American Climbers Attempt Ogre II’s Unclimbed North Face
Three accomplished American climbers plan a new alpine-style route on Pakistan’s Ogre II this summer. Ogre II alpine climb targets the 6,960-meter peak’s rarely attempted north face in the Karakoram range. Ethan Berkeland, August Franzen, and Vitaliy Musiyenko will travel to the Choktoi Glacier for their expedition. The Ogre II has only been summited once in history, by a South Korean expedition in 1983. That team used heavy expedition style with fixed ropes and higher camps. The climb proved epic, with climbers surviving an ice cave overnight without sleeping bags. One team member died during that historic expedition.
A Mountain with a Tragic History
The north face claimed the lives of renowned American climbers Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson in 2016. They disappeared during a storm while attempting the first alpine-style ascent of this face. Their bodies were never recovered from the mountain. The current team acknowledges this tragic history in their planning. No climber has ever summited Ogre II in true alpine style. This makes their objective both ambitious and historically significant. The mountain’s remote location adds another layer of challenge to the expedition.
Legacy Grant Supports Working Climbers
The Jess Roskelley Foundation awarded Berkeland the first-ever Legacy Grant to subsidize the climb. The foundation honors Jess Roskelley, who died in a Canadian Rockies avalanche seven years ago. Lowa Sportswear also supports the grant program financially. The grant aims to support climbers who balance full-time work with bold mountain objectives. Berkeland works as an engineer maintaining seismic monitoring stations for the Alaska Earthquake Center. He combines his professional career with his passion for climbing. Franzen recently received a Piolet d’Or award for previous climbing achievements. The team will travel to Pakistan this summer to attempt their objective.
