Shispare is one of the high peaks of the Batura Muztagh, which is the westernmost subrange of the Karakoram range.

Alternate forms of the name of this peak are Shispare Sar and Shisparé Sar.

Location

Shispare lies east of the Batura Wall, which is the highest part of the Batura Muztagh. The Hunza River curves around the southwest, west, and northwest sides of the Batura Muztagh, and Shispare towers above the western bank of the river. In turn, the Hunza Valley lies in the Gilgit District of the Northern Areas of Pakistan.

Notable Features

Shispare is notable for its tremendous rise above local terrain. For example, the nearby town of Karimabad, in the Hunza Valley, has an elevation of 2,060 meters (6,758 ft), making for 5,550 metres (18,200 ft) of relief, in only 13km (8 mi) horizontal distance. Being near the end of the Batura Muztagh, it commands large drops in three directions (north, east, and south). In addition, Shispare has a strikingly large and steep Northeast Face.

History

Climbing began in the Batura Muztagh later than in other parts of the Karakoram. Shispare was the first major peak in the range to be successfully climbed, in 1974, by the "Polish-German Academic Expedition" under the leadership of Janusz Kurczab. The ascent took 35 days, and during preparations for a second group to try for the summit, one member of the expedition (Heinz Borchers) was killed in an avalanche.

The first ascent route followed the Pasu Glacier to the East Ridge, between the Pasu and Ghulkin glaciers. (Note: this ridge goes southeast from the summit, turns northeast, and then turns roughly east, so it is called the "southeast ridge" and the "northeast ridge" in different sources.) Difficulties included a long ice ridge, and the access to the ridge required 1500m of fixed rope.

The next attempt was in 1989 by members of the Ryukoku University Alpine Club in Japan, led by Masato Okamoto. The group was on the mountain for almost two months, but was not able to summit; their high point was around 7200 meters.

In 1994, a group from the Komono Alpine Club in Japan, led by Yukiteru Masui, achieved the second ascent of the peak. They reached Base Camp on June 18th, and Masui, Kokubu, and Ozawa reached the summit on July 20. They followed the same route as the first ascent party and climbed in a similar style, with a similar amount of fixed rope.

Climbing

The first (and second) ascent route is described above. It is likely that any other ascent route would involve (at least) similar difficulties, making this a highly challenging peak.