just 600 vertical metres, then five more to descend back to Base Camp. Leader Czech described climbing moderately difficult ground while dodging avalanches, and the team stashed a cache of gear on the way down to speed up the next effort.
After three days of recovery, they left Base Camp again, according to their outfitter Lela Peak Expeditions. The plan is tight: three days up, then down, no matter what. Czech was blunt about the fatigue involved — whatever happens, the team comes down by Saturday. It's a reminder of how physically draining even reconnaissance work is at this altitude, where 600 metres of progress can cost most of a day.
What makes this climb notable is the emptiness of the area. The Polish trio has Gasherbrum VI entirely to themselves. The only other climbers anywhere nearby are a Slovenian team attempting K7 in the Charakusa Valley, southwest of the Gasherbrums near Masherbrum. That's a stark contrast to the queues seen on neighbouring giants like Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak in recent seasons.
For travellers, the story puts a spotlight on one of the quietest corners of the Karakoram. The Gasherbrum massif sits in the Baltoro Glacier region of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan — a trekking and climbing arena that rivals anything in the Himalaya, but with far fewer people. Independent trekkers can walk the Baltoro Glacier to Concordia, the confluence of glaciers with front-row views of K2, Broad Peak and the Gasherbrum towers, while mountaineers still have genuine firsts on offer on the area's smaller 6,000 and 7,000-metre peaks.
Who should care? Adventure travellers dreaming of the Karakoram, anyone following the shrinking list of unclimbed 7,000ers, and trekkers weighing up Pakistan against Nepal's busier trails. If the Polish team succeeds, Gasherbrum VI's name will come off that list — a rare moment in modern mountaineering, and one you're currently able to witness from a safe distance as a trekker in the very same valley system.
Whether the trio reaches the top or turns around on Saturday as planned, their attempt is a snapshot of exploration still alive in a range most of us only see on postcards.