Three of America's most experienced mountaineers, Doug Chabot, Bruce Miller and Steve Su, have made the coveted first ascent of 6,400m Hispar Sar, an elegant pointed summit north of the Hispar Glacier.

The team climbed the South West Couloir, which had been attempted twice before.

Leaving at midnight, they climbed the 1,100m couloir in 20 hours, finding varied terrain from WI4+ to delicate mixed.

Near the top they moved right to avoid afternoon stone fall and climbed seven difficult mixed pitches over unstable snow and loose rock (up to M6) to the crest of the South Ridge, c300m below the summit.

After a bivouac, they reached the top next day, and the following morning rappelled the couloir

In 1991 Jon Nankervis led a small New Zealand team that attempted the virgin Hispar Sar via the north face from the Khani Basa Glacier.

They were turned back at 5,850m by avalanche prone slopes, while a second attempt, from the next glacier immediately down valley, was frustrated by an dangerous icefall.

In September 2004, and taking advantage of a relatively recent deregulation of formalities for peaks below 6,500m, a strong British duo of Andy Parkin and Simon Yates attempted the peak from the south west.

The two chose the elegant couloir that rises above the east bank of the Yutmari Glacier and climbed it over four days, with an exit right up a steep mixed spur (crux) to reach a shoulder on the South Ridge.

Unfortunately, a "slight mishap" on the first bivouac had resulted in most of their food, all their drinks and a spare cylinder of gas disappearing into the void.

By the time a storm arrived on the night of their fourth bivouac, estimated to be c300m below the summit, the stove was producing no more than vapour and the pair felt it prudent to retreat.

To the high point they'd climbed 1,100m of superb runnels of steep ice at an overall grade of ED.

The next attempt was also British, also by the South West Couloir, and, remarkably, by a one-man expedition

In 2008, after acclimatizing by making the first ascent of 5,684m Emily Peak, Rufus Duits soloed the entire couloir in a single day.

He passed the high point in the couloir, where Parkin and Yates had traversed out right, and continued direct until stopped at an estimated 6,000m, about 50m below the exit onto the South Ridge, by precarious snow-covered granite slabs.

To this point the difficulties were rated ED AI4/5.

He rappelled from Abalakovs to the base of the route, completing his round-trip attempt in just 18 hours.

To both parties the remaining ground to the summit had appeared to be relatively straightforward snow slopes. However, whilst the three Americans also thought it looked easy from below, it took them a full day to climb to the top and rappel to their bivouac.

Next day, Chabot, Miller and Su made a further 20 rappels down the ascent route to the glacier.

The photo shows the elegant Hispar Sar from the south west. The route climbs the obvious couloir right of the summit fall-line and then the upper South Ridge back left to the summit.

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