Jeff Wright and Priti Wright Return to Make History With K7

American mountaineering couple Jeff Wright and Priti Wright from Seattle have returned to conquer the virgin slopes of the K7 Central. After successful ascent to both the North and the East Face of the 6,000-er mountain in the Karakoram range during their first attempt. The Seattle mountaineering couple also attempted to climb K7 Central back in July 2023.

But, after coming just 100 meters farther from the summit of K7 Central, Jeff and Priti Wright had to turn around as the crack they were climbing ended close to the summit, just a few yards away.

Although the Seattle mountaineering duo had to give up on their historic summit dream of the K7 Central back in July, considering the safety factors, they have returned again to claim their victory on the sloped of this unclimbed mountain in the Karakoram.

First K7 Central Ascent

During their first ascent of the K7 mountain, both Jeff Wright and Priti Wright successfully opened routes on the North and East Faces of the mountain. But, during their ascent to K7 Central, they had to halt their ascend and fall back due to threats on the slopes.

Coming just about 100 meters short of the summit, the Seattle mountaineering couple had to forego their expedition just at their hand’s reach. Even after the crack they were following to the summit petered out, Jeff Wright tried to force his way to the summit, but he ended up taking two lead falls on the treacherous slopes of the mountain.

Realizing the futile resistance, Jeff and Priti decided to descend down the mountain, even though it meant letting the glorious and historic moment slip out of their hand. The American mountaineering couple followed the Central Couloir route on their descent down from the mountain.

Although they didn’t make it all the way to the top of the K7 Central, their achievement was a great feat in the history of Karakoram mountaineering. Jeff Wright and Priti Wright made a record ascend close to the summit on the virgin slopes of the Karakoram range.

According to the mountaineering couple, the M5 and 5.11 sections above 6,500 meters altitude were the most difficult sections during their ascent. Jeff and Priti Wright, after their descent from the K7 Central, reached the Base Camp (4,360 meters) in the Charakusa Valley on 20th June 2023.

Jeff Wright and Priti Wright’s Third Ascent in Karakoram

Despite coming across a life-threatening situation on the slopes of the unclimbed Karakoram range during the final stretch and vowing never to return again to the deadly mountain after reaching the firm ground.

The American mountaineering enthusiast couple seems to have gotten over the experience during their first ascent of the K7 Central within a span of a week. Jeff Wright and Priti Wright have returned again to Karakoram to conquer the slopes of K7 Central and engrave their name in the mountaineering history.

But this time around, the Seattle mountaineering couple decided to their expedition under their wrap. Stepping away from social media and delaying their progress report to the sponsors, they have tried to keep their third expedition in Karakoram away from public attention.

Jeff and Priti Wright followed this hush-hush strategy during their third expedition in the region, partly to stay focussed on their expedition and also to avoid sharing too many details of their expedition that might tempt other teams to snatch the victory on the unclimbed mountain before them.

The Seattle mountaineering wife and husband have promised to share further updates of their historic expedition via InReach.

Jeff Wright and Priti Wright had climbed the K6 Central at an elevation of 7,155 meters. (23,475 meters) on 9th October 2020.