The Towers are a family of rock towers in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The highest point is Great Trango Tower, which features the world’s greatest nearly vertical drop.
Just northwest of Great Trango is a large spire of rock called Trango Tower, as well as the lower summit of Trango Monk. The highest summit on the ridge is Trango Ri.
Just southeast of Great Trango lies Trango Pulpit, which has walls that are similar to those of Great Trango itself.
Trango Towers Facts for Kids
- Trongo Towers are a set of tall, erect rocks.
- The Baltoro peaks are situated in Pakistan’s Karakoram Range.
- The summit of the Great Trango Tower is 6,286 meters above sea level.
- The Great Trango Tower was first climbed in 1977
The Climbing History
Galen Rowell, John Roskelley, Kim Schmitz, Jim Morrissey, and Dennis Hennek climbed the South Face on Great Trango in 1977.
Andy Selters and Scott Woolums climbed the Northwest Face of Great Trango in 1984. The climb includes extensive rock and ice climbing.
In 1990, Catherine Destivelle became the first female to free climb the Southeast Face of the Tower, and in 2009, a German team freed the Eternal Flame route.
Some recent ascents on Great Trango focused on the west and south sides. The Southwest Ridge route was notable for its lightweight and fast style of climbing.
In 2005, two Slovak climbers climbed a new route on the south face of Great Trango, dubbed Assalam Alaikum.
Base Jumping
The 1992 expedition, led by Nic Feteris and Glenn Singleman, included an ascent of Great Trango and a BASE jump from the northeast face (from the 1,340-metre wall on the east face), landing at 4,200 meters atop the Dunge Glacier (13,779 ft).
This was the highest BASE jump-start elevation ever. For a BASE jump-starting elevation, Valery Rozov set the world record on May 28, 2013, by jumping from a location 7,220 m from Everest. Glenn Singleman and Heather Swan set the previous record on Meru Peak in northern India on May 23, 2006.
On August 10, 2013, Andrey Lebedev and Vladimir Murzaev made a low-key base jump from the same spot as Feteris and Singleman.
