Ultar Sar () (also Ultar, Ultar II, Bojohagur Duanasir II) is the
southeasternmost major peak of the
Batura Muztagh
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The Batura Muztagh () mountains are a sub-range of the Karakoram mountain range. They are located in between central hunza and upper hunza(Gojal valley) in the Hunza district of the Gilgit-Baltistan province in northern Pakistan.
They ...
, a subrange of the
Karakoram
The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
. It lies about northeast of the
Karimabad, a town on the
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...
in the
Hunza Hunza may refer to:
* Hunza, Iran
* Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
** Hunza (princely state), a former principality
** Hunza District, a recently established district
** Hunza River, a waterway
** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
Valley, part of the
Hunza District
The Hunza District ( ur, ) is one of the 14 districts of the Pakistani province of Gilgit-Baltistan. It was established in 2015 by the division of the Hunza–Nagar District in accordance with a government decision to establish more administrati ...
of
Gilgit–Baltistan
Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute be ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
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Notable features and climbing history
![Ultar sar - bublimotin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Ultar_sar_-_bublimotin.jpg)
While not one of the highest peaks of the Karakoram, Ultar Sar is notable for its dramatic rise above local terrain. Its south flank rises over 5,300 metres (17,388 feet) above the Hunza River near Karimabad, in only about of horizontal distance. Combined with its strategic position at the end of the Batura Muztagh, with the Hunza River bending around it, this makes Ultar a visually striking peak.
Ultar Sar also gained fame in the 1990s as supposedly the world's highest unclimbed independent peak. This was incorrect, as
Gangkhar Puensum
Gangkhar Puensum ( dz, གངས་དཀར་སྤུན་གསུམ་, translit=Kangkar Punsum, alternatively, Gangkar Punsum or Gankar Punzum) is the highest mountain in Bhutan and the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, with an ele ...
in Bhutan is higher, and remains unclimbed (and off-limits) as of 2007 (two other higher peaks are also reputedly unclimbed and of independent stature). However, that perception did add to the appeal of the peak, and a number of expeditions attempted to climb it. During the 1980s and 1990s fifteen expeditions made attempts and no summits, but with a number of fatalities.
The first two summits were made in 1996 by two separate Japanese expeditions, the first on 11 July from the Tokai section of the
Japanese Alpine Club
The is a mountaineering and climbing organisation based in Tokyo, Japan.
History
The Japanese Alpine Club was founded in October 1905 as the first mountaineering club in Asia. In late 19th century modern alpinism had been imported from Europe t ...
led by Akito Yamazaki, and the second led by Ken Takahashi. The first summit team comprised Yamazaki and Kiyoshi Matsuoka (who died one year later on the nearby peak
Bublimotin
The Bublimotin, Bubli Motin, Bublimating or Ladyfinger Peak ( ur, لیڈی فنگر), is a distinctive rock spire in the Batura Muztagh, the westernmost subrange of the Karakoram range in Pakistan. It lies on the southwest ridge of the Ultar Sar ...
). They climbed the peak from the southwest in
alpine style
Alpine style is mountaineering in a self-sufficient manner, thereby carrying all of one's food, shelter and equipment as one climbs, as opposed to expedition style (or siege style) mountaineering which involves setting up a fixed line of stocked ...
, doing much of the climbing at night to avoid danger from falling rock and ice. After their summit, they faced strong storms and
bivouacked several days without food before returning to basecamp. Yamazaki died of an internal disease after the descent to basecamp. The second summit was made on 31 July via the south ridge by Takahashi, Masayuki Ando, Ryushi Hoshino, Wataru Saito, and Nobuo Tsutsumi. Third ascent of the peak was also made from the south west by Daniel Akbar a British Born Pakistani climber. Daniel climbed the peak solo in Alpine Style using some of the old fixed ropes from the earlier expedition.
On 1 July 2018,
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...
pilots in a daring mission rescued three foreign mountaineers stuck in snow avalanche at above the height of on Ultar Sar Peak near
Hunza Hunza may refer to:
* Hunza, Iran
* Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
** Hunza (princely state), a former principality
** Hunza District, a recently established district
** Hunza River, a waterway
** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
. Bruce Normand and Timothy Miller from
UK successfully rescued alive while their companion Christian Huber from
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
had succumbed to avalanche.
Nearby summits and glaciers
Ultar Sar is the east end of a short, somewhat level ridge, the west end of which is a peak called
Bojahagur Duanasir
Bojohagur or Bojohaghur Duanasir ( ur, ) is a summit in the Batura Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range in Pakistan. It is the west summit of a short ridge whose high point is Ultar Sar, also known as Bojohaghur Duanasir II (despite being ...
(7,329 m/24,045 ft), climbed in 1984 by a Japanese party. To the northwest of both peaks is the huge pyramid of
Shispare
Shispare ( ur, ) is one of the high mountain peaks of the Batura Muztagh, the westernmost subrange of the Karakoram range in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.
Alternate forms of the name of this peak include Shispare Sar and Shisparé ...
(7,611 m/24,970 ft). Along the southwest ridge of the massif are
Hunza Peak
Hunza Peak () lies in the westernmost subrange of the Karakoram range in Pakistan, along with the Ladyfinger Peak (Bublimating). It lies on the southwest ridge of the Ultar Sar massif, the most southeasterly of the major groups of the Batura M ...
and the striking rock spire of
Bublimotin
The Bublimotin, Bubli Motin, Bublimating or Ladyfinger Peak ( ur, لیڈی فنگر), is a distinctive rock spire in the Batura Muztagh, the westernmost subrange of the Karakoram range in Pakistan. It lies on the southwest ridge of the Ultar Sar ...
(Ladyfinger Peak).
The glaciers draining the slopes of the massif are (clockwise from north): the Ghulkin Glacier, the Gulmit Glacier, the Ahmad Abad Glacier, the Ultar Glacier, and the Hasanabad Glacier (many of these have other names as well).
See also
*
Hunza Hunza may refer to:
* Hunza, Iran
* Hunza Valley, an area in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan
** Hunza (princely state), a former principality
** Hunza District, a recently established district
** Hunza River, a waterway
** Hunza Peak, a mou ...
*
List of Mountains in Pakistan
Pakistan is home to 108 peaks above 7,000 metres and 4555 above 6,000 m. There is no count of the peaks above 5,000 and 4,000 m. Five of the 14 highest independent peaks in the world (the eight-thousanders) are in Pakistan (four of which lie in ...
*
Highest Mountains of the World
References
Sources
* Jerzy Wala, ''Orographical Sketch Map of the Karakoram'', Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, 1990.
* Jerzy Wala, ''Orographical Sketch Map of the Batura Muztagh'', 1988.
* American Alpine Journal, 1997.
Himalayan Index*
Kashmir#Terminology
External links
Travel.web.pk, Ultar Peak Page
{{Authority control
Mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan
Seven-thousanders of the Karakoram