tibet 2006 - Climb Magazine

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C
A
B
3
2
1
The approach to Chomolhari. (A) Chomolhari II East (c6,920m). (B) Chomolhari II (aka Tserimkang or Jangmo Gopsha: 6,972m). (C) Chomolhari (7,326m). (1) North West Face
(Blagus/Cuder/Kladnik/Krmelj/Lorencic/Prezelj, 2006; c1,500m: 60°). (2) the North Couloir and East Ridge (Blagus/Cuder/Kladnik/Krmelj, 2006: 1,900m: TD+: 80°). (3) The
North West Pillar (Lorencic/Prezelj, 2006: 1,950m: ED2: M6+ and 80°). MARKO PREZELJ
TIBET 2006
This report documents the main events on
Tibetan mountains during 2006. It begins
with arguably one of the finest ascents
anywhere in the World during that year, the
North West Pillar of Chomolhari, and then
reverts to our usual progression from west
to east through the ranges, at first covering
areas to the north of the Himalaya and
finally the Himalaya itself. Climbs include
first ascents in the Western Nyanchen
Tanglha, a spirited attempt on the
unclimbed Nenang in the Eastern Nyachen
Tanglha, and new routes on Xixabangma,
Palung Ri, Cho Oyu, Hungchi and Chomo
Lonzo North.
1
2
HIMALAYA
Chomolhari
One of the most notable achievements of the
year throughout the Himalaya-Karakoram,
and one that would eventually produce the
2006 Piolet d’Or winners, was the first
ascent of the elegant North West Pillar of
Chomolhari (7,326m), a remote peak on the
Bhutan-Tibet border in the eastern sector of
the Himalayan chain.
The camp midway up the North West Face of Chomolhari II East (c6,920m) during the first ascent. Behind is
the main summit of Chomolhari (7,326m) with (1) the North Couloir and East Ridge
(Blagus/Cuder/Kladnik/Krmelj, 2006: 1,900m: TD+: 80°). (2) The North West Pillar (Lorencic/Prezelj, 2006:
1,950m: ED2: M6+ and 80°). MARKO PREZELJ
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B2
2
B1
The North West Pillar of Chomolhari (7,326m) showing the line of the first ascent and bivouac sites. The
climbers spent one night at B2 and three nights at B1 (c6,300m), two on the ascent and one on the descent. The
mountain was climbed in rather more snowy conditions than anticipated. MARKO PREZELJ
In September a Slovenian team
comprising Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Matej
Kladnik, Samo Krmelj, Boris Lorencic and
Marko Prezelj, accompanied by a doctor,
Damijan Mesko, established Base Camp at a
little over 5,000m close to the holy lake of
Chomo Lharang below the Chomolhari
Massif. The mountain was well-plastered
with snow, and while they allowed this to
consolidate, the Slovenians acclimatized by
climbing three straightforward and
predominately rocky peaks of 5,700m5,800m on side ridges above the lake. To
further their acclimatization they then made
the first ascent of Chomolhari II East.
Chomolhari II is sometimes referred to as
Tserimkang or possibly Jangmo Gopsha and
is 6,972m on the Chinese map. The group
spent two days climbing the left side of the
North West Face weaving a line between
seracs with short sections of deep snow up
to 60°. The East Summit is around 50m
lower than the West, which remains
Marko Prezelj bridging wide across difficult mixed terrain in the middle section of the North West Pillar of Chomolhari (7,326m). BORIS LORENCIC/MARKO PREZELJ COLLECTION
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Sha Mo Karpo Ri (White
Cap Mountain: 6,261m)
lies at the head of the
valley south west of the
Nyanchen Tanglha
Massif. The route of
ascent took the
tributary glacier to the
left and climbed onto
the left ridge leading
north to the summit.
The main glacier rises
to a high pass, which
leads toward the Nam
Tso, the second largest
saltwater lake in Tibet.
CHRISTIAN HAAS
unclimbed. During the descent in
increasingly windy conditions, some of the
group spent a second night at the camp midway up the face, in order to improve
acclimatization.
The team now split for an ascent of their
main objective, Chomolhari. The first ascent
of this holy mountain is one of the more
underrated achievements in our history and
an epic tale of Himalayan suffering. It was
climbed Alpine-style in 1937 by Freddie
Spencer Chapman and a very young and
inexperienced Pasang Dawa Sherpa. Setting
off from the settlement of Phari in the
Tibetan Chombi Valley, they first made a
huge four-day trek around the southern
flanks to gain the South East Spur, which lies
in Bhutan. They climbed the route without
crampons (they had none), then suffered
blizzards, long falls, snow blindness and
serious crevasse incidents during a more or
less foodless descent, and finally regained
Phari after 14 days. The route, which is
generally straightforward except for the final
narrow crest, was repeated in 1970 by the
Indian Army, though two members were lost.
A joint Sino-Japanese team made the third
ascent in 1996 via the South Ridge from
Tibet, fixing much rope and joining the
Original Route at c6,000m. This was repeated
in a four-day Alpine-style push during 2004
by Julie Ann Clyma and Roger Payne, who
previously became the first party to make an
attempt on the north side of Chomolhari,
reaching 6,000m on the North West Pillar
before forced down by very high winds.
On the 12th October the six Slovenian
climbers moved up to a bivouac below the
mountain, and on the 13th began their
respective lines. Blagus, Cuder, Kladnik and
Krmelj opted for the North Face itself. Left of
the steep, ice plastered wall below the
summit two parallel couloirs rise to the crest
of the East Ridge. The four Slovenians
followed the left hand gully and two days
later reached the crest of the ridge at
c7,100m. They reached the summit on the
14th and returned to Base Camp in a fourday round trip. They bivouacked twice at the
same spot in the couloir, c6,800m. Although
original thoughts had been to descend the
generally easy-angled South Ridge, then
reverse the ‘96 Japanese Route, the large
amount of snow on the mountain simply
precluded this option. The c1,900m snow and
ice route, climbed in pure Alpine Style, was
felt to be TD+ with sections of 80° in the
upper section.
Meanwhile, Lorencic and Prezelj started up
the North West Pillar. In strong winds, which
earlier in the expedition had flattened tents
at Base Camp, the two reached the crest and
continued to a comfortable and windprotected bivouac behind a snow cornice
guarding a sort of rock cave, a little below
half-height on the pillar. The terrain above
looked difficult and the next day the pair left
most of their gear, taking only one light sack
and hoping to reach the top if conditions
were amenable. But the climbing proved to
be thin and mixed, with occasional sections
of ice poorly bonded to the rock and
difficulties up to M6+. A very steep chimney
was avoided on the left and after 500m, when
still a reasonable distance from the summit,
they located a possible bivouac site and
descended to their previous camp for the
night. During this descent they rappelled
directly down the c20m chimney and left a
rope in place.
Next day, loaded with heavy sacs but
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Nyanchen Tanglha Central Summit (7,117m) showing the line of the South South West Spur. This route was
climbed in an impressive continuous push of just 15 and a half hours round trip from Base Camp by an Austrian
pair for the fifth recorded ascent of the mountain. CHRISTIAN HAAS
benefiting from their hardened steps of the
previous day, they regained their high point.
After climbing the fixed rope, Prezelj still
had to re-lead some delicate technical
sections (Prezelj led every pitch on the
route), though any progress was impeded by
buffeting winds and copious spindrift.
However, the pair managed to excavate a
reasonable bivouac site and the next day the 16th - set off for the summit.
Three long and difficult mixed pitches,
including dry-tooling a steep chimney,
brought them to the top of the final rock
barrier, above which only a snow ridge
remained. Both climbers were now fatigued
and very cold but, with Prezelj forcing the
pace, pressed on to reach the wind-battered
summit and a magnificent panorama along
the Himalayan chain; east along the mostly
unclimbed peaks of the Bhutan-Tibet
watershed, and west over Sikkim towards
Kangchenjunga.
The descent went well: they spent the
following night at the site of their first
bivouac (c6,300m) and the subsequent day
reached Base Camp. The 1,950m route was
rated (ED2, M6+ and 80°). Prezelj felt the
climb to be similar to the Golden Pillar of
Spantik, of which he made the second
ascent, and suggested that the pair’s
logistics and choice of tactics probably
proved more important than an ability to
overcome the technical difficulties.
WESTERN NYANCHEN TANGLHA
Sha Mo Karpo Ri and Nyanchen
Tanglha Central
On the 5th October, Christian Haas and
Hansjoerg Pfaundler from Austria made the
first ascent of a previously unnamed 6,261m
mountain at the head of the valley
immediately south west of the three huge
snow/ice summits that make up the 7,000m
peaks of the lofty Nyanchen Tanglha massif,
c80km north of Lhasa. Haas had visited the
same valley in 2005, when he made first
ascents of 6,232m Gompo Garpo Ri and
6,221m Pajan Zhari (see September 2006
INFO). Arriving at Base Camp on the 2nd,
having acclimatized elsewhere in China, the
pair were able to climb Bella Vista (c6,000m)
just two days later, from where they could
see their proposed objective to the north, a
high snow peak left of the c5,816m pass
leading north towards the Nam Tso, the
second largest salt water lake in Tibet. The
following day they left Base at 8.40am,
climbed onto the South Ridge and after
ploughing through deep snow up to 45°,
arrived on the summit at 3.50pm. GPS
measurements gave the altitude as 6,261m
and the coordinates N 30° 22,641’, E 90°
30,015’. In falling snow and windy conditions
they regained their tents at 7pm. Because
of its shape, the summit was named Sha
Mo Karpo Ri, which is Tibetan for the White
Cap Mountain.
The Austrian pair then turned to the rarely
climbed Nyanchen Tanglha Central (7,117m)
and after several abortive attempts on the
previously climbed South South West Spur,
reached the summit on the 12th in an
impressive single push. Leaving Base at
6am, they climbed a vertical height of
1,850m to gain the summit at 5.30pm,
returning to Base by 9.30pm. Underfoot
conditions were good except for the final
section of deep snow. The GPS came in
handy once again during the descent, when
wind and cloud obstructed all visibility on
several short sections.
The first ascent of this central summit
(aka Nyanchen Tanglha II) was made in 1989
by Wolfgang Axt and four other members
from his Austrian expedition. The Chinese,
Raja Cering, Wa Huijung and Tan Yanching
repeated this route in 1992, as did a multinational expedition led by Dan Mazur in 2001
and a commercially organized Austrian
expedition led by Erich and Stefan Gatt the
following year. The ascent by Haas (a
climbing partner of Erich Gatt) and
Pfaundler is most likely the fifth. The higher
northern summit (Nyanchen Tanglha Main,
aka North West or I: 7,162m) was climbed in
1986 by Japanese via the difficult West
Ridge, a route not known to have been
repeated. The lower south east summit
(Nyanchen Tanglha South East or III:
7,046m) was first climbed by Japanese in
1995 and again, via a new route, in 2002 by
the Gatts.
Valleys east of Nam Tso
In a mega spree of peak bagging, American
Sean Birch reached the summits of 63
‘peaks’ during the 23 days from the 9th
November - 1st December. Birch used a
Land Cruiser to reach an area of the
Western Nyanchen Tanglha, east of the
great lake of Nam Tso and close to the
major peak of Samdain Kangsang (6,590m).
He established seven different Base Camps,
from which he climbed summits between
4,896m and 5,671m. These peaks would
generally be easy, often rounded, bare scree
or rock-covered hills in summer but
climbing late in the year Birch found all to
be extensively snow covered and rather nice.
He experienced temperatures below -18°C,
high winds, avalanches, rockfall, crevasses
and, surprisingly, wild dogs and bears. A full
list of peaks, altitudes and coordinates
carefully logged by GPS, and an account of
the odyssey can be found on his website,
www.seanbirch.com
To read this article in full you can download it via the ‘Climb magazine Archives’, at
68 FEB 08
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EASTERN NYANCHEN TANGLHA
Kangri Garpo Range
Lhagu Glacier
The Japanese Silver Turtle Group comprising
Takeo Honjo (64, leader), Kaneshige Ikeda
(67), Haruhisa Kato (62), Isamu Moriyama
(67), and Hiroshi Sagano (61) returned to the
Lhagu Glacier in October, this time with skis
and this time with more success than on their
previous visits in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In
terms of surface area the Lhagu is the largest
glacier in Tibet (though appears to be
retreating rapidly) and even using snow shoes
the Japanese had failed to make much
progress towards its head during the early
years of the new millennium. This time, from
a Base Camp at 4,730m on the moraine
forming the northern bank of the glacier, the
team established Camp 1 at 5,200m and
Camp 2 at 5,260m. From here the group split
and on the 31st, in excellent weather, Ikeda
and Sagano skied toward the head, at the
point where it forms the watershed with the
Midoi Glacier to the north west,
reconnoitering and photographing the many
alluring unclimbed 6,000+m snow peaks
around the rim. Meanwhile Kato and
Moriyama headed towards the 6,260m
Hamokongga on the northern rim, a little
farther west of Camp 2, and then skied up a
5,928m peak called Snow Dome. They skied all
the way from the summit back to camp. This
was thought to be a first ascent.
By the 2nd November everyone had regrouped at Base Camp and the following day
were resting, waiting for horses to start their
journey home, when tragedy struck. Honjo
suddenly felt unwell, his breathing became
difficult and after a mere 15 minutes he lost
consciousness. Fifteen minutes after this his
heart stopped and sadly he passed away.
At much the same time the Japanese
explorer, Tamotsu Nakamura, editor of the
Japanese Alpine News, was also in this
region. He notes that Rawu Lake and the
entrance to the Lhagu Glacier are becoming
tourist spots, and an entrance fee of 20Rmb is
collected from foreigners at Lhagu Village.
Nakamura and his party visited the
neighboring Midoi and Mimei glaciers, noting
that the local government is developing the
Midoi Glacier for tourism (there was a group
of Chinese tourists on the glacier) and that
the north faces of Gemosongu (6,450m) and
Hamogongga (6,260m) are most impressive.
The Mimei glacier was surveyed by the
Chinese Academy of Science in the 1980s.
Three 6,000m peaks were seen in the
distance, but they were not particularly
attractive. This sojourn was part of a greater
The North Face of unclimbed Pt 6,006m on the Lhagu Glacier, Kangri Garpo Range.
CREDIT KANESHIGE IKEDA/TAMOTSU NAKAMURA COLLECTION
The North East Face of unnamed Pt 6,606m, the highest of a host of attractive unclimbed peaks that rim the
Lhagu Glacier in the Kangri Garpo Range. KANESHIGE IKEDA/TAMOTSU NAKAMURA COLLECTION
Nenang (6,870m), the
highest unclimbed mountain
in the Eastern Nyanchen
Tanglha, seen from above
the Niwu valley to the north.
This aspect of the mountain
is directly opposite to that
seen in the aerial
photograph that follows.
BRUCE NORMAND
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H
C
A rare aerial view of the highest unclimbed peak in the Eastern Nyanchen Tanglha, Nenang (6,870m), as seen from the
south east. Marked is the route attempted by the Anglo-American trio (above the huge southern ice fall). (C) Indicates
the approximate position of Camp 3 (5,990m) and (H) the high point on the East Ridge (6,565m). The first summit to the
left on the West Ridge is c6,150m, while the smaller peaks on the far side of the vast north east basin are 5,900-6,000m.
The Niwu Valley is in shadow behind. CREDIT TAMOTSU NAKAMURA
team established Base Camp at 4,100m in a
previous unvisited valley to the south and
some 14km distant from the peak.
The approach to the South Face involves
negotiating huge, difficult, complex icefalls,
which were obviously going to be timeconsuming. When the three climbers left
Base for their attempt, they carried 35kg
rucksacks and took five days to breach the
icefalls and establish Camp 2 at 5,500m. A
direct route up the steep fluted South Face
was discounted and the trio decided on a line
well to the right, a moderately-angled spur
leading up to the crest of the East Ridge.
Camp 3 was placed near the crest just below
6,000m. From here they took to the deep
snow of the North East Flank and finally the
upper, more technical, East Ridge, reaching
an altitude of 6,565m before being blocked by
an enormous crevasse bisecting the crest. It
was already late in the day and although they
contemplated lowering down, climbing out
the other side, and setting up a Tyrolean, this
would have led to an open bivouac high on the
peak in harsh, cold conditions. Instead, they
retreated to a camp at c6,200m in the hope of
later attempting an alternative route.
However, after two days’ bad weather and
journey Nakamura made during the autumn,
which included treks towards the glaciers
north of the Yigong Tso and, farther east,
toward the mountains north of Bomi via the
village of Yur.
The first team to reach the upper Lhagu
Glacier and the only team to climb a peak
prior to the Japanese in 2006, was a group of
New Zealanders who visited the region in
2001. They also hoped to try one of the major
peaks at the head of the glacier (the highest
is Pt 6,606m) but had to be content with a
smaller and much easier peak of 5,750m.
Nenang
Veteran American alpinists, Mark Richey and
Mark Wilford, together with the British
mountaineer, Jim Lowther, made a spirited
attempt on the highest unclimbed peak in the
Eastern Nyanchen Tanglha but came up just
300m short of the summit. The eventual
ascent of Sepu Kangri (6,950m) in October
2002 by Americans, Carlos Buhler and Mark
Newcomb, after three previous attempts by
British expeditions under Chris Bonington,
left Nenang (6,870m), hidden in a cluster of
spectacular snow-plastered mountains north
west of Basong Lake, the highest unclimbed
peak in this very extensive range. Although
one or two parties had inspected approaches
to the mountain, no attempt had been made
until October 2006, when the Anglo-American
70 FEB 08
The South Face of Palung Ri (7,012m) showing the line of Jan (Tozas, solo, 2006, 900m, UIAA IV, M4 and 90°). After his
ascent, the Spanish climber descended the West Ridge (left skyline). The right skyline is the South South East Ridge, of
which the first recorded ascent was made in 1995 by Andrej and Marija Stremfelj. The Palung La is off picture to the right.
CREDIT JORDI TOZAS
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Palung Ri
The summit of Cho Oyu (8,188m) on February 1977 as photographed from Emil Wick's
Pilatus Porter. (1) West Ridge (International team led by Krzysztof Wielicki, 1993). (2)
South West Face, Slovenian route (Kozjek, solo, 2006: 1,100m of new climbing: repeated
by Kovac, Samec, Aljaz and Emil Tratnik). (3) South West Face, Japanese route (Yamanoi,
solo, 1994: 2,000m). (4) South West Face, Polish-Swiss Route (Kurtyka/Loretan/Troillet,
1990: 2,000m). CREDIT JACQUES BELGE
While acclimatizing for an ascent of the Normal Route on Cho Oyu, on
which he was guiding for a commercially organized venture, the
Spanish climber, Jordi Tozas, made the first ascent of the South Face
of Palung Ri (aka Qow Zab or Balung: 7,012m). This relatively easy
snow peak lies immediately north of Cho Oyu and received its first
recorded ascent in 1995, when it was climbed via the South South
East Ridge above the Palung La by Andrej and Marija Stremfelj as
part of their acclimatization for a subsequent ascent of Cho Oyu. It
has been climbed several times since, including Japanese via the
North West Ridge in 2005.
Leaving Cho Oyu Base Camp on the 19th September, Tozas made
the easy walk along the moraine to the bottom of the face and started
climbing left of the summit fall-line. The lower face is steep snow and
ice, interspersed with rock bands. It offered good climbing in couloirs
and mixed terrain. Difficulties at first were UIAA IV and M4, after
which the route followed long narrow couloirs that were not sustained
but had short steps of 80-90° ice. These terminated at the start of a
3
A
with all their food eaten, retreat was the only realistic option. The trio
returned after a total of 13 consecutive days on the mountain, having
experienced, somewhat surprisingly for this climatically challenged
region, largely good weather. Not surprisingly, snow conditions were
appalling and deep powder on the approach to the ridge led to very
technical snow-shoeing: to quote one of the Americans, “the hardest
effort any of us have given in the mountains”. Back home, all were in
agreement that this region holds some of the greatest untapped
climbing opportunities in the World, packed above a spectacular
approach through dramatic gorges.
HIMALAYA
Xixabangma
On the 3rd October, Inaki Ochoa de Olza reached the main summit of
Xixabangma (8,012m) having made what is believed to be a new variant
on the North Face. The Spanish climber followed the Normal Route to
Camp 3 (7,440m), the point where it climbs onto the final ridge leading
up to the Central Summit (7,999m, Chinese map). From there he moved
down and east, descending 150m before continuing his leftward
traverse. He crossed a rimaye and climbed to a rocky buttress, passing
it on the left flank via a step of UIAA III. He then continued up the North
East Face (60°) to hit the South East Ridge at 7,950m. This is more or
less the same point that the 1982 British Route emerges from the
South West Face. From here it is a short distance back right to the
summit.
Ochoa de Olza left Camp 1 (6,400m) at 1am and reached the main
summit at 2pm, naming his new 800m variant Lorpen-Diario de Navarra.
At first this was thought to be a repeat of a line taken some years ago
by a Russian team but it appears the latter left the Normal Route at a
much higher altitude. The Spanish line avoids some of the problems
that often occur with avalanche-prone snow high on the mountain,
either in following the Chinese traverse (the route followed on the first
ascent in 1964) or the sharp connecting ridge from the Central to Main
summits. De Olza was the first to reach the Main Summit during the
autumn season, despite almost 100 climbers working on the Normal
North Side route at the time. It is his 11th 8,000m peak and his fourth
attempt to climb to the highest point of Xixabangma. (He reached the
Central Summit in 1995.)
1
2
4
A rather tilted picture of the South West Face of (A) Chomo Lonzo North (7,199m). The
face on the right edge of the image rises towards the summit of Chomo Lonzo Central
(7,514m). (1) North West Ridge (Graziani/Trommsdorff/Wagnon, 2005: 1,500m: TD: first
ascent of the mountain). (2) West Face - Unforgiven (Benoist/Glairon-Rappaz, 2005:
1,100m: ED M5+ WI 4/5). (3) North Ridge of Chomo Lonzo Central over the summit of
Chomo Lonzo North (Graziani/Trommsdorff/Wagnon, 2005: c1,800m: ED: first ascent of
the mountain). (4) Little Prince (Babanov, solo, 2006: 1,000+m: TD+ M4: to junction with
3 but not to summit). CREDIT VALERI BABANOV
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snow/ice slope that led less steeply (50-60°)
towards the summit ridge. Tozas climbed
this, and trending east over dangerous windblown snow and scary cornices, reached the
summit.
From here the Spaniard opted to descend
the West Ridge as it leads more towards the
direction of Base Camp, and the glacier
slopes below the ridge are not as crevassed
as those below the Palung La. He climbed
entirely alone, took no rope and was back at
camp in an eight-hour round trip, naming
the 900m new route Jan.
C3
C2
C1
Sunset on Kokodag (7,210m on the Chinese Map) in the Kongur Group. The route followed and camps made on the South
Spur are marked. The North West Summit, the rounded snow dome to the left, is 100m lower. The tumbled icefall to the
left again is the upper Kokeser Glacier. CREDIT LEV IOFFE
Climbing above a dust storm on the first ascent of Kokodag, Kongur Massif. The barren moraines of the Kokodag Glacier
below lead down to the Kengxuwar Valley.
CREDIT LEV IOFFE
72 FEB 08
Cho Oyu
Understandably overshadowed by the wellpublicized and tragic events that took place
on the Nangpa La just a few days earlier,
when Chinese Border Police fired on a group
of fleeing Tibetans, killing a 17-year-old nun
Kelsang Namtso, the solo ascent of a partial
new route to the summit of 8,188m Cho Oyu
by accomplished Slovenian mountaineer,
Pavle Kozjek, was one of the main highlights
of the Himalayan post-monsoon season.
Kozjek and his fellow Slovenian team
members, Marjan Kovac, Uros Samec, Aljaz
and Emil Tratnik (son and father) first
acclimatized to 7,000m on the Normal Route,
where they left a tent (at the standard site of
Camp 2). They then moved to an Advanced
Base at 6,200m on the Gyabrag Lho Glacier
close to the South West Face. On the 2nd
October, Kozjek set off for a new route on
the face, well left of the two existing lines;
the Polish-Swiss Route
(Kurtyka/Loretan/Troillet, 1990: 2,000m) and
the Japanese route (Yamanoi, solo, 1994:
2,000m). He carried only a bivouac sac, three
bottles of water and a few energy gels.
Kozjek’s 1,100m line offered predominately
snow and ice climbing at 50-60° but at
c7,200m, a little below the exit onto the West
Ridge, his way was barred by a very steep,
10m ice fall, which he avoided by climbing
rock to the right (UIAA V-). At c7,300m he
joined the ridge and from that point
struggled to make upward progress through
deep snow. At 7,750m the route up the West
Ridge joins the Normal Route above Camp
III. Here, Kozjek continued up the track,
across the plateau and gained the summit at
6pm, completing his ascent in a single push
of 14.5 hours.
In the meantime the other four Slovenians
had repeated the route (Samec and Aljaz
Tratnik after abandoning an initial attempt
on the Polish-Swiss). Kovac and Emil Tratnik
traversed from the West Ridge to the tent at
Camp II to spend the night, while Samec and
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The double-summitted Qong Muztagh (East, 6,950m; West, 6,920m) seen from the south east during a circumnavigation
of the range. The West top was reached by Japanese in 2000 but the higher East Summit remains unclimbed.
CREDIT OTTO CHKHETIANI
Aljaz Tratnik decided to stop at Camp III. All
four had climbed the 10m icefall direct at AI
4 and all four would reach the summit the
following day.
Kozjek descended from the top, stopped
for a cup of tea with Samec and Tratnik at
Camp III and then continued to II, where he
found an empty tent, in which he spent the
night without a sleeping bag. Next day he
descended to Base Camp, reaching it after a
total of 30 hours. His ascent marks the first
time that a new route on an 8,000m peak has
been soloed in a single push and in a day,
and his style is in stark contrast with that of
today’s climbers on the Standard Route.
Cho Oyu is considered the easiest (and
safest) of the 8,000m peaks and nowadays
attracts large numbers of commercially
organized expeditions: aspiring Everest
summiteers often test their suitability for the
World’s highest peak by first going to Cho
Oyu, often the year before their Everest
attempt. It was first climbed in 1954 by a very
lightweight Austro-Nepalese expedition with
minimal fixed rope and no supplementary
oxygen. The style of ascent has degenerated
so much that it is estimated in 2006, when
there were over 80 expeditions on the
mountain (all but one on the Normal Route
and all but 13 or 14 successful), over 90% of
successful summiteers allegedly used
oxygen and extensive Sherpa support.
Most of the West Ridge had been climbed in
1986 by a Polish expedition led by Ryszard
Gajewski. This team climbed the South West
Buttress at the left end of the South West
Face from an Advanced Base at 6,000m. The
main difficulties were encountered on a rocky
section below 7,000m, which the Poles
climbed direct at UIAA III. They continued up
the ridge above, then slanted left on the
North West Face to join the Normal Route at
7,750m, following it to the summit (as did
Kozjek). In September 1993 a strong
international expedition led by Krzysztof
Wielicki climbed the entire ridge from its
base. The team established Camp 2 on the
ridge at 7,000m, after having fixed c400m
rope on a difficult rocky section below. From
this camp Wielicki and Marco Bianchi
reached the summit and returned in a long
day. They were followed six days later by
Joao Garcia and Piotr Pustelnik.
In 1990 the all-star team of Voytek
Kurtyka, Erhard Loretan and Jean Troillet
started up the South West Face at 6pm,
climbed through the night and by the
following night were bivouacking just 100m
from the top. They reached the summit next
day and descended the Normal Route. Four
years later, in an exemplary solo effort,
Yasushi Yamanoi started up the face to the
left of the Polish-Swiss line at 8.30pm,
bivouacking the following night at 7,600m. He
reached the summit next day and bivouacked
at 7,000m on the Normal Route (at the same
time two female Japanese made the second
ascent of the Polish-Swiss Route with three
bivouacs).
Hungchi
In April 2003, Katsuo Fukuhara, Tadashi
Morita and Kanji Shimizu from Japan, and
Hitman Tamang, Ram Kaji Tamang,
Santaman Tamang and Tul Bahadur Tamang,
all from Nepal, reached the previous virgin
summit of Hungchi (7,036m sometimes
referred to as Cha Khung or Gyuba
Tshomotse in Nepal and Fungqi in China) via
the South West Ridge. The mountain lies on
the Nepal-Tibet border south of the Nup La.
Some of the Japanese had taken part in the
first official attempt on this mountain, which
took place via the same route during the
autumn of 2001. The second ascent followed
only five days later when a Korean expedition
repeated the route with a variant in the lower
section. Later the same year another
Japanese expedition led by Masakatsu
Nakamura attempted the mountain from
Tibet. This team made a long approach up
the Rongbuk Glacier from Everest Base
Camp, fixed rope up the right side of the
North Face to a 6,600m col on the crest of the
North West Ridge, and then continued up the
following day, reaching a point 200m below
the summit, where above a steep and very
time-consuming snow step they retreated
late in the day (see March 2004 and May 2005
INFOs for details and photographs).
It is believed that this same route - North
Face to North West Ridge - was followed in
the autumn of 2006 by another five-member
Japanese team led by Toshiya Nakajima. This
time they were successful, with Naoyuki
Momose and the leader reaching the summit
on the 1st November.
Chomo Lonzo
In the spring the well-known Russian
mountaineer, Valeri Babanov, failed in his
attempt to solo the first ascent of the West
Face of Chomo Lonzo (7,790m) but as a
consolation prize managed an incomplete (no
summit) new route on Chomo Lonzo North
(7,199m).
Due to deep snow on the approach, the
Russian spent much time reaching his
4,750m Base Camp below the mountain, and
although he left Kathmandu on the 15th
April, it wasn’t until the 2nd May that he had
established an Advanced Base at 5,900m on
the Chomo Lonzo Glacier below the West
Face of Chomo Lonzo Main Summit. He made
two attempts on this face, on the second
reaching a sitting bivouac at 6,500m. The
following day, the 10th May, he gained a
further 100m, making slow progress on the
difficult and consistently steep wall.
Estimating that it would take about a week to
reach the summit and realizing that there
were few places to bivouac, even in a sitting
position (he was not using a portaledge), he
retreated. Chomo Lonzo Main Summit has
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There are many high unclimbed summits in the remote Qong Muztagh Massif of the Kun Lun. The unnamed Pt 6,710m,
seen here from the south east, lies immediately east of Qong Muztagh itself and might provide a relatively non-technical
ascent in good snow conditions. CREDIT OTTO CHKHETIANI
only received two known ascents: in October
1954 via the South Ridge from the Makalu La
by Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray during the
Makalu reconnaissance expedition (an
unauthorized ascent), and in 1993 by a
Japanese team, which climbed an ice spur to
the depression between Chomo Lonzo and
Makalu II at the head of the Chomo Lonzo
Glacier, then followed the hanging glacier
above to the South Ridge.
Close to his Advanced Base lay the South
West Face of Chomo Lonzo North. In 2005 the
French had climbed two routes to this
summit: North West Ridge
(Graziani/Trommsdorff/Wagnon: 1,500m: TD)
and the West Face - Unforgiven
(Benoist/Glairon-Rappaz: 1,100m: ED M5+ WI
4/5). To the right of Unforgiven a huge
snow/ice couloir rises towards the col
between Chomo Lonzo North and Central
(7,541m). It is topped by a rock barrier but
Babanov felt there were various options
through this to the summit ridge. He crossed
the rimaye at 7am on the 16th with rock and
ice gear, two 60m ropes, a light sleeping bag,
stove and hammock tent. At first he was able
to climb without belaying but above 6,400m
the couloir steepened and he was forced to
backrope and haul his sac. At 9pm he
reached the rock band at 6,800m and climbed
another 30m in a couloir before making a
poor bivouac.
After a sleepless night, he left most of his
gear behind and set off for the summit.
However, distances were deceptive and after
12 hours, not only had he failed to reach the
74 FEB 08
summit, but he hadn’t reached the summit
ridge. Finally, at 9pm he climbed the final
rope length in the last glimmer of light to
reach the crest at c7,100m. Here he
intersected the existing French route on the
ridge connecting Chomo Lonzo North and
Central, and most likely had already been
following the top section of Unforgiven. He
descended from this point without continuing
to the summit, collecting his bivouac
equipment and reaching the glacier at 5am
the following morning. The line, named Little
Prince (1,000+m: TD+ M4), was completed in a
round trip of 47 hours from Advanced Base.
INFO: Valeri Babanov/Sean Birch/Christian
Haas/Pavle Kozjek/Jim Lowther/Marko
Prezelj/Tamotsu Nakamura and the Japanese
Alpine News/Jordi Tozas
CHINA 2006
The first part of our report on China covers
the Kun Lun, where one Russian team made
a highly committing exploratory
circumnavigation and another climbed one of
the last remaining virgin 7,000m tops. And on
the little visited north side of the Karakoram
a Swiss-German team climbed a new route in
the Gasherbrums.
WESTERN KUN LUN
Kokodag
During August a Russian team comprising
Ivan Dusharin, Lev Ioffe, Lena Lebedeva and
Sasha Novik made the first ascent of Kokodag
(7,210m on the Chinese map to the region).
This rather rounded high snowy peak sits on
the long ridge extending west from Kongur,
between Kongur Tube (7,530m on Chinese
maps, 7,546m on Russian) and Aklangam
(6,978m on Chinese maps, 7,004m on
Russian). The peak has two summits: the
highest point is a narrow rocky crest, while
the North West Summit (7,129m on Chinese
maps) is a broad snow dome some two
kilometers distant. The obvious approach is
from the south and this was the route
followed by the Russians, who travelled south
from Kashgar on the Karakoram Highway.
After one day’s trek from the road, they set
up Base Camp on the 22nd July. After
establishing Camp 1 at 5,400m at the top of a
scree slope below the peak, the climbers
followed a rounded south-facing snow ridge
towards the snow dome and then slanted
right across the upper snow fields to reach
the crest of the rocky ridge. The lower snow
ridge was 40-60° and heavily crevassed
between 5,700m and 6,200m. Camp 2 was
placed at 6,000m from where a summit
attempt was made on the 3rd August. The
upper traverse carries a certain amount of
avalanche danger, especially after fresh
snow, but on this occasion it was poor
visibility, brought on by a strengthening south
westerly wind, that turned them around.
After this, a spell of poor weather, which
brought moisture and dust from the Arabian
Peninsula, prevented any climbing, but on the
9th the team made their second attempt. This
time they moved Camp 2 to 6,500m but were
still thwarted by zero visibility at c7,000m.
However, their tracks were in place and the
following day they were able to reach the rock
ridge before the visibility decreased, and then
climb the crest to the summit. The last 200m
involved unstable rock with unreliable
protection. A rapid evacuation of the
mountain ensued and the party was back in
Kashgar by the 13th.
The Qong Muztagh Massif
In recent years the Russian, Otto Chkhetiani,
has been exploring the Western Kun Lun,
making impressive self-supported journeys
through various parts of this rarely visited
range. He returned in 2006 to make a
clockwise circumnavigation of the extensive
Qong Muztagh Massif, bringing back photos
and information on high peaks such as the
unnamed Pt 6,946m and Qong Muztagh
(6,950m) itself.
The journey started from the village of Polu
on the 9th September with Vasilyi Ivanov,
Edmundas Jonikas, Alexander Moiseev and
Tadeush Schepanyuk. With a team of donkeys
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and two local guides, they walked south
through the Kourab Gorge, crossed east over
the high passes of Is-dawan (5,140m) and
Tourpa-ata-dawan, then traversed the large
dry plateau of Goubaylkk. After six days and
100km they were ensconced in a camp next to
the clear waters of the Aksu, a major
tributary of the Kerija. To this point the way
was known, being travelled by great Central
Asian explorers such as Grabzhevskyi,
Przhevalskyi and Stein. Chkhetiani himself
had walked this section in both 2003 and
2005, the latter during a committing
unsupported crossing of the Western Kun Lun
from north east to south west (see August
2006 INFO).
Guides and donkeys now returned, leaving
the Russians to acclimatize in the ice-capped
rocky massif to the north (5,964m or 6,198m
on Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data),
then move north east to the northern slopes
of the Qong Mustagh Group. But at this point
Moiseev, an experienced mountaineer with
extensive experience at altitude, suddenly
developed all the symptoms of altitude
sickness. Jonikas accompanied him back to
Polu, leaving only Chkhetiani, Ivanov and
Schepanyuk. These three split essential
equipment and food between them, making
the initial weight of their rucksacks around
55kg (28-30kg at the end of the trip) and
headed straight for Qong Mustagh.
In 2000 a Japanese expedition made the
first ascent of the West Summit (6,920m) of
Qong Mustagh, a double-topped peak situated
north west of the main crest. However,
according to SRTM, the East Summit is the
higher at 6,950m and remains untouched.
The Japanese approached from the north via
the village of Kyantokai, following the route
taken by the military explorer, Captain Deasy,
in 1898. Hidden farther to the east lies the
unclimbed Pt 6,946m, and the map showed a
valley leading south east into the heart of the
range towards it. The Russians began their
trek up this valley but, unfortunately, soon
reached a narrow gorge, which they ascended
to 5,000m before being stopped. Retreating,
they moved around the northern and then
eastern side of the mountains, getting
splendid views north to the 6,743m Lushtagh
Ridge, before turning south and eventually
working west around the southern slopes of
the range, where they spotted many
straightforward climbing objectives of 6,3006,600m but had no time to attempt any of
them. The highest pass crossed was 5,890m
and then they were moving north to join their
outward route at Aksu, from where they
returned to Polu. The three had taken 35 days
G3
G
The North East Spur leading to the East South East Ridge of Gasherbrum II (8,035m). After climbing this spur with two
camps at the approximate positions marked (the middle section was turned on the right), the Swiss-German trio
continued as far as (GE), Gasherbrum II East (7,772m). (G) is Gasherbrum II and the right skyline falling from its summit
is the upper section of the North East Pillar climbed in 2007. CREDIT UELI STECK/HANS MITTERER COLLECTION
to make the circumnavigation, a roundtrip
from Polu of 550km. Pt 6,946m had shown
itself on rare occasions but the Russians now
know how to reach it and are planning a
return trip.
KARAKORAM
Gasherbrum II East
On the 19th July, Cedric Hählen and Hans
Mitterer (Germany) and Ueli Steck
(Switzerland) made the second ascent of
Gasherbrum II East (7,772m) via a new route
from the East Nakpo Glacier to the north. It
proved to be one of the most notable
achievements anywhere in the mountains of
the Karakoram during 2006. The three were
part of a nine-man expedition that
approached via the normal route to the north
side of K2, then continued up the Shaksgam
River and North Gasherbrum Glacier,
eventually establishing an Advanced Base on
the East Nakpo below the northern flanks of
Gasherbrum II (8,035m). Few have seen this
side of the mountain, though its Chinese face
and North East Pillar became well known to
discerning mountaineers through the
photographs taken by Kurt Diemberger
during his visits to the area in 1982 and 1983.
The Swiss-German objective was to attempt
the North East Pillar - dubbed the Magic Line an elegant spur that begins with a c900m
rock buttress leading to a glacial plateau at
6,000m, then continues with a steep rib of
snow and ice that rises directly in a
compelling line to the summit. However, after
watching enormous avalanches sweep the
approach to the foot on a regular basis, they
decided to look for an alternative (in July
2007, after fixing 1,200m of rope, the route
was climbed by Daniele Bernasconi and Karl
Unterkircher - Michele Compagnoni
traversing across to the Normal Route just
below the top. The three continued to make a
traverse of the mountain by descending the
Normal Route to the standard Pakistan Base
Camp on the South Gasherbrum Glacier).
The Swiss-German team, which also
included Stefan Siegrist, opted for an
objectively safer spur on the left edge of the
face leading to the crest of the East South
East Ridge. Conditions were poor, the route
long, and the climbers decided that, for them,
an Alpine-style ascent was unfeasible. They
fixed some rope and established two camps,
the highest at 6,800m. The initial section
proved technical with a difficult snow
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C
B
2
A
2
1
2
The Chinese faces of the Gasherbrum Group with (A) Gasherbrum I (8,068m), (B) Gasherbrum II East (7,772m) and (C) Gasherbrum II (8,035m). (1) The route followed and camps
established by the 2006 Swiss-German team. Cedric Hählen, Hans Mitterer and Ueli Steck reached the summit of Gasherbrum II East. (2) The North East Pillar climbed by Daniele
Bernasconi and Karl Unterkircher (with Michele Compagnoni almost to the top) in 2007. One of the approaches to the upper snow spur of the Pillar envisaged by the 2006 expedition was
a dangerous rightward traverse from the lower of the two camps marked on route (1). In 2007 the Italians climbed directly to the snow spur via the rock buttress below. Moraine in the
foreground lies on the East Nakpo Glacier and the face above rises nearly 3,000m from here to the summit. CREDIT UELI STECK/HANS MITTERER COLLECTION
mushroom that had to be bypassed by rappel
and a tricky traverse. Above came a huge
rimaye, crossed on partially frozen snow, and
then an extremely loose rock barrier, which
was described as ‘65m of delicate mixed
climbing on vertical scree’. A period of
unsettled weather with heavy snowfall was
then followed by an abortive attempt on the
summit. For most of the team, their patience
ran out, leaving only Hählen, Mitterer and
Steck up for a final attempt.
On the 8th these three regained Camp 1
and the following day left at 9.30am. They
reached Camp 2 and then broke trail up to
7,100m before returning to this high camp,
where they slept from 5pm-10pm. Leaving
rucksacks in their tents, they set off in the
76 FEB 08
dark and pushed the route out through deep
snow, sometimes up to their waists. Hählen
seemed a little unwell and began to drop
behind. They eventually reached the crest of
the East South East Ridge, which was “in
perfect conditions – for powder skiing!”
Trudging along the summit ridge, the two
lead climbers reached the final couloir, where
a second axe would have proved very useful
on the unexpected 60° snow and ice. At the
top of this gully, Mitterer and Steck waited an
hour for Hählen, who had managed to soldier
on, and at 7am all three stood atop
Gasherbrum II East. The sun’s rays were
already striking the avalanche prone slopes
ahead and the team quickly decided not to
continue with a 300m descent and
subsequent 500m re-ascent to the main top.
This appears to be first time the 7,772m
summit has been reached since its original
ascent by legendary Poles, Jerzy Kukuczka
and Voytek Kurtyka, during their traverse of
Gasherbrum II. In addition, it is only the
second major route to be completed from this
part of the Shaksgam: the other, which took
place in August 1992, was the first ascent of
the Chinese (East) Face of Broad Peak
Central (8,006m) from the North Gasherbrum
Glacier by Oscar Cadiach, Enric Dalmau, Lluis
Rafols and Alberto Soncini from a SpanishItalian expedition.
INFO: Otto Chkhetiani/Lev Ioffe/Hans
Mitterer and the reference source of the
American Alpine Journal