Autumn 2013 | The Action Continues
The temperatures in Himalayas are dropping, but the climbing action continues. Lhotse is the only 8000er where climbing is still underway, but more teams are present on lower peaks. Meanwhile there are reports about some new routes and first ascents in Himalayas.
Summit Push on Lhotse
The latest dispatch from Korean team suggests that they’re going for the summit, now. The plan is to ascend to C2 on October 30th, C3 on 31st, C4 on November 1st and to the summit of Lhotse on 2nd. Conditions on the mountain have been quite tough this season, majorly due to excessive snow deposited during the Cyclone Phailin. The teams were stuck at the Base Camp for several weeks.
As per our Korean friend, Kyu Dam Lee, summit push is being launched via the challenging South Face of the mountain. Few days back, they tried to open the route till C4, but had to stop slightly short of the Camp, due to snow.
Saipal Climb
The French team attempting the rarely climbed Mount Saipal (7031m) in Far Western Region of Nepal has reached 5440m on the mountain. After two flights and five days of trek, they reached the Base Camp at 4300m on October 23rd. Over next couple of days, they transported the loads to Advanced BC at 4800m.
On October 26th, they ascended to 5400m for acclimatization and load shifting, before returning to Base Camp for rest. The team is on the up again. JB de Miscault, Emmanuel Abele and Thomas Charbonneau reportedly reached Red Rock Camp (at 5450m), yesterday. Other three members were expected to join them today. Team is reporting very cold temperatures.
First Ascent of Kishtwar Kailash
British alpinists, Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden, made the first ascent of 6451m Kishtwar Kailash, earlier this month. The two climbers ascended the exciting 1500m Southwest Face of the mountain between October 4th and 9th, in alpine style. They were back to BC by the end of day October 10th. Detailed report about the ascent appears here.
New Route on GauriShankar
More good news from French climbers; Pierre Labbre, Mathieu Detrie, Matthieu Maynadier and Jerome Para has opened a new route on South side of GauriShankar (7134m) – a ‘blessed’ mountain at the border of Tibet-Nepal in Rolwaling Himalaya. They ascended the mountain in alpine style. “About the climb, we have climbed it in three days from the 20 to the 23”, report the team.
News Awaited from Lunag-I
News is awaited from Lunag Ri, where Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb were planning to launch the summit bid on October 25th. They were expecting that round trip to virgin summit of 6895m Lunag-I would take four days. Although, given the challenging conditions in Himalayas, it’s quite possible that they are still on the mountain.
Frequent updates appear in Tweet Box on right side of this blog, Twitter and Facebook Page.
Summit Push on Lhotse
The latest dispatch from Korean team suggests that they’re going for the summit, now. The plan is to ascend to C2 on October 30th, C3 on 31st, C4 on November 1st and to the summit of Lhotse on 2nd. Conditions on the mountain have been quite tough this season, majorly due to excessive snow deposited during the Cyclone Phailin. The teams were stuck at the Base Camp for several weeks.
As per our Korean friend, Kyu Dam Lee, summit push is being launched via the challenging South Face of the mountain. Few days back, they tried to open the route till C4, but had to stop slightly short of the Camp, due to snow.
 |
Saipal Climb
The French team attempting the rarely climbed Mount Saipal (7031m) in Far Western Region of Nepal has reached 5440m on the mountain. After two flights and five days of trek, they reached the Base Camp at 4300m on October 23rd. Over next couple of days, they transported the loads to Advanced BC at 4800m.
On October 26th, they ascended to 5400m for acclimatization and load shifting, before returning to Base Camp for rest. The team is on the up again. JB de Miscault, Emmanuel Abele and Thomas Charbonneau reportedly reached Red Rock Camp (at 5450m), yesterday. Other three members were expected to join them today. Team is reporting very cold temperatures.
 |
The Red Rock Camp at 5440m on Saipal NE ridge. Photo from French 2010 expedition.
Photo: Paulo Grobel, Source |
First Ascent of Kishtwar Kailash
British alpinists, Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden, made the first ascent of 6451m Kishtwar Kailash, earlier this month. The two climbers ascended the exciting 1500m Southwest Face of the mountain between October 4th and 9th, in alpine style. They were back to BC by the end of day October 10th. Detailed report about the ascent appears here.
 |
New Route on GauriShankar
More good news from French climbers; Pierre Labbre, Mathieu Detrie, Matthieu Maynadier and Jerome Para has opened a new route on South side of GauriShankar (7134m) – a ‘blessed’ mountain at the border of Tibet-Nepal in Rolwaling Himalaya. They ascended the mountain in alpine style. “About the climb, we have climbed it in three days from the 20 to the 23”, report the team.
 |
GauriShankar (7134m) is a far off mountain in Rolwaling Himalaya at the border of
Tibet-Nepal. Source |
News Awaited from Lunag-I
News is awaited from Lunag Ri, where Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb were planning to launch the summit bid on October 25th. They were expecting that round trip to virgin summit of 6895m Lunag-I would take four days. Although, given the challenging conditions in Himalayas, it’s quite possible that they are still on the mountain.
Frequent updates appear in Tweet Box on right side of this blog, Twitter and Facebook Page.
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