On July 18, 2012, a climbing team composed of young American mountaineer and Outdoor Research-sponsored athlete Kyle Dempster, along with two other young climbers, Hayden Kennedy and Urban Novak, successfully summited 6,935-meter K7 Peak via a new route on the east face, marking the first ascent of this line.
K7 Peak is located in the Charakusa Valley of the Karakoram Range and is a world-renowned technical mountain. In 2011, several Slovenian climbers summited via the west face, earning them the 2012 Piolet d'Or award.
In early July, Dempster, Kennedy, and Novak arrived in Pakistan one after another. After a brief rest, they headed to the Charakusa Valley. They first undertook short acclimatization training at Sulu at an altitude of 5,950 meters, then spent the next five days waiting for better weather and practicing bouldering. Finally, on July 16, good weather arrived, and they began their climb, entering the east face from the glacier. This route was much more dangerous than it appeared, featuring some mixed sections with difficulties up to M6. As they hadn’t brought camping gear, they had to sleep in the “icy wilderness.” The continuous climbing and treacherous sections exhausted the trio, and in the final stage, a very deep snow slope stood before them, requiring significant effort to cross. After reaching the summit, the three did not stop but descended on rope that very night, bivouacked again, and finally returned safely to base camp on July 20.
The three climbers, Dempster, Kennedy, and Novak, are all young, with Kennedy being just 22 years old. This climb received support from the Mugs Stump Climbing Sponsorship Award, one of the most coveted awards among North American climbers. The Mugs Stump Climbing Sponsorship Award was jointly established in 1993 by BD, Mountain Gear, Patagonia, Gore, and Alpinist magazine, among others, in memory of the late climber Mugs Stump (who passed away in 1992). It aims to sponsor climbers who adhere to small teams, lightweight gear, fast ascents, and pure alpine-style climbing in realizing their mountaineering dreams.
Kyle Dempster, born in 1983, is an American and a jointly sponsored athlete of OR and BD. Chinese mountaineers are quite familiar with Kyle Dempster, as he has made numerous outstanding climbs in Xinjiang and Sichuan. In 2009, he completed a new route on the north face of Snow Lotus West Peak in the Tianshan Mountains together with Bruce Normand and Jed Brown, earning the 2010 Piolet d'Or for Best Technical Climb for this achievement. In early November 2010, along with his long-time partner, the Scotsman Bruce Normand (Old Bru), he summited 6,376-meter Mount Rigoday via a direct northwest face route (a new line) in the Gongga Mountain area of Sichuan. This was only the second time the peak had been summited. Ten days later, they summited 6,618-meter Mount Edgar (Mt. Edgar) via a new route on the east face—also the second ascent of that peak. They were also nominated for the 2011 Piolet d'Or for two consecutive years due to their new route ascent of Mount Edgar. At 6,618 meters, Mount Edgar is a highly technical peak that attracts countless elite climbers. In 2009, accomplished American climbers Jonny Copp, Micah Dash, and photographer Wade Johnson perished in an avalanche while attempting this peak.
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The OR Virtuoso Jacket #57572 down jacket is Kyle Dempster’s favorite technical climbing apparel. It accompanied him to the summit of the harshly climatic Snow Lotus West Peak in the Western Tianshan Mountains and also supported him in summiting both Mount Rigoday and Mount Edgar in the Gongga Mountain area.
The OR Virtuoso Jacket down jacket is easy to compress and pack, features a relaxed cut, and is filled with 650-fill-power goose down. The front, back, and hood outer layers are made of lightweight, water-resistant 20D recyclable ripstop polyester fabric. The shoulders and outer sleeves are made of Pertex Endurance 30D fabric. It has a double-front zipper with an inner storm flap, an adjustable hood in both directions, a fleece-knit collar lining, zippered pockets, an internal pocket that can be used as a compression stuff sack, articulated elbow cutouts, hook-and-loop elastic cuffs, hem adjustments in both directions, and weighs 635 grams (size L). Retail price: 1,980 RMB.