16/08/2026
For nearly 50 years, Tahu Rutum's west face remained elusive. It sits above the glaciers of Pakistan's Karakoram, the 6,651m peak had seen just one successful ascent via a different ridge in 1977 by a Japanese team.
Earlier this summer, Seán Villanueva O'Driscoll, Siebe Vanhee and Symon Welfringer established The Leopard of Higher Ground: a new 1,500m route up the mountain's unclimbed west face.
Over 13 days, the team climbed wall-style, hauling portaledges, ropes and gear through mixed terrain, snow and rock before reaching the summit. Every pitch of the route was free climbed.
In 2008, Kyle Dempster attempted the west face alone, reaching a point just 200 metres below the summit before retreating. During the ascent, the team crossed his line and found three of his original anchors still in place.
Named The Leopard of Higher Ground, the route honours both the mountain, whose local name refers to the home of the snow leopard, and Dempster's former coffee shop in Salt Lake City.
“One of the most exciting moments of the whole expedition was when Symon was hauling over difficult terrain and the bag got stuck,” Sean said.
“Siebe lowered down to get the bag unstuck. Suddenly the haul line cut on a sharp edge. We all looked at each other in disbelief — somehow Siebe had managed to catch it before it fell. If it had fallen, it would have been the end of the ascent, as there was a lot of important equipment in that pig.”
