An expedition in five chapters

The Ascent

Four climbers. Kestrel Peak, 6,812 metres. Thirty-one days.

The approach

Nine days on foot through pine and rhododendron, the peak hiding behind cloud every afternoon.

We carried what we could and hired the rest to a string of patient yaks. Each morning the trail climbed another four hundred metres; each evening the air got thinner and the tea got weaker.

Base camp, 4,950 m

A town of yellow tents on a glacier moraine. We waited eleven days for the wind to drop.

11 days waiting
−24° coldest night
3 decks of cards, worn out

The ridge

Above the clouds, the world went quiet. One step, four breaths. One step, four breaths.

“You stop thinking about the top. You think about the next fixed rope, and then the one after that.”
Mara Lindqvist, expedition lead

Summit, 6:42 am

Twelve minutes on top. Enough for one photo, one flag and one very bad sandwich.

Then the long way down, which, every climber will tell you, is where the real work begins.

Made for the climb

Every jacket on this expedition was a Northwall Ridgeline shell. Now it’s yours.

Shop the Ridgeline — $349 Back to the top ↑

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