Batura II

Batura II

Ultar Sar (Urdu: آلتر سار) (also Ultar, Ultar II, Bojohagur Duanasir II) is the southeasternmost major peak of the Batura Muztagh, a subrange of the Karakoram range. | Naqvideo

🏔️ Overview

Batura II is a towering subsidiary summit of the Batura Sar massif in the western Karakoram of northern Pakistan. Traditionally listed at 7,762 meters (25,466 feet), it forms part of the immense Batura Wall in Gilgit-Baltistan’s Hunza District.

Also known as Hunza Kunji, Batura II remained one of the world’s highest unclimbed summits well into the 21st century. Its isolation, avalanche-prone slopes, complex glacier approaches, and steep upper south face defeated a succession of expeditions before South Korean climbers Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun finally reached the summit on August 11, 2008.

The mountain’s history is complicated by an unusual cartographic mix-up. A Japanese expedition was initially credited with the first ascent of Batura II in 1978, and that claim appeared in contemporary mountaineering publications. Later research concluded that the Japanese climbers had actually reached Batura IV, leaving the true Batura II unclimbed until 2008.

Today, Batura II remains an exceptionally serious expedition objective and one of the most fascinating high subsidiary summits of the Karakoram.

⚡ Fast Facts

Fact	Details
Continent	Asia
Country	Pakistan
Territory	Gilgit-Baltistan
Region	Hunza District
Mountain Range	Karakoram
Subrange	Batura Muztagh
Traditional Elevation	7,762 m / 25,466 ft
Peakbagger Elevation	7,730 m / 25,360 ft
Prominence	Approximately 90 m / 295 ft using Peakbagger data
Isolation	Approximately 0.06 km / 0.04 mi
Parent Peak	Batura Sar
Nearest Higher Neighbor (NHN)	Batura Sar
Key Col	Approximately 7,640 m / 25,066 ft
Alternative Name	Hunza Kunji
Historical Designation	Peak 31
First Confirmed Ascent	August 11, 2008
First Ascenders	Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun
Expedition	University of Seoul Alpine Club
First-Ascent Approach	Muchuhar/Muchichul and Batokshi glaciers
Major Nearby Glacier	Batura Glacier
Mountain Formation	Batura Wall

Batura II is a particularly good example of why elevations and prominence figures for remote Karakoram summits require context. The American Alpine Journal and many mountaineering references use 7,762 meters, while Peakbagger currently maps the summit at 7,730 meters with 90 meters of prominence.

📍 Where Is Batura II?

Batura II lies in the Batura Muztagh, the westernmost major subrange of the Karakoram.

The mountain is entirely within Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan territory, west of the Hunza River and northwest of the famous settlements of Passu, Gulmit, and Karimabad.

It belongs to the enormous multi-summited Batura massif.

The main Batura Sar summit rises immediately nearby to approximately 7,795 meters. Other points along the wall include Batura III, Batura IV, Batura V, and Batura VI.

Farther southeast are major independent mountains such as Shispare and Passu Sar.

Together, these mountains form one of the greatest concentrations of extreme relief in the western Karakoram.

🏔️ The Batura Wall

Batura II forms part of the Batura Wall, an enormous high ridge containing a succession of summits above 7,000 meters.

Rather than presenting a single isolated pyramid, the central Batura massif resembles a gigantic elevated rampart of snow, ice, and rock.

Its highest points include approximately:

Summit	Elevation
Batura Sar / Batura I	7,795 m
Batura II	7,762 m
Batura III	7,729 m
Batura IV	7,594 m
Batura V	Approx. 7,531 m
Batura VI	Approx. 7,462 m

These figures make clear why the naming and classification of individual Batura summits became complicated.

The points are extremely high but closely connected. Some have relatively little prominence because the ridge between neighboring summits rarely drops far below their elevations.

Batura II is therefore both one of the highest named summits in the Karakoram and a subsidiary summit of the larger Batura Sar massif.

📏 Why Does Batura II Have Two Elevations?

The most frequently published elevation for Batura II is 7,762 meters (25,466 feet).

That is the elevation used in the American Alpine Journal’s report of the 2008 first ascent and continues to appear in major mountaineering references.

Peakbagger currently assigns a lower elevation of 7,730 meters (25,360 feet).

The difference is unusually large compared with the minor one- or two-meter discrepancies encountered on many better-surveyed mountains.

Several factors contribute to uncertainty in the Batura massif:

Early maps used different summit numbering systems.
Individual Batura summits are extremely close together.
Historic expeditions sometimes identified summits incorrectly.
Older Soviet and regional maps used differing elevations.
Snow and ice complicate remote elevation measurement.
Modern digital elevation models may not resolve closely spaced high summits perfectly.

For continuity with the mountaineering record, 7,762 meters remains the most useful headline elevation for Batura II.

📐 Prominence & Isolation

Peakbagger maps Batura II at 7,730 meters with a key col of approximately 7,640 meters.

Under those figures, its clean prominence is approximately 90 meters (295 feet).

Its isolation is only about 0.06 kilometer, demonstrating just how closely Batura II is connected with higher terrain.

That low prominence and isolation mean Batura II would not normally qualify as an independent mountain under lists requiring 500 meters of prominence.

Instead, it is a major subsidiary summit of Batura Sar.

Its extraordinary fame comes from its elevation and climbing history rather than topographic independence.

🧭 Nearest Higher Neighbor: Batura Sar

Batura II’s nearest higher neighbor is Batura Sar.

Batura Sar reaches approximately 7,795 meters (25,574 feet) and is the highest summit in the entire Batura Muztagh.

The two summits are extraordinarily close.

Peakbagger’s terrain model finds higher ground almost immediately west-northwest of Batura II, which explains its tiny topographic isolation.

Batura Sar is also Batura II’s line parent.

Despite this close connection, reaching Batura II required an independent and extremely difficult climbing route rather than simply walking along an easy summit ridge from Batura Sar.

🏷️ Hunza Kunji and Peak 31

Batura II appears under several names in historical mountain literature.

Hunza Kunji is one of its most widely reported alternate names.

The designation Peak 31 also appears in older references.

Unfortunately, historical numbering of the Batura summits was not always consistent. Different maps and climbing publications occasionally attached similar designations to neighboring points.

That confusion eventually contributed to one of the strangest errors in the history of Karakoram mountaineering: a mountain was reported climbed decades before anyone had actually stood on its summit.

📜 The 1978 “First Ascent” That Wasn’t

For many years, records suggested Batura II had been climbed by a Japanese expedition in 1978.

The expedition was led by Mitsuaki Nishigori of the Himalayan Association of Japan.

After abandoning an attempted south spur, members of the team moved onto a southwest face.

Yuji Ishikawa, Mitsuru Ito, and Makoto Okubo reached a summit on July 6.

The American Alpine Journal subsequently reported the climb as the first ascent of Batura II.

The Himalayan climbing record therefore treated Batura II as climbed.

But there was a problem.

The geography of the expedition did not match the actual location of Batura II.

🗺️ Solving the Batura Mystery

Later research by mountain historian Wolfgang Heichel and others reexamined the Japanese expedition.

The team’s base camp, glacier approach, photographs, route orientation, and summit position indicated that the climbers had not been on Batura II at all.

Instead, they had climbed the mountain now identified as Batura IV, approximately 7,594 meters high.

This reinterpretation explained several inconsistencies in the historical record.

It also produced a surprising result:

Batura II was still unclimbed.

By the early 2000s, it was being described by some mountaineers as one of the highest—occasionally the highest—remaining unclimbed named summits in the world.

🧗 Why Batura II Remained Unclimbed

Batura II’s low prominence might suggest a relatively simple subsidiary summit.

Its climbing terrain tells a completely different story.

The mountain is guarded by:

Huge glaciers
Crevasse fields
Avalanche-prone slopes
Steep rock
Séracs
Long traverses
Unstable snow
Extreme altitude
Complex route-finding
Remote approaches

The upper south side includes an approximately 700-meter rock wall, forcing climbers to find complicated passages through or around very steep terrain.

Above 6,500 meters, objective dangers become particularly serious.

Earlier teams repeatedly found that a technically possible line could still be too dangerous because of avalanches and unstable snow.

🧗 The 2002 Attempt

A German expedition made a major attempt in 2002.

The climbers approached from the south through the Baltar Glacier region and followed terrain related to the route used on Batura Sar.

They advanced through difficult glacial and high-altitude terrain toward Batura II.

The team eventually reached roughly 7,100 meters before poor snow conditions and objective hazards forced them to retreat.

The expedition demonstrated that the mountain could probably be climbed from the south—but also showed just how dangerous the upper slopes could become.

🧗 Simone Moro and Joby Ogwyn

Batura II attracted renowned Italian mountaineer Simone Moro in 2005.

Moro considered the mountain one of the world’s most compelling remaining unclimbed high summits.

He was joined by American climber and filmmaker Joby Ogwyn.

The pair first climbed nearby Batokshi as part of their reconnaissance and acclimatization.

During the expedition, Ogwyn was caught by an avalanche while descending difficult terrain and injured his leg.

Moro and members of the base-camp staff assisted in the rescue, and the expedition ended with a helicopter evacuation.

Batura II remained unclimbed.

🧗 The 2006 Attempt

Another serious attempt came in 2006.

German climber Markus Walter joined Scottish climber Bruce Normand.

They again approached through the Muchuhar region and established successive camps around:

5,200 meters
5,900 meters
6,600 meters

Above their third camp, the route became increasingly hazardous.

Spindrift avalanches swept the intended line, protection was difficult, and unconsolidated snow covered the upper slopes.

The pair abandoned their Batura II attempt.

They subsequently turned their attention to other unclimbed peaks in the region and completed several first ascents.

🏆 The 2008 First Ascent

Batura II was finally climbed in the summer of 2008.

The expedition came from the University of Seoul Alpine Club and was organized to commemorate the university’s 90th anniversary.

The nine-member South Korean team was led by Kim Chang-ho, who was already developing a reputation as one of South Korea’s strongest Himalayan and Karakoram climbers.

The climbers approached the mountain from the south through the Muchuhar, also written Muchichul, glacier system.

Their base camp was established beside the Batokshi Glacier at approximately 4,115 meters.

⛺ Establishing the Route

The South Korean team followed a methodical expedition strategy.

Camp 1 was established at approximately 5,150 meters near the upper end of the Batokshi Glacier.

Camp 2 stood on a broad plateau at approximately 5,950 meters, north of Batokshi Peak.

Camp 3 was established around 6,650 meters.

Above this camp came one of the expedition’s major obstacles.

The climbers had to negotiate terrain beneath an enormous upper rock wall on the south face.

They traversed left across ramps below the roughly 700-meter wall and eventually established Camp 4 at approximately 7,200 meters.

The expedition fixed around 2,400 meters of rope between the lower and upper camps.

🔄 The First Summit Attempt

Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun reached Camp 4 during the team’s first major summit push.

They planned to attempt the top the following day.

But the route-building effort had taken a heavy toll on the climbers.

After nine days working high on the mountain in difficult weather, supporting team members were exhausted.

Instead of pressing upward with a depleted expedition, the team made the disciplined decision to retreat all the way to base camp.

They spent several days recovering on the lower terraces.

Then they started again.

🏆 August 11, 2008

The second summit push began on August 7.

Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun reached Camp 4 again on August 9.

At 4 a.m. on August 11, they began their summit attempt.

Avalanche danger remained significant on the upper mountain.

Nevertheless, conditions allowed rapid progress.

Only about four and a half hours after leaving Camp 4, Kim and Choi reached the summit of Batura II.

After decades of confusion, failed expeditions, and dangerous attempts, the mountain had finally received a confirmed ascent.

The climbers remained on the summit for approximately 50 minutes before beginning the descent.

⬇️ A Fast Descent

The successful climb did not end when Kim and Choi reached the summit.

They still had to descend through the same dangerous terrain.

The pair returned to Camp 3, where three teammates were waiting.

After a short rest, the group began stripping equipment from the route and descended farther to Camp 2.

By August 12, the entire team had safely evacuated the mountain.

Some fixed rope remained on the upper rock wall, but the expedition otherwise removed its equipment.

The successful ascent closed one of the most interesting unfinished chapters in modern Karakoram climbing.

👤 Kim Chang-ho

Kim Chang-ho later became one of the most accomplished high-altitude climbers of his generation.

He went on to climb all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-meter mountains without supplementary oxygen.

His climbing style increasingly emphasized long, self-powered approaches and lightweight mountaineering.

Kim also completed notable exploratory and first-ascent expeditions beyond the conventional 8,000-meter circuit.

He died in Nepal in 2018 during an expedition to Gurja Himal.

The 2008 ascent of Batura II remains an important early achievement in his extraordinary mountaineering career.

❄️ Glaciers Around Batura II

Ice dominates the entire Batura massif.

The huge Batura Glacier lies north of the main mountain chain.

At approximately 57 kilometers long, it is one of the great valley glaciers of the Karakoram.

The first-ascent route to Batura II approached from the opposite, southern side through the Muchuhar and Batokshi glacier systems.

This distinction matters because the popular Batura Glacier trekking region is not the same as the technical expedition approach used during the 2008 ascent.

The central massif forms a giant barrier between these glacial systems.

🧊 Batura Glacier

The Batura Glacier flows generally from west to east toward the upper Hunza Valley.

European Space Agency satellite imagery shows an extensive lower surface covered by rock and gravelly moraine.

Its large size has made Batura one of the most extensively studied glaciers in the Karakoram.

Research teams have examined:

Ice thickness
Surface elevation
Glacier velocity
Meltwater chemistry
Moraine development
Long-term mass balance
Glacier response to climate

The glacier ultimately contributes meltwater to the Hunza River and therefore to the wider Indus drainage system.

📊 The Karakoram Anomaly

Glacier change in the Karakoram has historically differed from the rapid retreat seen in many other mountain regions.

Scientists have used the term Karakoram Anomaly for periods when many glaciers in the central Karakoram were relatively stable, or even gained mass, while glaciers elsewhere were shrinking rapidly.

A detailed study of Batura Glacier compared modern observations with surveys conducted in the 1970s.

Researchers found only marginal thinning between 2000 and 2016, with accumulation at higher elevations nearly compensating for losses lower on the glacier during that period.

This does not mean Batura Glacier is immune to climate change.

Rather, it illustrates the unusually complex interaction among snowfall, temperature, elevation, wind, debris cover, and glacier dynamics in the Karakoram.

🪨 Geology of the Batura Muztagh

The Batura Muztagh forms part of the Karakoram, one of Earth’s great collision-generated mountain systems.

The broader mountain-building process began when the Indian tectonic plate moved northward and collided with Eurasia.

Crustal compression caused enormous deformation, faulting, uplift, and metamorphism across the region.

The Karakoram contains a complicated mixture of:

Granitic intrusive rocks
Metamorphic rocks
Sedimentary formations
Fault zones
Rocks altered under intense pressure and heat

Continued tectonic uplift combined with glacial erosion has produced the extraordinary relief visible today.

🧊 Mountains Sculpted by Ice

Glaciers have been just as important as tectonics in shaping Batura II’s modern appearance.

During colder periods, ice filled far more of the surrounding valleys.

Moving glaciers:

Deepened valleys
Cut steep mountain faces
Transported rock
Created enormous moraines
Sharpened ridges
Exposed bedrock
Fed major river systems

The Batura Wall therefore reflects two immense processes working together: tectonic uplift building the mountain mass and glacial erosion carving it into its present form.

🌡️ Extreme Altitude

At approximately 7,762 meters, Batura II lies well within the death-zone-adjacent environment of very high-altitude mountaineering.

Although the commonly used “death zone” threshold is 8,000 meters, physiological deterioration becomes severe well below that elevation.

At Batura II’s summit, climbers experience dramatically reduced oxygen availability.

Consequences can include:

Extreme fatigue
Reduced coordination
Slower decision-making
Dehydration
Loss of appetite
Impaired judgment
Increased susceptibility to altitude illness

Acclimatization is essential, but no amount of acclimatization makes prolonged exposure near 7,800 meters harmless.

⚠️ Major Climbing Hazards

Batura II is a major expedition mountain with numerous overlapping hazards.

These include:

Avalanches
Sérac collapse
Crevasses
Hidden snow bridges
Deep snow
High winds
Steep ice
Rockfall
Difficult mixed terrain
Extreme altitude
Sudden storms
Complicated retreats
Limited rescue options

The failed expeditions of the early 2000s demonstrate that objective hazards—not simply technical climbing difficulty—are a central problem.

A route can be theoretically climbable while still being unacceptably dangerous.

🥾 Can You Hike Batura II?

No.

Batura II is not a trekking or hiking summit.

Reaching the top requires a full high-altitude mountaineering expedition involving glaciers, camps above 6,000 and 7,000 meters, fixed or technical climbing, avalanche assessment, and specialized equipment.

Experienced trekkers can, however, explore parts of the Batura Glacier region from the upper Hunza Valley.

The established Batura Glacier trek offers extraordinary views of the Batura Muztagh without attempting any of its technical 7,000-meter summits.

🏔️ Batura II vs. Batura Sar

Batura II is closely connected to Batura Sar, but the two have very different topographic status.

Feature	Batura II	Batura Sar
Standard Elevation	7,762 m	7,795 m
Prominence	Approx. 90 m*	Approx. 3,118 m
Classification	Subsidiary summit	Major independent mountain
First Confirmed Ascent	2008	1976
NHN	Batura Sar	Distaghil Sar

*Using Peakbagger’s lower 7,730-meter elevation model.

Batura Sar is clearly the dominant mountain of the massif.

Batura II’s significance instead comes from its remarkable height and the technical difficulty of reaching a summit separated from Batura Sar by only a shallow high-altitude saddle.

🏔️ Batura II vs. Batura III

Batura III lies along the same immense summit crest.

Feature	Batura II	Batura III
Traditional Elevation	7,762 m	7,729 m
Parent Massif	Batura Sar	Batura Sar
NHN	Batura Sar	Batura II
Character	Subsidiary high summit	Subsidiary high summit

The two are separated by relatively shallow high saddles.

Historic map nomenclature involving these closely spaced points contributed to considerable confusion about exactly which Batura summit earlier expeditions had reached.

🏔️ Nearby Mountains

Batura Sar

Batura Sar is the dominant summit of the massif and Batura II’s nearest higher neighbor.

It reaches approximately 7,795 meters and was first climbed in 1976.

Batura III

Batura III reaches approximately 7,729 meters and lies along the same Batura Wall.

Its nearest higher neighbor is Batura II.

Shispare

Shispare rises southeast of the central Batura Wall to approximately 7,611 meters.

Unlike Batura II, it has more than 1,200 meters of prominence and is a major independent mountain.

Passu Sar

Passu Sar rises to approximately 7,478 meters in the southeastern Batura Muztagh.

It forms part of the extraordinary mountain scenery above Passu and the upper Hunza Valley.

Ultar Sar

Ultar Sar stands near the southeastern end of the Batura Muztagh above the Hunza Valley.

Its steep faces made it another famous late-unclimbed Karakoram summit before its successful ascent in 1996.

Rakaposhi

Rakaposhi rises across the wider Hunza region to approximately 7,788 meters.

Its extraordinary vertical rise above the valleys makes it one of Pakistan’s most visually dramatic mountains.

🌍 Why Batura II Is Important

Batura II demonstrates why mountaineering history is not always as simple as a list of summit dates.

For decades, the mountain appeared to have been climbed.

A Japanese team had reached a high Batura summit in 1978, and contemporary climbing publications accepted it as Batura II.

Only careful historical and geographic research revealed that the climbers had actually stood on Batura IV.

That discovery effectively returned Batura II to the list of unclimbed mountains.

Several ambitious teams then attempted the real summit, encountering avalanches, poor snow, difficult rock, and complex glacier approaches.

Finally, in 2008, Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun completed the climb.

Batura II may have little topographic prominence, but its extraordinary elevation, difficult terrain, unusual naming history, and late first ascent give it an important place in the history of Karakoram exploration.

💡 Interesting Facts

Batura II is traditionally listed at 7,762 meters.
Peakbagger currently maps it at approximately 7,730 meters.
It forms part of the enormous Batura Wall.
Batura Sar is both its parent peak and nearest higher neighbor.
Its alternative names include Hunza Kunji and Peak 31.
A Japanese expedition was originally credited with climbing Batura II in 1978.
Later research showed that the Japanese climbers had actually climbed Batura IV.
Batura II therefore remained unclimbed until 2008.
Simone Moro attempted the mountain in 2005.
Markus Walter and Bruce Normand made another serious attempt in 2006.
Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun completed the first confirmed ascent on August 11, 2008.
Their expedition established its highest camp at approximately 7,200 meters.
The successful team fixed roughly 2,400 meters of rope.
Batura II was considered one of the world’s highest remaining unclimbed summits before its first ascent.
The immense Batura Glacier lies on the northern side of the Batura Muztagh.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How high is Batura II?

The traditional mountaineering elevation is 7,762 meters (25,466 feet). Peakbagger currently uses a lower digital elevation of approximately 7,730 meters.

Where is Batura II?

Batura II lies in the Batura Muztagh of the Karakoram in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

Is Batura II part of the Himalayas?

No. Batura II is part of the Karakoram, which is geographically distinct from the Himalayas.

What is Batura II’s parent peak?

Its parent peak is Batura Sar, the highest mountain in the Batura Muztagh.

What is Batura II’s nearest higher neighbor?

Its nearest higher neighbor is also Batura Sar.

How prominent is Batura II?

Peakbagger calculates approximately 90 meters (295 feet) of prominence using an elevation of 7,730 meters and a key col near 7,640 meters.

Why do some sources say Batura II is 7,762 meters while Peakbagger says 7,730 meters?

Remote Karakoram summit measurements have historically varied considerably, and the Batura massif has an especially complicated history of summit numbering and identification. Mountaineering sources generally retain the traditional 7,762-meter figure.

What other names does Batura II have?

It has been called Hunza Kunji and Peak 31, although historic summit numbering within the Batura massif has not always been consistent.

Who first climbed Batura II?

The first confirmed ascent was made by Kim Chang-ho and Choi Suk-mun of South Korea.

When was Batura II first climbed?

They reached the summit on August 11, 2008.

Wasn’t Batura II climbed in 1978?

A Japanese expedition was initially credited with climbing Batura II in 1978. Later research determined that the expedition had actually climbed Batura IV.

Why did Batura II remain unclimbed for so long?

The mountain combines extreme altitude with avalanche-prone slopes, glaciers, séracs, deep snow, difficult rock, remote approaches, and serious objective danger above approximately 6,500 meters.

Is Batura II an independent mountain?

It is better classified as a subsidiary summit of Batura Sar because of its low topographic prominence.

Can trekkers visit the Batura region?

Yes. The Batura Glacier area is an established trekking destination in the upper Hunza region. Trekking near the glacier is entirely different from attempting Batura II itself, which requires expert expedition mountaineering.

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