The Latok (Urdu: لیٹوک) group is a cluster of large and dramatic rock peaks in the Panmah Muztagh, part of the central Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan. They lie just to the east of the Ogre group, dominated by Baintha Brakk. To the immediate south of the Latok group lies the Baintha Lukpar Glacier, a small tributary of the Biafo Glacier, one of the main glaciers of the Karakoram. On the north side, lies the Choktoi Glacier.
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The Latok range may be best known for Latok I's north ridge wall, which remains unclimbed in its entirety, despite many attempts.[3][4][5][6] The Latok Tuber Belay Device, a piece of climbing equipment popularized by Jeff Lowe, takes its name from the mountain range.[7]
The Latok group comprises four main summits, each listed here with its relative position in the group, elevation,[1] and first ascent date:
- Latok I, north-central, 7,145 m, climbed 1979
- Latok II, west, 7,108 m, climbed 1977
- Latok III, east, 6,949 m, climbed 1979
- Latok IV, southeast, 6,456 m, climbed 1980
The Latok group includes several minor peaks, some which are named for their elevation.
- Latok V (6,190 m) is a minor peak that lies to the far side of Latok IV. The first recorded ascent for this peak was in 2006.[8][9]
- Peak 5750, southwest of Latok II. First documented summit via the north in 2000, and via the southwest in 2007.[10][11]
- Peak 5990, near the east face of Uzun Brakk. First documented summit in 2000.[12]
- Peak 5200, near the base of Latok III, on the south side of the Choktoi Glacier. Likely unclimbed, first documented ascent to subsummit in 2007.[13]
All of Latok's summits are notable for their extreme technical difficulty, and they have been the scene of some of the hardest climbing at high altitude anywhere in the world. Of the peaks, Latok II has been summitted most frequently.[14]
Latok I
- First attempt on the North Ridge of Latok I: The North Ridge was first attempted in 1978 by an American expedition consisting of Jim Donini, Jeff Lowe, Michael Kennedy and George Lowe and came within a few pitches of the summit. This climb and successful retreat has fueled continued interest in the mountain.[15]
- First Ascent of Latok I: Latok I was first summitted in 1979 by a Japanese expedition led by Naoki Takada;[16] the first summit party comprised Sin'e Matsumi, Tsuneo Shigehiro, Yu Watanabe, and they were followed three days later by Hideo Muto, Jun'ichi Oku, and Kota Endo.[17] They started from the Baintha Lukpar Glacier and climbed a buttress to reach the East Ridge. The steep North Ridge of Latok I, 2,500 m (8,200 ft) high, has not yet been climbed in its entirety.[18]
- 2018 First Ascent of North Ridge: Russian climbers Alexander Gukov (42) and Sergey Glazunov (26) left on July 15 to climb Latok I via the unclimbed North Ridge. They managed to climb to the top of North Ridge, but failed to reach the summit of Latok I. During the descent, Glazunov fell to his death and Gukov was stranded for 7 days in bivouac on the ridge.[19] He was rescued by a Pakistan Army helicopter at 20,000 feet (6,100 m).[20][21][22][23]
- 2018 First Ascent of Latok I through the North Face: Slovenian climbers Aleš Česen (36), Luka Stražar (29) and British climber Tom Livingstone (27) climbed three-quarters via North Ridge of Latok I (7145m) before traversing the West side and summiting through the original route on 9 August 2018.[24] They made the second ever ascent on the mountain after 1979.[25] The climb was awarded the Piolet d'Or in 2019.[26]
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Latok II
- British Expeditions to Latok II: Unsuccessful British expeditions to Latok II in 1977 and 1978 to climb via the west route resulted in the loss of Pat Fearneough (1978)[28] and Don Morrison (1977).[29]
- First Ascent of Latok II: Latok II saw its first ascent in 1977, by an Italian group led by Arturo Bergamaschi. This was the first successful ascent in the group. They climbed the southeast face of the peak, and Ezio Alimonta, Toni Masé and Renato Valentini made the summit.[27]
- 1997 Expedition on Latok II: A notable next ascent of Latok II came in 1997, when Alexander Huber, Thomas Huber, Toni Gutsch, and Conrad Anker climbed the sheer West Face of the peak. They described as putting "El Capitan on top of Denali": a 1,000 m (3,300 ft) vertical rock wall with a base at 6,100 m (20,000 ft) elevation. The total vertical for the climb was 2,200 m (7,200 ft).[30]
- 2006 American Alpine Style Ascent: After making a first ascent on Latok V, Doug Chabot, Mark Richey, and Steve Swenson summitted Latok II in alpine style on 21 August 2006.[31] It was the fourth successful summit of the peak.[32]
- 2009 Spanish Expedition: Álvaro Novellón and Óscar Pérez made the first complete ascent of the northwest ridge. Pérez was lost on the descent after becoming incapacitated after a fall. Despite mobilizing an international rescue effort, Pérez could not be found, and the search was called off.[33][34][35]
- 2023 Spanish Expedition: Mountaineers Miquel Mas and Marc Subirana climbed a new route on the Southwest Face of Latok II, which they later named Latok Thumb (6,380m).[36]
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Latok III
- First Ascent of Latok III: The first ascent of Latok III came in 1979, by a Japanese team under the leadership of Yoji Teranishi.[37] They climbed the Southwest Ridge, and the summit party were Teranishi, Kazushige Takami, and Sakae Mori.[2]
- 1988 Italian Expedition: The first ascent during "winter conditions" and the second ascent overall was climbed by Marco Marciano, Enrico Rosso and Marco Forcatura of Club Alpino Italiano, arriving at the summit under heavy snow on 20 June 1988.[38] This was the first repeat ascent of any peak in the group.[39]
- 1998 West Face Expedition: A team of Jay Smith, Kitty Calhoun, Steve Quinlan and Ken Sauls made an attempt at summiting Latok III via the unclimbed West Face. After ten days, the team reached a high point of 6,000m.[40]
- 2001 Russian West Face Expedition: As the expedition team climbed to 6,200 m, a large rockfall broke loose from the summit, cutting the climber's rope and causing team member Igor Barikhin to fall to his death. The summit attempt was abandoned.[41]
- 2005 Alpine Style Third Ascent: A Spanish team of Álvaro Novellón and Óscar Pérez climbed via the southwest ridge in alpine style, without fixed ropes. The entire roundtrip climb took seven days.[42]
- 2007 Second Alpine Style Ascent: Julien Herry and Roch Malnuit made the second alpine-style ascent of Latok III, arriving at the summit on 15 September 2007.[43]
- 2011 Russian West Face Expedition: The previous unclimbed west face of Latok III was summitted by Evgeny Dmitrienko, Ivan Dozhdev, Alex Lonchinsky, and Alexander Odintsov on 25 June, 2011.[44][45] The climb required 63 pitches to ascend the 2,000m west face. Odintsov had spent 11 years and three expeditions to summit the peak.[46]
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Latok IV
- 1976 Japanese attempt on Latok IV: resulted in the death of a climber.[47][48]
- 1980 Sangaku Doshikai expedition: Japanese expedition consisting of Koji Okano, Hisashi Handa, Tsutomu Tagusari, Motomu Omiya, and expedition lead Dr. Masaki Noda resulted in the first successful summit of the main peak by Okano and Omiya. On the descent, Okano and Omiya fell into a crevasse with serious injuries. Omiya was trapped for four days after breaking a leg and losing a boot. On his way to camp he was rescued by a British team climbing in the area. The team went back and successfully rescued Okano who had been trapped in the crevasse for eight days.[47]
- 2009 Czech expedition: Jiri Pliska and Ondrej Mandula made a new route nearly to the top of the southwest ridge, but were prevented from the summit due to poor weather.[49]
Latok V
- Japanese South Face Expeditions: Motomu Omiya, who made the first ascent of Latok IV in 1980 made four unsuccessful attempts on the summit via the South Face in 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2004, reaching within 70 meters of the summit.[50]
- American Latok Expedition: Doug Chabot, Mark Richey, and Steve Swenson made the first recorded ascent of Latok V on 21 August 2006.[51][52]
- Latok I: (2009) Oscar Perez, Spanish.[53] (2018) Sergey Glazunov, Russian.[54]
- Latok III: (2001) Igor Barikhin, Russian.[55]
- Latok IV: (1976) unnamed, Japanese.[56]
Heights in this article are taken from the map Karakoram, 1:250,000, Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research. A survey under the leadership of Professor Arturo Bergamaschi gives the heights as follows:
- Latok I: 7,086 m
- Latok II: 7,151 m
- Latok III: 6,860 m
Bergamaschi proposed that the designations of Latok I and Latok II be switched; however, most sources continue to refer to the central peak as Latok I and the western peak as Latok II, as does this article. See the American Alpine Journal, 1998, pp. 320-321. If Professor Bergamaschi's results are correct, then Latok II is the highest of the group, and would have a prominence of approximately 1,481 m; the prominence of Latok I would be greatly reduced. Jill Neate, High Asia: An Illustrated History of the 7000 Metre Peaks, ISBN 0-89886-238-8 Andy Fanshawe and Stephen Venables, Himalaya Alpine-Style, Hodder and Stoughton, 1995, ISBN 0-340-64931-3 Swenson, Steve (April 1, 2017). Karakoram: Climbing Through the Kashmir Conflict. Mountaineers Books. ISBN 9781594859748.
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