There has been some really big ascents during the fall of 2013. The most famous one is surely Ueli Steck's lightning fast solo of , dubbed one of the more significant ascents ever. However, handful of other world-class ascents also took place during the same Himalayan fall season.
Ueli Steck soloed the difficult face along the route made famous by epic 1992 attempt by Pierre Beghin and Jean-Christophe Lafaille which ended in Beghin loosing his life.
- UPDATED: Ueli Steck's Annapurna South Face Solo. "After a 28-hour solo push, Steck summited the South Face, completing the 1992 line attempted by Beghin and Lafaille and the first solo ascent of Annapurna's main South Face." By Shey Kiester at Alpinist on 2013-10-11.
- NEWSFLASH: Annapurna South Face Climbed in Alpine Style, Again. "Yesterday morning, French climbers Stephane Benoist and Yannick Graziani successfully summited the South Face of Annapurna in alpine style, marking the second ascent of the route Ueli Steck soloed just sixteen days before." By Shey Kiester at Alpinist on 2013-10-25.
- Ueli Steck's historic ascent of Annapurna. "In one of the most audacious, yet perfectly executed, climbs in recent years, Ueli Steck has soloed a new route on the south face of Annapurna." By Lindsay Griffin at The British Mountaineering Council on 2013-10-15.
- Benoist and Graziani repeat Ueli Steck's route on Annapurna. "Remarkably, just a couple of weeks after Ueli Steck's ground-breaking solo ascent of Annapurna's south face, his route received a second ascent from experienced French alpinists Stéphane Benoist and Yannick Graziani." By Lindsay Griffin at The British Mountaineering Council on 2013-10-30.
The other highlight of the fall is the newest creation of Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden. The pair had previously won Piolet d'Or for their stunning ascent of Siguniang (Inside LineSiguniang Shan6250mNorth faceED+; VII/AI6/M61500m). This time around, they climbed previously unclimbed SW faceKishtwar Kailash6451mSW faceED; Sco VI1500m in Indian Himalayas. The peak is located in disputed Kashmir area which has kept it off limits for foreign climbers since mid 90's.
- A Seven-Day FA in the Kishtwar Himalaya. "Political problems in Kashmir have put the Kishtwar Himalaya more or less off limits to foreigners since 1994. One team managed to get in and make an ascent of Cerro Kishtwar in 2011 but that was very much an isolated ascent, and by 2013 the valley containing our objective, Kishtwar Kailash, had not been visited by mountaineers for over 20 years." By Mick Fowler at Alpinist on 2013-10-30.
- Kishtwar Kailash: first ascent by Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden. "In October 2013 British alpinists Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden made the first ascent of Kishtwar Kailash (6,451m), Indian Himalaya." By Planetmountain at Planet Mountain on 2013-10-23.
- Fowler and Ramsden make first ascent of Kishtwar Kailash. "Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden have once again pulled off a fine ascent in the Indian Himalaya by climbing the previously virgin Kishtwar Kailash via the difficult southwest face." By Lindsay Griffin at Planet Mountain on 2013-10-23.
- Fowler & Ramsden: 1st Ascent of Kishtwar Kailash. "Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden have made the first ascent of Kishtwar Kailash (6451m) in the Indian Himalaya.The pair reached the summit by a route on its 1500m southwest face, with mixed climbing up to Scottish VI." By Dan Bailey at UKC Climbing on 2013-10-22.
Less attention was paid to rare ascent of beautiful Peine ProlongéeGauri Shankar7145mGauri, South sideED+; WI5+ M5 A11900m in Rolwaling Himal of Nepal. The peak has only been climbed a handful of times previously and all routes are difficult.
- Gauri Shankar, first ascent of the south face by the Pamalade team. "On 23 October the French alpinists Mathieu Détrie, Mathieu Maynadier, Pierre Labbre and Jérôme Para made the first ascent of the virgin south Face of Gauri Shankar (7134m) in the Rolwaling Himal, located on the border between Nepal and Tibet." By Planetmountain at Planet Mountain on 2013-10-30.
- Frenchmen Forge New Line on the Sacred Gaurishankar. "On October 23, French alpinists Mathieu Detrie, Pierre Labbre, Mathieu Maynadier, and Jerome Para climbed a new line to the top of the south face of Gaurishankar, a mountain honored by both Hindus and Buddhists as one of the most holy." By Shey Kiester at Alpinist on 2013-11-08.
- Gaurishankar NE face attempt. "Gaurishankar (7,135m), south summit, northeast face, attempt." By Kei Taniguchi at American Alpine Journal.
- Gaurishankar, South summit. By Peter Boardman at American Alpine Journal.
- Gaurishankar's West Face. By Wyman Culbreth at American Alpine Journal.