![Cole Lawrence sends Pitch 6 (5.13a) on the first free ascent of Super Ultra Mega, an eight-pitch route on an unnamed buttress in Montana's Bitterroot Range. [Photo] Winter Ramos](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/super-ultra-mega-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Missoula climber Cole Lawrence and several partners completed a vision that began a decade ago when he established and redpointed Super Ultra Mega (5.13a, 8 pitches) on an unnamed, unknown buttress in Montana’s Bitterroot Range last September. The climbers say this is just the beginning of the potential for new, big free routes and that it’s time to put the area on the map.
![Tom Ballard, left, and Daniele Nardi. [Photo] Daniele Nardi's Facebook page](https://i0.wp.com/alpinist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ballard-nardi-1.jpg?resize=930%2C620&ssl=1)
Tom Ballard, 30, of Britain, and Daniele Nardi, 42, of Italy, are missing on Nanga Parbat (8126m) in Pakistan. According to updates on Nardi’s Facebook page, helicopters are attempting to deliver a rescue team “as close as possible” to Camp 3 today, where a tent “invaded by snow” was spotted amid “traces of an avalanche” during a morning reconnaissance. The climbers were last heard from on Sunday, February 24, while attempting a winter ascent via a new route up the Mummery Rib, which is prone to avalanches. Their last known position is somewhere around 6300 meters between Camp 3 and Camp 4.
