Iker and Eneko Pou are in luck. They have managed to close a project that they started years ago and that had them a little pending from the last activity. They wanted to climb Big Walls linked to the four elements: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. They had the one corresponding to Earth and They have achieved it in Pakistan, in the Trango area, in the heart of Baltoro. “New route to Little Trango, 5,850 meters. In full acclimatization we establish a new itinerary on the southeast face of this beautiful needle. We call you Dommage pas de fromage. A high-quality climb on a terrain full of challenges”, they have commented through their social networks.
A few days ago they received terrible information and they added in the text that “we received the bad news of the death of Line Van Den Berg, a close friend and partner climbing of our partner in this expedition Fay Manners. She died this weekend in an avalanche in the Bernese Alps along with two other companions. Much love in these difficult times and dedication of this new route on the Pequeño Trango needle for her”. The ascent has been made together with Manners and Andrés Marín.
The first stage of this project was carried out in Argentine Patagonia, a land of wind. The second was completed in the Amazon, with a climb under a waterfall. Thus they completed the segment dedicated to Water. The third was dedicated to Fire and took place in the most vertical volcanic neck on the planet, located in Sao Tome and Principe. Over there they had to face extreme situations such as the presence of snakes that, if bitten, would have killed them with complete safety since there is no known antidote to combat its poison.
Now they have come full circle in Pakistan. The Pou set out from Vitoria, went to Islamabad and, from the capital of this Islamic country, they flew to Skardu. They packed all the belongings, hired the porters and, in jeepsThey went to Askole. There began the approach march through the Baltoro glacier. This place shares the same route to reach the base camps of the K-2, Broad Peak, Hidden Peak and G-2. But the objectives of the Pou are not in the eight thousand but in the big walls. And, for that, you have to focus on the Trango complex. The normal thing is that they take advantage of the trip and continue doing activity in the area for a few more weeks.
