Catalan climber Silvia Vidal has made the first ascent of Naufragi (1050m, A4+/6a+) in the Kinnaur Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. She climbed the route alone, in slightly over three weeks and in some of the worst monsoon rains on record.

The name Naufragi means 'shipwreck' in Catalan and given the challenges she faced to climb the route, it’s easy to see why she might have chosen this name. Having only one picture of the wall and a location from Google earth it took her some time to find the wall, in the mist. On top of weather difficulties and the altitude, difficult sections of aid took longer than expected leading to strict rationing of her food and brushes with hypothermia.

Writing for Planet Mountain she commented

One day, when jumaring, I lost consciousness, due to hypothermia because of excess of humidity. I had rationed food and water for 18 days and in the end I spent 25 days up there. This and the bad logistics were the reason that thoughts of quitting crossed my mind on various occasions. At one point I down-climbed part of a pitch but then I realised that I didn't want to leave the wall, I was too motivated to leave despite the terrible weather and all the hard work I had put in. I always believed the weather was going to change, but it didn't...

For the complete story of Naufragi visit

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=37673