Mathieu Maynadier succeeds in the first ski descent of Diran (7266 m) in Pakista

Mathieu Maynadier

Mathieu Maynadier, mountaineer and high mountain guide, lover of sporting challenges, has just completed this ascent alongside Léo Smett. Good preparation for an even bigger challenge planned for the fall: the first ski descent of Dhaulagiri (8167 m)!

Diran has only been reached about 5 times, and had never been skiing.

Mathieu's story:

"The weather was great, with very good snow conditions. On this kind of expedition, as soon as the weather is nice, it almost seems too easy!

Our base camp was located at 5900 m, only a day's walk from the road. But on the other hand, it was quite low to reach a summit at 7300 m, so it was more complicated to acclimatize before attempting the ascent.

Before this expedition, I had acclimatized to the altitude around my home in Briançon and around Chamonix - by sleeping in the mountains, at the Cosmiques refuge notably.

At the beginning, we had 3 days of very bad weather, 3 days of snow at base camp. We waited, we rested. Then a 2-week window of great weather was announced. So we sped up and attempted the climb even though we were not yet fully acclimatized.

On Day 1, we climbed a bump at 4700 m opposite Diran. This allowed us to scout for our route up to Diran.

On Day 2, we took our first steps on the Diran route up to 5300 m – then down to 5800 m. We then descended to base camp.

The ideal would have been to do a second acclimatization of the same type, but we decided to attempt the climb on the 3rd day, the 4th July.

Léo stopped at 6,800 m; he was tired and lacking acclimatization. I continued alone to the summit. I had never summited alone, it was quite a strong sensation, especially with such weather conditions and the sunset!

The Guidetti folding carbon poles were a great help to me every day for the approach and acclimatization walks.

The goal of this expedition was to train for this fall's expedition. We will leave on September 6 for 6 to 8 weeks with an ascent in late September / early October.

In addition to Léo and me, the team will be expanded with Mathéo Jaquemoud, Vivian Bruchez, and Mike Arnold. We will fly to the Himalayas to attempt the first ski descent of Dhaulagiri (8,167 m), in Nepal. This is the last peak over 8,000 m never skied.

The main unknowns: the weather and the snow. You need some to be able to ski, but not too much because it quickly becomes avalanche-prone."

See you in September!