This 1400m[6] route to Meru Central follows North East Pillar,[6] over the "Shark's Fin", a massive granite feature on the northeast face[7] variously described as a "prow", "blade" or "nose".

[8] Its exceptional difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that its most technical rock climbing is near the top, meaning that heavy gear needs to be carried almost all the way.

[10] A serious attempt was made by the primarily British team of Paul Pritchard, Johnny Dawes, Noel Craine, Dave Kendall and Philip Lloyd in 1993.

[12] In 2003, Americans Conrad Anker, Doug Chabot and Bruce Miller completed the bottom part of the wall, before veering off onto ice flutings, then eventually turning back.

[7] In 2004, Japanese climbers Hiroyoshi Manome, Yasushi Okada, Makoto Kuroda, and Yasuhiro Hanatani failed after an accident injured one of the team members.

[8] In 2009, Slovenians Silvo Karo, Marko Lukic and Andrej Grmovsek unsuccessfully attempted the route, turning around at the base of the headwall, due to insufficient gear, poor acclimatisation and an Alpine-style approach.

[8] The first successful climb of the route was made in October 2011 by Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk,[15] the same team that had narrowly failed in 2008.

[16] They overcame a broken portaledge, and a "mini-stroke" suffered by Ozturk,[17] but cited excellent weather as a major factor in their success,[8] which was recognized also by Guinness World Records as the first ascent of this peak.