Jaroslav Bansky of the Czech Republic fell to his death yesterday while climbing in Pakistan’s Masherbrum area with Zdenek Hak and Radoslav Groh, according to their expedition outfitter. His death was confirmed by the team’s sponsor at home.
There are no details about how and where the accident took place. Previous reports from Pakistan stated the climber had died while attempting the West Face of Masherbrum (7,821m), but Hudy Sport confirmed today that Bansky was climbing Biarchedi II (6,759m), a peak northeast of Masherbrum. The area is a subrange of the Karakoram, located to the southwest of the main Karakoram peaks.
According to the sponsor, Hak and Groh are safe.
The Briarchedi peaks (I and II) are marked by the red point on a Google map, also showing Masherbrum to the southwest, Laila Peak to the south, Chogolisa to the southeast and, further beyond to the northeast, the Karakoram peaks.
Success on Biarchedi I
Just a couple of days ago, the team had told their sponsor, Hudy, that they had succeeded in completing the first-ever ascent of Biarchedi I, the 6,810m peak the team had planned to climb as preparation for Masherbrum. They also skied down part of it.
The team overcame difficulties up to M5 on the ascent. After summiting, they downclimbed to Camp 4 and skied from there down to Yeremandu Glacier and Masherbrum Base Camp.
The team on the summit of Biarchedi I on July 6. Photo: Hudy Sport
At the beginning of the expedition, Zdenek Hak told ExplorersWeb that they planned to climb Biarchedi I and then attempt a new route on Masherbrum. They were considering the highly difficult West Face, but would make their final decision after Biarchedi, depending on conditions.
At the time of posting this story, there is no confirmation of the climbers’ whereabouts at the time of the accident.
Confusion is common when reporting about the Biarchedi peaks. As the American Alpine Journal explains, early reports and maps of Biarchedi refer to what is now designated Biarchedi II, a 6,759m summit to the northwest of Biarchedi I. Biarchedi II was probably first climbed in 1984 by Jerzy Kukuczka in a solo push, then again in 1985 via the 2,300m icy northeast face by Spanish climbers Joaquin Carril and Antonio Martinez. A third route, starting from the west, was added by a three-man multinational team in the early 2000s.
Hak, Groh, and Bansky made the coveted first ascent of Muchu Chhish in the Batura range in 2024.
