There are many mountains to be discovered in Indian Himalayas: Luca Schiera after the first ascent of Bhagirathi IV West Face

The Bhagirathi massif remains rigourously difficult to climb so far, especially the West Face of Bhagirathi IV. In the 90's, Slovenians, Americans, and Spanish teams tried the difficult rock wall in several occasions, but never succeeded. Previously, in 2015, the Italian trio attempted the same and managed to reach up around 6000m before they abandoned their expedition.

On 12th October, 2019, in an exclusive interview with Dream Wanderlust, Luca Schiera talks about his ascent of the West Face of Bhagirathi IV.

Bhagirathi IV

Bhagirathi IV - Climbing Route

Interview with Luca Schiera

DW: Congratulations for your first ascent on Bhagirathi IV West Face! It must have been a very a technically challenging peak. Your thoughts?

Luca: It is. Even though it's the smallest mountain of the group, it was unclimbed till now. The wall is 800m high, formed by steep granite, and as well as Bhagirathi II and III, a large schist band on the top. We knew that the crux was to find good conditions, not too cold and not too warm, and to have a good tactic for our team of three: myself, Matteo Della Bordella and Matteo De Zaiacomo.

DW: You attempted the same mountain in 2015 as well. That time you found it much steeper than you expected it to be. Did you climb through the same route this time?

Luca: Yes, we planned to climb the same line we tried four years ago but once there, the day before starting to climb and having already completed our acclimatization, two big stones fell all over our route, making the route way too dangerous for us.
The idea was to follow the same line, and more or less at 5800m traversing left in order to avoid as much of schist as we could.

DW: We heard that this massive granite walls made you stop for a while at a steep band of fragile rock. But still you managed to make it an extreme speed ascent starting the summit push from the Advanced Base Camp. What made you take up this route after abandoning the expedition in the beginning due to constant rockfalls?

Luca: The big difference was that till mid September it was too warm, four years ago we experienced a very cold climate, but this time it was much warmer. In the beginning we were glad for this, we could climb better not having numb hands and feet, but after the rockfall we changed our mind! Anyway, after a couple of weeks, it got colder, we spent five days on the wall and we didn't see any rocks or ice falling down anymore, we thought that was safer, it was a tough decision.

Team at Base Camp

Bhagirathi IV seen from Tapovan

DW: You were the first one to reached the summit at 11pm after starting the summit push post midnight the same day. Please share the important experience you have gained this time.

Luca: I think we learned a lot this time, especially dealing with the danger and to be open-minded about the possibilities the mountain is giving to you. We came to India with only one idea in our minds but after the rockfall we didn't have a plan B. We had to think how to climb the mountain and where the limit of danger was.

DW: Is it true that rockfalls destroyed your planned route this time in the beginning? How did you finalize the route you attempted later on to make a speed-ascent?

Luca: Well, the route was still there, it did not fall down but we saw that it was exposed to rockfalls. We set off from our advanced base camp at midnight, and we started climbing in the dark. At the sunrise, we were already at the place were we slept on the first night during our first attempt. Late in the afternoon, we reached the black band and in the night, we climbed the last slope towards the top. We planned a two-day ascent but we have been faster than we expected. We split the route in four long blocks, so we changed lead four times, this allowed us to have a leader who is never too tired and the followers were always as fast as they could.

DW: Many alpinists had attempted this peak via West Face, including Silvo Karo who attempted nearly 11 times without having succeeded. What are the main factors you think that worked for three of you this time?

Luca: It was all about tactics, as usual. I think since you are following good cracks, nothing can stop you. We had a good plan and we climbed efficiently and fast, this was the key.

Luca Schiera and Matteo Della Bordella inside the tent [L to R]

Luca Schiera climbing the West Face of Bhagirathi IV

Matteo De Zaiacomo climbing the West Face of Bhagirathi IV

DW: Earlier you had compared this route with El Capitan Nose route. Would you please explain why you think they are comparable? What do you have to say about this new route now?

Luca: I never climbed in Yosemite, but my friends did, so I guess they know what they say 🙂. Looking at the pictures, they look similar. El Capitan must be higher but this is placed in the earth of Himalayas at 6000m, this makes the things trickier. It's always steep till the snow but the quality of the rock, unfortunately, was not so good.

DW: You teamed up with Matteo Della Bordella and Matteo De Zaiacomo this time. You guys have been successful in making first ascents earlier on a few peaks. Share your thoughts on this successful partnership.

Luca: Actually we don't climb together so often, but for things like this I believe the most important thing is to be a good team, everyone must be well prepared and motivated as we were.

DW: Would you continue to climb together and explore new routes?

Luca: Of course we will, at the moment we don't have anything planned to climb together but in future, I hope we will build this lucky team again.

DW: How do you find any possibilities of climbing new route (in your style) left on the Indian Himalayan Peaks?

Luca: It looks like there are many possibilities around there, many well-known mountains and some others still to be discovered, you just need to find which mountain fits your style and go.

Matteo Della Bordella climbing the West Face of Bhagirathi IV

Climbing the West Face of Bhagirathi IV

On the top of Bhagirathi IV - Luca Schiera, Matteo De Zaiacomo and Matteo Della Bordella [L to R]

DW: Do you have more upcoming expeditions in the future to climb in Indian Himalayas?

Luca: Yes I'm already looking forward for a nice area in Kashmir and another place which is at the moment forbidden, I hope it will be open soon!

DW: Earlier this year, you said Patagonia of Rio Turbio in 2018 would be your most memorable expedition. Tell us about how you prepared yourself for it and your experience of climbing with Paolino Marazzi.

Luca: I climb with Paolo since many years and we know each other very well. That time was the first Patagonian experience for him and the wildest for both, we were alone in that huge valley but we didn't make any mistake. The approach was long and tricky, it involved thick jungle, a lake with icebergs, and white waters in the big river. We managed to climb Cerro Mariposa right at the end of the trip, with the last food and hopes left and then we descended the big river with no experience on this, we were scared and curious at the same time.

DW: What differences do you find if you compare Garhwal Himalayas and other mountain ranges you climbed so far?

Luca: As far as I see Garhwal has a high quality granite and both rock and mixed peaks, the rock is bright and makes every mountain shining with the sunlight. The main difference between Himalaya and the other ranges is that here the mountains are high, you can really feel the altitude. So even when you are acclimatized you will be slower than normal, everything is more tiring and it can be very cold sometimes.

DW: Three of you made the ascent in just 23 hours climbing non-stop from the Advanced Base to Summit. In a difficult grade of 7b, it must have been a great adventure of an almost free climb. Share your thoughts on this, especially the time while crossing the 800-metre wall.

Luca: We mostly climbed free, which was one of our goals, we aimed for a fast alpine style ascent. Everyone did their best and we took advantage of the best quality of each, in this way the whole team can be much stronger than the simple sum of its parts.

DW: Was your preparation phase specifically different keeping Bhagirathi Massif in mind or you maintained your regular fitness regime?

Luca: Not really, I climbed a lot in the Alps trying to complete a few old projects I had in mind, this put me in a good physical conditions. I didn't try to acclimatize at home, I was planning to arrive at the base in a good shape and focus on the mountain. I wasn't sure but eventually it worked out.

DW: You have climbed around different mountain ranges in so many countries - Chile, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Argentina, Ethiopia, India, and so on. Is there any particular mountain range that attracts you the most?

Luca: I think that every mountain is special, but of course there are places I prefer than the others. First the Alps: I started climbing there so I cannot imagine another place to live, the landscapes are amazing and every valley is different, I can climb, fly, run or walk and it is always nice. Then I like Patagonia for its wild and lonely places, both the flatlands and the mountains.

View of Shivling from Bhagirathi IV

Climbing Shivling

View of Bhagirathi group from the top of Shivling

Timeline of the Expedition

11th Aug, 2019: Departed from Italy.

12th Aug, 2019: Reached Delhi, India.

16th Aug, 2019: After 2days driving to Gangotri and 2 days trekking to Tapovan, they finally reached the Base Camp.

22nd Aug, 2019: After a day's rest, they moved to Advance Base Camp and on 22nd August climbed Bhagirathi II (6512m) for acclimatization.

3rd Sept, 2019: They rested at Base Camp for a week due to bad weather and by 3rd September they were ready to attempt Bhagirathi IV. They were forced to stop their ascent due to rockfall.

15th Sept, 2019: After 3 failed attempt on 7th, 8th and 9th September, they summited Bhagirathi IV on 15th September.

18th Sept, 2019: Moved to Tapovan for Shivling, Matteo Della Bordella returned to Italy.

24th & 25th Sept, 2019: Climbed Shivling (6543m).

28th Sept, 2019: Trekked back to Gangotri.

3rd Oct, 2019: Back to Italy.

Photo Courtesy: Luca Schiera / Matteo Della Bordella / Matteo De Zaiacomo