AAJ 2009 Excerpt: India Reports

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India Overview. First ascents, high peaks, exploration, and challenging climbs by Indian mountaineers: all were part of 2008 in the Indian Himalaya, a year that will be remembered for energetic climbs and generally settled weather.

Sixty-five foreign expeditions visited the mountains. Since the IMF opened a liaison office at Leh to collect fees, Stok Kangri has become its most profitable peak, with 21 official foreign ascents. Add to this ascents

by Indian teams and unauthorized climbers, and this peak will go into the books as the most climbed mountain above 6,000m. The area of Kishtwar, once a paradise of challenging mountains, has been closed for many years due to terrorism in Kashmir. A British-Canadian-American team tried to approach Kishtwar Shivling from the north, crossing the Umasi La, but a small incident en route scared their porters, who then refused to carry loads over the pass. According to the porters, terrorists were watching. Kishtwar will have to wait till things improve.

There were 57 Indian expeditions during the year, and some completed excellent climbs.

A small team from Bengal reaching the summit of Thalay Sagar, till now the preserve of strong foreign teams. Tirsuli West was climbed for the second time by an Indian expedition. This high peak had defeated several strong teams. Maiktoli via the south face, Srikanta, and Manirang were other high peaks climbed by Indians. This is a welcome sign, and we hope that a new breed of young Indian mountaineer will continue to climb without fixed ropes and Sherpa support.

There were also expeditions climbing in new areas and opening new valleys. Irish teams explored Gramang Bar in Kinnaur and climbed in the Debsa valley of Spiti. Two Indian teams took on the unclimbed Nya Kangri and Plateau Peak. Both are challenging summits in the East Karakoram and will need strong teams to achieve success. A British team took a historic trail, exploring an approach to the Zemu Gap (Sikkim) from the south, intending to traverse the pass. Their route over the high Guicha La to the Talung Valley was not without difficulties. But the icefall beyond and approaching bad weather stopped further movement. This is a worthy project, and hopefully a team will return to reach the Zemu Gap for the first time since H. W. Tilman.

HARISH KAPADIA, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal Fast track permits. 113 Himalayan peaks were pre-cleared for 2009, meaning that obtaining permits should only take two–three weeks. You still need to fill out an application and other formalities, but now you can arrive on a tourist visa, so the hassle is quite reduced. These 113 peaks include some of the plums like Shivling, Meru, Bhagirathi, Satopanth, Thaley Sagar, Nanda Devi East, Trisul 1, Nanda Kot, Nilkantha, and Chaukhambha in Uttarakhand; Nun, Kun, Pinnacle, White Needle, Z1, Z3, and Z8 in Zanskar. In Himachal Pradesh most of the peaks from CB 9 to 35, White Sail, Papsura, Deo Tibba, Menthosa, and Phabrang are included, among many

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others. We are now trying to reduce some of the other restrictions, such as use of GPS and satellite phones, and availability of detailed maps.

MANDIP SINGH SOIN, Ibex Expeditions, India

EAST KARAKORAM Chong Kumdan II (7,004m). The isolated Chong Kumdan Group was explored in 1991 by an Indo- Looking west from Chong Kumdan I. (A) Chong Kumdan Mont Blanc.

British expedition that climbed 10 (B) Chong Kumdan III (6,670m: unclimbed but attempted to within peaks, including the first ascent of 70m of the summit by the ridge connecting with Kichik Kumdan). (C) Chong Kumdan II (7,004m): the French team made the first ascent by the highest, Chong Kumdan I the left skyline. (D) Kichik Kumdan (ca 6,640m). Lindsay Griffin (7,071m). This team approached along the Shyok River and then west up the long Chong Kumdan Glacier. During the expedition joint leader Harish Kapadia investigated an approach to the Nup La (ca 6,250m), the col at the head of the glacier immediately south of Chong Kumdan II. Huge crevasse fields barred his way, making an approach to CK II both difficult and long. A later foray to the north side of this peak showed no easy route, and it was the only major summit in the group not attempted.

In 2007 an Indo-American team visited the Chong Kumdan Map of the Chong Kumdan region. Lindsay Griffin Glacier, with CK II as its main goal. Again huge crevasses and towering seracs barred access to this unclimbed peak and the team turned to CK I, where they made the second ascent, by a new route (AAJ 2008).

That same year I led a commercially organized expedition to Mamostong Kangri (7,516m), a peak south of the Chong Kumdan Group, making a successful ascent from the south. I realized that from Mamostong base camp there was a long but feasible glacial route north, crossing several high cols, which would lead to the Nup La and south ridge of CK II. In 2008 I decided to put this idea to the test.

At the beginning of August our team left the 4,900m Mamostong base camp and with the help of high-altitude Ladakhi porters moved slowly but continuously toward our goal. After nine days we had crossed one unnamed col to the South Terong Glacier, traversed north, and crossed a second pass to gain the upper reaches of the Chong Kumdan Glacier. From near the second col we climbed a previously virgin summit of more than 6,000m, naming it HMI Peak.

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from a rocky ridge to the west, and also from avalanches discharging down the southeast face.

On June 26 we fixed four ropes in the gully, reaching a height of 5,800m. Our chosen route looked good and appeared safe from objective hazards for most of its distance. We hoped to establish Camp 1 on the 28th, but the weather broke at our high point. We left gear and retreated in strong winds and heavy snow.

The weather gods were not kind. For two days it snowed heavily, plastering the entire region. We now had little time in which to climb the mountain and keep to our return schedule. On July 2 we made a final attempt to establish Camp 1, digging out our ropes and reaching 5,900m. From there we had to cross a narrow snow chute, before reaching the base of a 200m snow slope leading to our proposed site. Deep, unconsolidated snow over hard ice and rock made this too dangerous, and we reluctantly descended, removing all our gear.

June is considered the best period for climbing in the East Karakoram, but for us the conditions were more like those during the monsoon in Mumbai. But when we got home to Mumbai we found out it had not rained there at all during peak monsoon season.

DIVYESH MUNI, Himalayan Club, India Reaching the summit of HMI Peak (6,000m+) on the first ascent. Behind and to the east are Mamostong Kangri (7,516m, left) and Mamostong Kangri II (7,023m). Paulo Grobel

(The Indian members of our expedition came from Darjeeling’s Himalayan Mountain Institute.)

At this point most Indian mountaineers and the porters returned, leaving four French and two Indians to continue toward CK II. Eleven days after leaving base camp, we placed Camp 8 (6,550m) above the Nup La on the south ridge of CK II. On the following day all the team (Indians Samgyal Sherpa and Konchok Thinless and French Sebastiano Audisio, Bernard Meurin, Dominique Ravot, and I) reached the southernmost of the ridge’s four summits, which we named Chong Kumdan Mont Blanc. The following morning, day 13 from leaving base, Audisio, Ravot, and I crossed another summit (Cima Daniela) to reach CK II’s main summit.

Descent was rapid, and in two-and-a-half days we all reunited at Mamostong Base Camp.

Although the technical difficulties were modest (AD for the final section, with the steepest part being below the Nup La), it was a committing journey through complex, often delicate terrain.

Our practice of a slow but steady ascent from base camp, where relatively small daily height gains allow good acclimatization, seems to be paying off.

PAULO GROBEL, France Nya Kangri, south ridge, attempt. In June and July the Himalayan Club sponsored Vineeta Muni, Rajesh Gadgil, Rajan Rikame, and me in an attempt on the beautiful unclimbed snow and ice pyramid Nya Kangri (6,480 m), at the entrance to the Arganglas Valley. Since 2001, when I first visited the valley, Nya Kangri has been high on my list. As we flew in to Leh clouds hung ominously over the region. We stayed a night at Tegur before starting our approach march on June 19. For three days 11 horses carried our food and equipment to base camp at Phonglas (4,600m) on the true right bank of the river. Light rain accompanied us on the walk in, while it snowed higher on the mountains. With the south ridge as our objective, we reconnoitered a route to advanced base, which we placed at the snout (5,400m) of a small glacier originating from the south face. A 700m gully on the southeast face led to the crest of the south ridge. It proved a challenge to find a route up this gully that was safe from constant rockfall coming

Plateau Peak, attempt. The Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) organized an 11-member expedition, led by Wing Commander N. K. Dahiya, to attempt the virgin 7,287m Plateau Peak southwest of Saser Kangri I. The team approached from Panamik in the Nubra Valley and on July 26 established base camp on the Phukpoche Glacier at 3,950m. Members had to ferry loads between the roadhead and advanced base camp at 4,875m, as few porters were available. After climbing the southwest slopes to the west ridge of Plateau Peak, the team set Camp 1 on the crest at 5,650m. They continued up the ridge, fixing rope, to place Camp 2 at 6,400m. From there, they planned to make a summit attempt but first fixed their remaining 1,100m of rope on the crest above. This proved insufficient, so they added another seven climbing ropes. They reached a high point of 6,900m on August 3, but bad weather and unconsolidated snow forced retreat.

HARISH KAPADIA, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal

HIMALAYA ZANSKAR Golden Sentinel, north ridge, east face; The Chessboard. In August 2007 the Curbatt Group from the Menaggio section of the Italian Alpine Club celebrated its 25th anniversary by an expedition to the Suru Valley, where we hoped to climb a virgin summit above 5,000m. Members of the group had climbed nearby Kun in 1995, 4,600m Gulmatonga Tower in 2002, and in 2003 5,500m Kova Peak by a magnificent 1,000m route on compact granite with 29 pitches to 6a+.

Leader Maurizio Orsi, Andrea Bordoli, Daniele Curti, Alessandro Giudici, Daniela Travella, Cristian Trovesi, and I arrived in the Suru during early August, hoping to attempt Shafat Fortress. To our surprise we discovered Jonny Copp and Micah Dash already acclimatized, and ready to go. So we turned to the second major tower on the ridge north of the Fortress, a ca 5,200m rock peak that we dubbed Golden Sentinel. [The first is Peak Giorgio, climbed by another Italian expedition in 2005 and repeated by Copp and Dash in 2007—Ed.] We climbed the Golden Sentinel by two routes: an eight-pitch route, UIAA VI, on the airy north ridge and a line up the east face named Viaggio nell’Ignoto, a seven-pitch route, also

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A foreshortened view of the east face of Golden Sentinel (ca 5,200m). (1) Italian descent. (2) Viaggio nell’Ignoto (UIAA VI, seven pitches, CAI Curbatt Group, 2007). (3) North ridge (UIAA VI, eight pitches, CAI Curbatt Group, 2007). This summit lies immediately north of Peak Giorgio, climbed in 2005 by another Italian expedition. Fabrizio Mazza

UIAA VI. We used only nuts, Friends and a few pegs. Both routes began from an advanced camp placed below the summit pyramid, ca 900m of relatively easy terrain above base camp.

We then turned to a subsidiary buttress rising 700m above our 4,000m base camp. Here, we established a 1,200m-long route of great character, weaving an intricate line up dihedrals and slabs at UIAA V+. We named the route the Chessboard. We completed all routes in a day. Most of us approached the area via a flight from Delhi to Leh, but Giudici and Travella cycled the 1,000km in 15 days.

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tranquil. Our Liaison Officer joined us at this stage. A seasoned mountaineer, Amresh was also a mango-eating champion (2.4kg in three minutes) and former Guinness World Record holder for standing on one leg (71 hours 40 minutes).

Our team assembled, we journeyed past the Nun-Kun massif to the Pensi La (4,400m), where Z3 (6,270m), our primary objective, could be seen towering above the glacier. Despite initial optimism from our climbing Sherpas (Narbu and Dorjee), closer inspection from a base camp on a moraine at 4,620m revealed that the mountain had suffered since ascents in the 1980s. A couple of avalanches confirmed our fears, and we felt compelled to look for another target, away from black ice and loose rock.

While exploring the upper glacier, we surveyed another mountain that looked safe and achievable. To reach it, we passed beneath the previously climbed Rahamo and through a spectacular glacial ice canyon that cleaved a passage through the main icefall. Above this we established advanced base camp at 5,025m.

The following day, August 2, we woke to clear skies and good snow. Although our goal was still some distance away, we soon reached the Savoia Pass immediately north of our proposed peak and began the ascent. The northwest flank proved to be similar in many ways to the Voie Normale on the Weissmies (Swiss Alps). Steep, crevassed glacial terrain eventually gave way to a balcony nestled beneath rocks at 6,000m. The summit seemed a long way off, and with bad weather approaching and fatigue creeping in, we decided on one last push. To our surprise the summit was far closer that we expected, with a short, steep section leading to a perfect snowy pinnacle, on which we recorded two GPS readings of 6,026m and 6,032m and an altimeter reading of 6,035m. We decided to take the average of GPS readings, which so far had proved more reliable, hence 6,029m. We enjoyed excellent views of the whole range before the long climb down.

Having consulted the journals and found no recorded ascents of the mountain, we christened it Mt. Aiseo, and awarded a grade of PD, chiefly for crevasse problems. As a whole, the area offers considerable scope for challenging and adventurous climbing.

EDWARD COOPER, Alpine Club

The 700m-high granite buttress next to the 2007 Italian base camp in the Suru River Valley, showing the 1,200m-long route, Chessboard. Fabrizio Mazza

FABRIZIO MAZZA, Italian Alpine Club Mt. Aiseo, northwest face. Having never climbed in the Greater Ranges before and with a fulltime job to start in September, I found the prospect of a first trip to the Himalaya hard to resist.

Adriano Ferrero, Simon Lorenz, Aimone Ripa di Meana, Oliver Ullrich, and I would make up a team of varying experience and fitness. Following in the footsteps of Mummery and Abruzzi, we would head to Zanskar’s Durung-Drung Glacier. After a couple of months trying to get fit on the treadmills of London, we flew to Srinagar. The atmosphere was tense, with a heavy troop presence, but from our houseboats on Dal Lake the scene could hardly have been more

Shinkun East. A seven-member Indian team, led by Subrata Chakraborty and organized by the Himalayan Club, made the first ascent of Shinkun East (6,081m), which rises to the west of the Shinkun (formerly Shingo) La. Shinkun East is a relatively insignificant eastern outlier of previously climbed Shinkun. They established base camp at Chuminakpo (4,650m), and a higher camp at 5,190m. On September 9 the team reached the top of an unnamed 5,912m point, where they set their final camp. On the 10th Chakraborty, Jayanta Chattopadhay, Debraj Dutta, Rudra Prasad Halder, Goutam Saha, and porter Harsh Thakur negotiated a cornice and two 70m rock bands, then traversed another rock barrier to an ice slope that gave a straightforward ascent to the summit.

HARISH KAPADIA, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal

LADAKH Kula, west ridge, second ascent/possible variant. On June 29 Gaurav, JS Gulia, and Amardeep, with two HAPs, Fateh Chand and Pyare Lal, reached the 6,546m summit of Kula in the Rupshu region. Kula is the name assigned this peak on the most recent Survey of India map, though the IMF refers to it by its former name of Chalung. The team from Sainik School Kunjpura, led by

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Gulia, approached via the village of Sumdo and the Ribil Phu Valley. They established base camp at 5,200m and a higher camp at 5,900m. From there they followed the west ridge to the top to make the second ascent of the peak.

Kula was first climbed in 1997 by Tsuneo Suzuki’s Japanese team, which also approached via the Ribil Phu to the small glacier north of the mountain. The Japanese first climbed the glacier toward the summit, but as it seemed avalanche prone, they headed for the west ridge. They reached the crest and followed brittle rock (fixing a short amount of rope) to reach a final ice slope, which eased in angle to the summit. It took six hours from Camp 2 at 5,800m to the top. The Indians may have followed this route or made a minor variant by climbing the ridge more directly.

HARISH KAPADIA, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal

HIMACHAL PRADESH LAHAUL Pangi Valley, Shib Shankar. A five-member Japanese expedition, led by Shoji Sakamoto, applied to the IMF for a permit to climb Shib Shankar (a.k.a. Sersank), a 6,000m peak immediately south of 5,239m Sersank Pass at the head of the Lugai Nala (valley). This pass links the Darlang Nala in Kishtwar to the Pangi valley but has become difficult to cross due to a complex icefall on the east side. Shib Shankar, which lies north of 6,142m Shivu, the main peak in the Pangi region, was attempted in 2007 via the northwest ridge by a British party (AAJ 2008). However, the IMF told the Japanese, “There’s no mountain called Shib Shankar on our map.” A permit was issued for an unnamed peak of 5,525m, but the IMF added, “If you find this Shib Shankar, you’re free to climb it.” On July 11, the expedition established base camp at 4,160m below the west flank of the mountain. Two days later members established an advanced base at 4,360m on the right bank of the glacier, and then on the 18th, Camp 1 at 5,050m on a rock ridge on the west face. On the following day Hidetaka Iizuka, Kazuo Kozu, and Reiko Maruyama, with three high altitude porters—Gisidhas (Ganu), Kamlesh Kumar (Lagu), and Vilendes Singh (Bill)— continued above the rock ridge to the crest of the southwest ridge, which they followed to the summit. They didn’t reach the highest point but stopped 40m below the final rock outcrop in respect for the religious concerns of the local people. They recorded a height of 6,011m (GPS) and estimate that the true summit is ca 6,050m TSUNEMICHI IKEDA, for the Japanese Alpine News

MIYAR VALLEY Overview, history, and naming. The Miyar, north of the Chenab River at Udaipur, has evolved into one of the most popular Himalayan destinations for alpine rock climbers. Serious exploration first started here 40 years ago, and three main high peaks, Menthosa (6,444m), Phabrang (6,172m) and Gangstang (6,162m), have received sporadic attention. However, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that a group of Italian rock climbers, encouraged by reports from previous trekkers, began to develop the excellent alpine climbing, particularly fine granite rock routes on sub-6,000m towers in the valleys that flow west into the Miyar just below the glacier snout. Italian pioneers named a few of these valleys, and these were used in older reports. Several years ago a British expedition discovered local names, which are used below. To avoid confusion, the four main valleys on the east side of the Miyar are now named, from north to south, Jangpar

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(the formerly unnamed glacier flowing into the Miyar above its snout), Dali (formerly Thunder or Spaghetti, which flows into the Miyar just below the snout), Chhudong (formerly Tawa), and Takdung (formerly unnamed).

LINDSAY GRIFFIN, Mountain INFO Trento Peak; Om Shanti; Col 5,630m; Bruno Detassis Peak; Fiamme Gialle Peak. In September I led an expedition that included a doctor and eight mountaineers employed in the Italian Guardia di Finanza Mountain Rescue. We explored little-known areas between the Miyar Glacier and the Zanskar Range, making five first ascents in alpine style. We reached the standard Miyar base camp at Dali Got (3,960m, N 33°01'57.08", E 76°48'36.44") on September 3, and began moving equipment up the Jangpar, Chhudong, and Takdung glaciers.

On the 9th Giampaolo Corona, Christian Gobbi, and Mirko Groff made a one-day first ascent of a previously unnamed peak close to the head of the Takdung Glacier, east of the famous Neverseen Tower. After a complex approach through crevasses and seracs, they climbed the prominent southeast couloir, which was 800m long and featured deep snow up to 55°. At the top they emerged onto the knife-edge west (northwest) ridge at 5,800m and continued up it until they could move onto the steep north face of the summit spire. Here, they encountered mixed terrain up to 80° and slabby rock plastered with ice (UIAA V). Just below the top Gobbi was caught in a windslab avalanche, but with no serious consequences. The three reached the Trento Peak (6,046m GPS) above the upper Takdung Glacier, showing the line of the ascent: southeast face to northwest ridge to (hidtop at 3:30 p.m. and descended the den) north face. Bruno Moretti collection same route. The 1,000m TD+ climb took 16 hours roundtrip from the glacier. They named this elegant summit Trento Peak (6,046m, N 33°04'15.29", E 76° 54'42.95"; nearly all measurements in this report were by both GPS and Thuraya).

On the 11th, Corona and Groff climbed another previously virgin peak that they named Om Shanti (5,770m, N 33°04'42.45", E 76°54'21.66") meaning “mountain of peace” in Hindi. This lies a little Om Shanti Peak (5,770m GPS) above the upper Takdung Glacier, west of Trento Peak (but is separated showing the line of the first ascent via the south couloir to southeast from it by a fine, unclimbed rocky face. Bruno Moretti collection

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summit of perhaps 5,900m). The ascent was made by the south couloir to southeast face. The 50° couloir was snow and ice, but the face proved more demanding, with icy couloirs alternating with slabby granite (80°, UIAA V). They graded the 750m route TD+.

We believe this area to be previously unvisited, and that we were likely the first people to see the eastern faces of the betterknown peaks of the Chhudong, such as Neverseen Tower, Geruda, The northwest face of Ogre II (north summit on left; south summit to the right), showing the line of Ice on the Rocks to Col 5,630m, and and Lotos. then part way up the north ridge of Ogre II south summit. Bruno The middle section of the Moretti collection true left (southeastern) bank of the Takdung holds four great snow and ice peaks of 5,900m–6,000m. They were photographed from the Miyar Valley in 2002 by the Slovakian expedition and given names according to their similarity with famous peaks: Ogre III, Ogre II, Ogre I, and Mont Blanc. Ogre II, in particular, is a fine double-summited mountain with an imposing northwest face. On the 16th Corona, Gobbi, and Groff made the first ascent of the northwest couloir of The southwest pillar of “Bruno Detassis Peak” (5,760m GPS)—the southwest summit of Triple Crown—above the Chhudong Glacier. the 5,630m col (N 33°02'29.06", E Marked is the Fiamme Gialle Route. Bruno Moretti collection 76°54'18.90") between the north and south summits.

The route, named Ice on the Rocks, is more than 1,200m long and in the lower part consists of two 85°icefalls and some technical 70°gullies. It continues with a dangerous hanging snowfield followed by mixed terrain (85°, UIAA V+). After reaching the col at 5:30 p.m. the three climbers started up the northwest ridge of Ogre II’s south peak but gave up due to the late hour and the threat caused by windslab and unstable snow. They reversed the ascent route and were back in camp at 11 p.m. after a grueling 18-hour day. Daniele De Candido, Attilio Munari, and Riccardo Scarian operated in the upper Chhudong. On September 12 they reached the previously virgin southwest summit of Triple Crown, a three-summited mountain, the highest point of which had been climbed the day previously by Australians Natasha Sebire and Gemma Woldendorp [see below]. Looking from the upper Chhudong, Triple Crown is the fourth peak to the left (north) of Neverseen Tower. We named our new summit Bruno Detassis Peak (5,760m, N 33°05'12.95", E 76°53'08.10") after the Italian mountaineer who died earlier in the

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year. The three reached the top via a route dubbed Fiamme Gialle on the southwest pillar, which rose above their advanced base on the Chhudong and gave 850m (14 pitches) of cracks and slabs on excellent granite. They climbed the line on-sight over two days, using removable protection except at belays, which they bolted. Maximum difficulties were 6c+.

On the 14th, after an odyssey, the last of our teams, Cristian Brenna and Massimo Da Pozzo, summited the previously unnamed Fiamme Gialle Peak (5,577m, N 33°05'30.30", E 76°50'24.05") in the remote Jangpar area. On the 5th, in a 12-hour round trip from base camp, they reached the Jangpar Glacier and left their haul bags under a conspicuous boulder in the middle of an oceanic moraine. When they returned a few days later, hoping to collect the bags and move to the upper Jangpar, they found that an enormous rockslide had buried their gear.

After a cold night without equipment on the Jangpar moraine, they returned to base camp, picked up replacement gear and with a 35kg haul bag each, returned to camp close to the seracs of the eastern branch of the Jangpur, 7km of bouldery terrain up from its junction with the Miyar. Then in one day, starting at 4 a.m., they climbed Fiamme Gialle via its south-southeast face, which sits opposite the impressive north face of Three Peaks Mountain/Mahindra. They reached the summit after 14 roped pitches and 950m of climbing up to UIAA VI. A few bolts were placed at belays. They descended through the night, sitting out a snowstorm, and were back in the tent by 7 a.m. on the 15th. After the 16th bad weather prevented further climbing; during one night 40cm of snow fell at base camp and wrecked the tents at a high camp in the Chhudong. We eventually gave up and returned to Manali.

This activity might not have been possible without the help of our clever liaison officer Mr. Kaushal Desai and his Manali agency Above14000ft.com.

BRUNO MORETTI, Italy Three Peaks Mountain (Mahindra), southeast summit, The Taming of the Shrew. Our four-man Russian team, Eugene Korol, Alex Soshnikov, Dmitrii Vlaznev, and I, intended to climb a virgin mountain via a route of the highest grade of difficulty (6B in the Russian system). We chose Three Peaks Mountain because base camp can be reached easily in just two days with horses, and the southwest face is the biggest rock wall (700m) on one of the highest peaks (6,000+m) in the valley. Sharratt and Wilkinson climbed to the central summit in 2007, but the southeast summit remained unclimbed. We reached the valley on August 22, set up base camp, and began moving equipment up the Dali Glacier. The approach was hard: almost 1.5 km gain in altitude and 10km in distance. Halfway up we climbed a 400m rock wall, not so steep but still requiring us to fix two ropes. The right side of the southwest face features a long vertical crack attempted in 2003 by Slovaks Kopold and Stefansky. However, we thought we would climb it too fast, and as we wanted to prolong the pleasure, opted for the central and most difficult part of the face, directly below the southeast summit. This had the advantage of three big ledges splitting the wall into four almost equal parts. The ledges were large and had enough snow to allow us to avoid hauling a portaledge and water.

Then the weather got bad. We waited through more than a week of rain and snow before realizing that another long spell of fine weather might not materialize. We either had to opt for a route climbable in one or two days or attempt the wall in poor weather. We chose the latter.

We started the face on the first sunny day, September 3, reaching the first ledge after 14 hours of hard free and aid (up to A4). Over the next few days we managed no more than two pitches a day. The aid was often hard, and we had to make extensive use of the drill and skyhooks.

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The southwest face of Three Peaks Mountain (a.k.a. Mahindra). (A) Northwest summit (above 6,100m). (B) Small foresummit reached by Slovaks in 2003, named Mahindra, and quoted as 5,845m but seemingly more like 6,000m. (C) Central summit (above 6,000m). (D) Southeast summit (6,080m GPS). (1) Last Minute Journey (ED1, c900m of climbing, Kopold-Stefansky, 2003). (2) Ashoka's Pillar (5.11 R, 700m, Sharratt-Wilkinson, 2007). (3) The Taming of the Shrew (Russian 6B, F5c A4, 800m, Korol-Muryshev-Soshnikov, 2008). Andrey Muryshev

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The weather was harsh; it snowed every day and little avalanches hit us while we climbed. It was not what we’d expected; we only brought summer clothing to India (the locals told us that the weather during 2008 was the worst for 30 years in Lahaul and Spiti). Particularly unpleasant was our poor supply of gloves, and as we couldn’t climb in rock shoes, the maximum free climbing difficulty was limited to F5c. The aid proved to be the hardest of our lives, much harder than our 2007 route on Shipton Spire. When we reached the third ledge, the weather began to improve. However, Dmitrii caught a cold and had to remain in the tent. With time a consideration, we decided to avoid a direct line up the last section, instead moving left into a gully between the southeast and central summits. The terrain was much easier and we reached the col between the summits in little more than a day. From there we climbed a straightforward 100+m snow ridge to the southwest summit, arriving on the 12th. The top is a large snow plateau, where we stayed in perfect weather for half a day, taking photos and having fun. During the descent we experienced the disadvantages of good weather. The sun loosened rock on the ledges and one shot through the tent hitting Vlaznev on the head. By the time we got off the wall there were seven holes in the tent. His injuries, though, were not bad and once on the glacier the party was helped by a team of Koreans who had just arrived to attempt the wall, and, in base camp, by the doctor from the large Italian expedition. Our new route, the Taming of the Shrew, gave over 800m of climbing (22 pitches) and was graded Russian 6B. While we doubt it is free-climbable, it could be completed alpine style in good weather.

Finally, we want to speculate about the altitude of the summit. Using a barometric altimeter we measured the height of the southeast summit as 6,080m, making the central summit a little lower but still above 6,000m, and the northwest summit, still unclimbed, over 6,100m. These figures seem to be confirmed by photos taken from other high peaks in the area, and we feel the foresummit reached in 2003 by Kopold and Stefansky is higher than their quoted 5,845m.

ANDREY MURYSHEV, Russia Editor’s Note: The formation was originally named Three Peaks Mountain by one of the first explorers of this region, Massimo Marcheggiani. The southwest face received several attempts before 2003 when Slovaks Dodo Kopold and Ivan Stefansky climbed an ice/mixed corner system on the left side of the wall and continued up the ridge toward the northwest summit, reaching a foresummit at 5,845m before descending. They named this foresummit Mt. Mahindra. Subsequently, most visitors to the valley have now taken to calling the whole peak Mahindra. The name Three Goats Peak is also occasionally used, and the Russians discovered the local name Jungpada—jung meaning a high place with no grass, pada being a word for mountain. Jungpada could be translated “Lifeless Mountain.”

The view west from Om Shanti Peak (5,770m GPS) over the upper Takdung Glacier. Little’s sketch refers to a sketch map made by Graham Little, who visited the Jangpar in 2004. Bruno Moretti collection

Three Peaks Mountain, southwest face, attempt. Six young Koreans led by Lee Jae-yong attempted a new route on Three Peaks Mountain/Mahindra. By September 10 they had established Camp 2 on the upper Dali Glacier below the peak, hoping to make a completely free ascent of the southwest face of the central summit. Accompanying them was filmmaker Lim Il-jin, who was awarded a special prize at the 2008 Trento Film Festival. The proposed line was a direct approach to the upper section of the 2007 Sharratt-Wilkinson route, Ashoka Pillar, following the prominent black streaks on the smooth wall well right of Ashoka Pillar’s lower section.

However, the weather was so bad that Cho Kyung-ah could only climb two pitches, through the arch (5.10a and 5.11b).

CHRISTINE PAE, Director Korean Alpine Federation

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Point JAMES, east face; Nazomi Peak, southeast face; Triple Crown, southwest ridge from the west.

Natasha Sebire and I spent five weeks in the Miyar during August and September. From the standard base camp below Castle Peak, we concentrated our efforts on the side valley of the Chhudong. We established a camp in the lower Chhudong and on August 26 made an ascent of Point JAMES. After ascending an obvious gully from the valley floor, we climbed the east face by an easy route (5.6, 110m). This peak had been climbed previously in 2002 by a Slovakian team, who estimated the height to be ca 5,500m. However, we recorded 4,965m on the summit using both GPS and an altimeter. [Editor’s note: Although JAMES looks like a personal name, it actually refers to the Slovak Mountaineering Federation and is always spelled in upper case.]

On the 28th we climbed a peak with no record of previous ascent, immediately northeast of JAMES. The rock was good quality gneiss. We started at the lowest point of the southeast face on easy ground for 500m, some of it unroped. At the headwall five full pitches followed cracks, slabs, flakes, and corners to the narrow summit ridge. By the time we reached the pointed summit block after a final short pitch along the crest, it was snowing.

Our 800m route had difficulties up to 5.9; we named our summit Nazomi Peak (ca 5,300m). We then moved camp from the lower

Nazomi Peak (ca 5,300m) on the north side of the lower Chhudong Valley, showing the line of the 800m-long Australian route. Gemma Woldendorp

Gemma Woldendorp leading the crux pitch on the top headwall of the southeast face of Nazomi Peak (ca 5,150m). Across the Chhudong Glacier is the northeast face of Castle Peak (ca 5,470m). Natasha Sebire/Gemma Woldendorp collection

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valley up onto the Chhudong Glacier, where we spied a prominent peak with three sweeping summits, north of Paola’s Peak (ca 5,460m) on the eastern side of the glacier. We called this peak Triple Crown. Several days of snowfall plastered the peaks and rock walls, but on September 11 we started up a 350m couloir on the west side of Triple Crown. Mixed ground at the top took us onto the northwest ridge of the southwest summit, which we climbed for 300m on mostly soft snow over ice, to gain the summit ridge just below the southwest summit. From this point we climbed northeast over the central summit to the northeast summit—the highest point of the mountain (ca 5,800m). We graded our 1,000m route AD (70°).

We also attempted Veneto, which is two summits to the south of Three Peaks Mountain and has one previous ascent [850m, 6b+ and 85°, Gianluca Bellin and Diego Stefani, 1999]. Days of snowfall had resulted in less than ideal conditions, so we ascended a gully to its south and skirted around a vertical orange wall looking for a feasible route. Finally, a snow gully led into a basin at ca 5,470m, rimmed with jagged peaks. Due to cold and lack of time and bivouac equipment, we descended, noting that the surrounding peaks would provide excellent objectives, some consisting of a solid orange rock, and likely all unclimbed.

GEMMA WOLDENDORP, Australia.

A foreshortened view of the west side of Triple Crown (ca 5,800m), showing the line of the first ascent up the west face, northwest ridge of the southwest top, and finally the southwest ridge. The Italian route on the southwest pillar of the ca 5,760m southwest top (dubbed Bruno Detassis Peak, though it is more of a shoulder than a distinct summit) is in profile to the right. Gemma Woldendorp

Tamadonog (height uncertain) at the entrance to the Takdung Valley.

The highest summit was originally referred to as the “Walker Spur.”

Marked on the north-northwest face, in shadow to the left, are the approximate lines of (1) Doomed to Miyar (1,000m of climbing, UIAA VIII-, Krol-Wojcik, 2006), (2) Tocati di Bola (400m, 6b A2, CachoSans, 2005, not to summit), (3) Ocell a Vent (400m, 6b A2, CachoSans-Larranaga-Rodriguez, 2005, not to summit,). On the northwest ridge lie (4) Shakti (1,300m of climbing, UIAA V+ A1, Urtasun-Viscarrets, 2004), and (5) Long Life Ridge (1,400m of climbing, 5.9, Lopez-Pfaff, 2008). Camilio Lopez

Toro Peak, south face, Direttissma; Tamadonog, Long Life Ridge. On August 27 Anna Pfaff and I arrived at the usual Miyar Valley base camp after blue skies during our three-day trek, and then had to wait out a three-day storm. We scoped a direct line up the south face of Toro Peak and when the weather turned good set up camp near its base. We started climbing at 8 a.m. The first three pitches followed a 5.8 chimney system, which ended with a 5.9 roof (the crux of the route) and a hand

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crack to a ledge. From the ledge we traversed 210m across a 5.8 face, then climbed another 5.8 face pitch to the headwall. Of many options we chose the most direct line, climbing 280m of 5.8-5.9 face, with small cracks offering protection. We summited at 4 p.m., after climbing 800m.

Although overall rock quality and placements were good, the climbing was often runout. Our descent took us down the west ridge, 3rd to 4th class, and we were back in base camp before sunset, naming our route Direttissima.

Since the weather was holding, we headed for Tamadonog, a beautiful peak at the entrance to the Takdung Valley. As we were well-acclimatized, we went light and fast without a high camp. Setting off from base camp at 4 a.m., we started up the toe of the northwest ridge at 6:30. We simul-climbed 500m of 5th class, with some 5.7 to 5.8 pitches. We then encountered a vertical wall and belayed two crux pitches of 5.9 face climbing. We unroped for the last 400m of 5.6–5.7 to the fore-summit, then traversed loose talus to the main summit, with occasional 5th class blocks. We reached the highest point at 5 p.m., having climbed 1,400m.

We descended the west face by one of several gullies. This turned out to be the actual crux of the day; with loose blocks it took way longer than anticipated. Rappelling and down-climbing into the dark, we reached the valley floor and hiked back to our base camp, arriving at 1 a.m. We named the route Long Life Ridge.

CAMILO LOPEZ, U.S. Editor’s Note: The northwest ridge, perhaps better described as the left edge of the large, broken west face, was climbed in 2004 by Spanish Alberto Urtasun and Patricia Viscarrets. They reached the crest by a corner system on the left flank. Their route, Shakti, covered 1,300m of climbing at V+ and A1; presumably they continued to the highest point of the mountain (reached by Poles Krol and Wojcik in 2006, who saw no trace of previous ascent). Long Life Ridge constitutes a variant start, involving several hundred meters of new climbing. Lopez and Pfaff also saw no evidence of previous passage and built a cairn on the summit.

Castle Peak, various first ascents. During September Stefano Cacioppo, Cesare Giuliani, and I, members the Italian Alpine Club, put up four new routes on Castle Peak. Standing at the end of the long ridge forming the southern rim of the Chhudong Glacier, Castle Peak has four summits. In ascending order and from north to south these are David 62’s Nose, Iris Peak, an unnamed summit, and the main summit. While a number of routes have been established on the southwest face, some ending at large terraces, I believed that until 2008 only David 62’s Nose (ca 4,850m) and Iris Peak (ca 5,200m) had been reached—both by me in 2004.

On September 9, after bad weather stopped an attempt on the 5th, we climbed to the unnamed summit via a route we named Lost on a Dream Track. It had 1,600m of climbing, though only 650m were pitched (UIAA VI and VI+); we moved together on the rest (UIAA IV).

Once on the summit we discovered someone had been there before. [Editor’s note: this is likely Spanish climbers Ferran Rodriguez and Victor Sans, who in 2005 climbed Tinc Por on the north face. The route ends on this broad summit, 100m higher than and separate from Iris Peak. It is also possible that the Spanish Patricia Viscarret and Alberto Urtasun, who climbed “Iris Peak” in 2005 via the route Ananda, may have reached this summit instead.] Our idea was to name this summit after Stefano Zavka, a fellow Italian who disappeared in 2007 while descending K2. We still hope this is possible, even if we were not the first to climb it, as no previous party has openly assigned a name.

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We fixed the first 400m of Lost on a Dream Track and left ropes for an attempt on the highest summit of Castle Peak. Returning on the 11th, we jugged the ropes and continued up right to bivouac at 4,900m. The next day we climbed to the high point, arriving at 2 p.m. and recording an altimeter reading of 5,470m. We would like to name this highest point Tivoli Peak (Tivoli being the section of the Italian Alpine Club of which Giuliani is a member). The route, Miguel’s Race, has 2,200m of climbing, 1,200m of which we simul-climbed (UIAA III and IV) and the rest of which we belayed (UIAA VI and VI+, with a pitch of VII and another of VII+). Some of the hard pitches involved wide cracks, which were Castle Peak from the west with (A) David 62’s Nose (ca 4,850m), (B) difficult to protect. Due to the com- Iris Peak (ca 5,200m), (C) Stefano Zvaka Peak (ca 5,300m) and (D) plexity of the descent, we didn’t get Tivoli Peak (ca 5,470m: the highest point of Castle Peak). There are now 11 routes on this face, but only the 2007 and 2008 routes are off the mountain until the 13th. marked: (1) Lufoo Lam (350m, UIAA VII+, Grmovsek-Grmovsek, We then added two shorter 2007). (2) Clandestine Route (450m of climbing, UIAA VI+, Cacioproutes to the southwest face, on the po-Giuliani-Iannilli, 2008). (3) Placebo Effect (450m of climbing, UIAA VIII-, Cacioppo-Giuliani-Iannilli, 2008). (4) Lost on a Dream slabby terrain below Iris Peak and Track (1,600m of climbing, UIAA VI+, Cacioppo-Giuliani-Iannilli, David 62’s Nose, ending on the 2008). (5) Miguel's Race (2,200m of climbing, UIAA VII+, Cacioplarge grassy terraces. On the 16th po-Giuliani-Iannilli, 2008). (6) South Ridge–Who Fart? (1,100m, 5.10b, Kozlov-Savelyev, 2008). Roberto Iannilli we put up Placebo Effect (450m of climbing; UIAA VIII-) and on the following day Clandestine Route (450m; UIAA VI+). We tried a fifth route, but snowfall pinned us down for several days, and an avalanche destroyed our advanced base. The loss of equipment forced us to forego further climbing.

ROBERTO IANNILLI, Italy Toro Peak, southeast face; Castle Peak, south ridge. It wasn’t until the second half of September that Elena Dmitrenko, George Kozlov, and I arrived in India, too late in the year. We came with no set plans. At first we didn’t even know where to go, but on reaching Manali, a beautiful village from which many expeditions start, we consulted a local guide and decided to go to the Miyar. We were looking for peaks below 6,000m with good rock, preferably unclimbed. At base camp we found several teams still in residence. However, the weather was poor, and half a meter of snow at base camp prevented us from climbing.

When the weather improved, George injured his leg. I couldn’t sit in base camp, so I climbed Pt. JAMES, following the route first climbed by Australian women and repeated by

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northeast ridge from the col at its base. The climbing, both up and down, was straightforward, and no rappels were needed.]

Brandon Lampley, U.S.

KULLU

Seen from the south, Toro Peak and, to the right, JAMES Peak in the lower Chhudong Valley. Both are a little under 5,000m, with JAMES slightly higher than Toro. (1) Direttissima (ca 300m but 840m of climbing, 5.9, Lopez-Pfaf, 2008). (2) American route (ca 300m, 5.9, Fredell-Lampley, 2008). (3) Southeast face–Russian Route (300m, 5.9, Kozlov-Savelyev, 2008). (4) East ridge (300m, UIAA V+, Grmovsek-Grmovsek, 2007). There is a straightforward walk-off/scramble down the left skyline (west flank). Andrej Grmovsek

Americans [see below]. I didn’t use a rope, and the 250m of climbing with a crux of 5.8 took only a few hours.

George’s leg improved, but we had no time left to try something special. On September 30 we climbed a new line on the southeast face of Toro. The 350m route, which lies toward the right side of the face, had difficulties up to 5.9 and took four hours. It finishes on the easy upper section of the east ridge.

On October 2 we climbed the long south ridge of Castle Peak, taking 20 hours to make a vertical ascent of 1,100m (5.10b). This is a logical line on good rock; we climbed many pitches unroped. We found a club flag and shiny new bolt on the summit belonging to the Italians [see above]. This was the second ascent of Tivoli Peak and we named the route Who Fart?

DENIS SAVELYEV, Russia Toro Peak, south face; Point JAMES, Australian route, second ascent. Elizabeth Fredell and I climbed two routes in the Miyar. On Toro we repeated the first few pitches of the 2008 LópezPfaff Direttissima, as far as the diagonal trough, rating the crux section 5.8+. We then moved slightly right and climbed directly up the slabs above and through a prominent roof that is visible from the valley. In the main this new ground was fun 5.5, but there was a fine, thin-hands crack through the roof at 5.9. We then climbed Pt. JAMES, more or less following the same line on the slabs below the northeast ridge climbed earlier by Australians Natasha Sebire and Gemma Woldendorp [see above]. The obvious way, up a couloir/depression, was snow-covered, so we climbed 200m of broken slabs to the right, at around 5.6, except for a section of 5.8 60m below the summit. The summit block has to be down-climbed. About 15m below the block we discovered an old rappel anchor and started a series of rappels down the route. [Editor’s note: on the first ascent, in 2002, Vlado Linek and Igor Koller scrambled just below the crest of the

Manikarin Spires, Peak 5,394m.

Most international climbing trips start with a picture that inspires a dream. Janet Bergman, Ben Ditto, Freddie Wilkinson, and I made plans to explore the Manikaran Spires, which flank the wondrous Parvati Valley, because the previous year Freddie and I saw a postBen Ditto points a finger at The Indian Beauty, the first route to reach card tacked to the wall of a tourist the summit of Pt. 5,394m, Manikarin Spires. Pat Goodman shop in Manali. All we could learn from the shopkeeper was the name Manikaran Spires and that the photo was probably taken near the holy village of Manikaran. Research back in the U.S. revealed that the area had apparently not been visited since the 1980s, and no technical rock climbs had been reported from the southern side. This signified to us that an alpine playground, laden with jagged summits and formidable granite walls, was virgin. We gathered supplies in Manali and hired a jeep to drive us the six hours to Kasol, which locals told us was a bigger, more comfortable place to stay than Manikaran and only a few miles distant. Here, we encountered local farmers from Manikaran who knew the terrain well and confirmed that no climbers had ventured into those mountains from the south side.

To call the approach steep would be an understatement. Our new friends guided us up the mighty hillside east of the Brahmganga River, through a small community and big marijuana fields. The latter should be reason enough for would-be adventurers to seek local guides; tourists have disappeared in this area. We were stopped by heavy rain a day’s walk from base camp (we were told it would take three or four) and hiked back to Kasol to ponder and drink beer.

After a few days the weather forecast was in our favor and we ventured back up the slopes without our guides. We made base camp in two days and promptly scoped the glory line up the middle of a large rock wall on what we believed to be Peak 5,394m. Leaving camp at 1:30 a.m. on September 29, we made it to the base of the wall in three hours and discovered the glory line was much too wet from seepage. Settling for the line of weakness, we were forced to grovel up the left portion of the face via snow and ice-covered cracks and ridges for a few thousand feet. We bivouacked on a nice shoulder 1,000' below the summit. The next day we waddled through more waist-deep slush around the southeast side of the summit tower, then up nice dry rock pitches, followed by an exciting unprotected boulder problem to the summit. We reversed mostly the line of ascent and made it back to camp by 9:00 p.m. on the 30th. We believe our route, Indian Beauty Queen (V+, 5.10 A0 with sections of 50-60° slush slopes) to be the first to reach the summit of Peak 5,394m.

PAT GOODMAN, AAC

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SPITI Pare Chu region, Thongsal. On August 9, after a flight from Delhi to Leh several days earlier, Irena Artuñedo and I made a six-hour jeep ride to Korzok (4,500m) and began a three-day trek south to advanced base at 4,735m. [Editor’s note: Tsuneo Suzuki described this area well in AAJ 2006. The Spanish advance base lies a little way up the first main valley flowing north into the Pare Chu imme- The final ascent from Camp 2 at 5,550m to the summit of Thongsal (6,011m GPS) in the Pare Chu region of Spiti. David Oliveras diately west of 6,643m Umdung Kangri]. On the 14th we climbed west out of the valley with Lhakpa Sherpa and Darja Bahadur Tamang, making Camp 1 at 5,250m before returning to the valley to sleep. Next day, we returned to Camp 1 and spent the night there. On the 16th we climbed loose, broken terrain to a col at 5,592m, which gave access to the glacier north of unclimbed Peak 6,367m. There were a few short steps of UIAA II+ at 5,500m. After crossing the col we descended a short distance on the far side and established Camp 2 at 5,550m.

Leaving at 5:45 a.m. on the 17th, Irena, Lhakpa Sherpa, and I climbed southwest up glacier slopes, which steepened to 45°. Near the top we negotiated a 15m, 65° serac barrier. Finally we reached a broad col above 5,900m, on the spur running east from Peak 6,367m. We turned left and walked up to our summit (snow on the north flank and scree on the south), where at 10:20 a.m. we recorded an altitude of 6,011m and coordinates of N 78°15'085", E 32°33'196" (GPS). The final 450m from Camp 2 rated AD. We have proposed the name Thongsal for this previously virgin summit, Thongsal being a Tibetan word for a point with splendid views. A GPS track from base camp to summit can be viewed at http://en.wikiloc.com/ wikiloc/view.do?id=194258.

DAVID OLIVERAS, Spain

Looking west from the broad ca 5,900m col below Thongsal (6,011m GPS) in the Pare Chu region of Spiti, showing (A) Gyadung (6,160m), (B) Pt. 6,364m, and (C) Pt. 6,367m. Gyadung was climbed in 1987 by a small Indian team; other peaks in the picture remain unclimbed. David Oliveras

Nearing the summit on the southwest ridge during the first ascent of Ramabang (6,135m). Gerry Galligan

Debsa Valley, Peak 6,135m (Ramabang). Paulie Mitchell, Darach O’Murchu, Craig Scarlett, and I, all from Ireland, traveled to India on our first Himalayan expedition to attempt the first ascent of the attractive Peak 6,135m (N 31°57'30", E77°53'10") in the East Upper Debsa Valley, near the Tibetan border. Although it is known to local shepherds, few others have explored or even know about the several tributaries of the Debsa. We arrived at our 4,250m base camp at Thwak Debsa, the confluence of two of these tributaries, after a three-day march from Sagnam village in Western Spiti. We first spent several days exploring the heads of both the West and East Upper Debsa, but poor weather repelled our attempt to cross a col linking the valleys. On June 18 we began ferrying loads and establishing an advanced base at 4,800m, at the top of a waterfall falling into the East Upper Debsa. Weather and mountain conditions were promising.

On the 21st we started up the peak via rust-red scree on the south flank of the southwest ridge. Each of us carried 18-20kgs, and it was tough going in the heat and loose terrain. Overall the rock quality in Spiti is poor—a mix of shattered slate and crumbing shale. We often pined for the familiar firm granite of our native Wicklow mountains. At 5,600m we reached the crux, a 100m tower, and camped on a saddle below it. Craig decided to wait at this camp, but at 3 a.m. the next day we others moved together with running belays across an intricate line to the right of the tower: crumbling ledges, snowy sections, and a chimney. After 140m we had passed the tower and regained the ridge, which we followed to the final hurdle, the 300m-high, 45–50° summit snowfield. The snow was reasonably firm, and at noon I set foot on the summit ridge and looked down the sweeping chasm of the northeast face.

A quick shimmy up a 7m rock stack ensured we were at its zenith. And what magnificent views: to the north the icy slopes of Kangla Tarbo (6,315m), first climbed in 2000 by Paddy O’Leary’s Irish Mountaineering Club team, and the leviathan form of Shigri Parbat (6,536m), first ascended in 1961 by Joss Lynam. And there were spectacular technical peaks to the south and west, most still awaiting a first ascent. We descended our route, spending another night at our camp below the tower. The difficulty of the route was Alpine AD. We propose the name Ramabang for our mountain, the name meaning “place of Rama.”

I have not been able to find any other mountain in the Indian Himalaya dedicated to Rama, one of the great characters of Hinduism and the hero of the sacred text The Ramayana. In the days after our ascent we three summiteers had more success explorating an adjoining valley, the

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Bauli Khad. We made the first crossing (on July 3) of a 5,600m col to the Dibibokri Valley. Proceeding west we finally reached the Parvati Valley, thus creating a new route linking the Debsa and Parvati.

GERRY GALLIGAN, Ireland

KINNAUR Rangrik Rang, west ridge. In October three French aspirant guides, Sylvain Audibert, Odilon Ferran, and Jeremy Rumebe, made the second ascent of Rangrik Rang The French expedition on the Racha Khad Glacier with (A) Mangla (5,800m), (B) Rangrik Rang (6,553m), and (C) Pt. 5,800m. The new (6,553m) by a new route up the route up the west ridge over Pt. 5,800m, and the descent of the west ridge. On the only previous northeast ridge via the 1994 Indo-British route (the only previous attempt, in June 1994, Chris Bon- ascent of the mountain) are marked. Jeremy Rumebe ington, Muslim Contractor, Jim Fotheringham, Graham Little, Jim Lowther, Divyesh Muni, Paul Nunn, and Pasang Bodh reached the summit by the northeast ridge, after fixing ropes up a steep snow face to the col at the base of the ridge separating Rangrik Rang from Mangla (5,800m).

The three French drove to Lambar, then following the footsteps of the 1994 team, walked for four days to arrive, on September 21, at base camp (4,200m) close to the start of the Racha Khad valley. The following day they established an advanced base on the Racha Khad Glacier at 5,000m, finding one meter of unconsolidated snow. They spent the next week at base camp trying to acclimatize, while hoping conditions would improve. The north face had been a possible objective, but it proved unfeasible, so on October 1 they set off from advanced base for the west ridge. Following the crest, which at first rises south before turning east, they camped on a small subsidiary summit, which they mistakenly referred to as 5,800m Mangla. Next day they abandoned some of their gear, including the tent, by throwing it down the north face. This set off an avalanche. The three continued up the crest, over a rocky buttress (UIAA III), and on to the summit, where they arrived at 5 p.m. They stopped here for the night.

On the morning of the 3rd the team made a cautious descent of the original route and reached base camp that day. Realizing that the mountains were too laden with snow for other ascents, they descended to Lambar and put up two rock routes on the surrounding granite cliffs: Taffonies (six pitches, 6c and A1), and a five-pitch route of 7b and A2, which terminated below the summit of a fine aiguille.

Adapted from www.kairn.com and notes provided by HARISH KAPADIA, Honorary Editor, The Himalayan Journal WESTERN GARHWAL

Obra Valley, Pt. 5,760m attempt; Pt. 5,165m. In the autumn a four-member team from the Alpine Club became the first climbers to explore the head of the little-known Obra Valley, an area of sub-6,000m peaks west of the Bandarpunch-Swargarohini group in far western Garhwal. After driving to the roadhead at Jakhol via Mussoorie, Derek Buckle, Toto Gronlund, Bill Thurston, and I made a three-day trek to a scenic, grassy base camp at 4,055m, arriving in early

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October. The middle reaches of the Obra are dominated by the splendid icy Ranglana (5,554m), which had previously been the main objective of the only other climbing team to visit this valley: the British pair Gerry and Louise Wilson, with guru Harish Kapadia and seven friends. Conditions were poor during this 2006 visit and Looking northeast up the Devkir Glacier at the head of the Obra Val- only a lower summit, Dhodu Ka ley. The low point is the 5,325m Devkyari Col. To the left stands Pt. 5,849m, and to the right Pt. 5,760m. Both are unclimbed, though Pt. Gunchha (5,130m), was climbed.

They did not attempt Ranglana nor 5,760m was attempted from the col in 2008. Derek Buckle the highest peaks, Pts. 5,849m and 5,760m, at the head of the valley above the Devkir Glacier.

In 2008 access to the upper Devkir proved lengthy and complex, consuming much time in reconnaissance and failed attempts, as did the daily weather pattern of afternoon snowfall. When we finally reached the 5,325m Devkyari Col, separating the two high peaks The western flank of unclimbed Ranglana (5,554m), one of the most at the head of the glacier, we disattractive objectives in the Obra Valley. Martin Scott covered the rocky southeast ridge of 5,849m to be steep, loose, and uninviting. Fortunately, the fine, corniced, snow arĂŞte forming the northwest ridge of lower 5,760m looked eminently climbable. Caching some gear, we descended to a lower camp, aiming to get established on the col the following day.

With the help of two Sherpas, we set up camp just below the pass early on October 14, but by afternoon snowfall was heavy. Next morning was no better, and after plowing through deep avalanche-prone snow for less than 100m above the col, we realized it wasn't going to happen. Zero visibility pinned us at camp until the morning of the 16th, when we were able to escape to base camp.

Two days later Buckle and Gronlund snatched a consolation prize, ascending the first valley north of base camp to a small col, then up the southwest ridge of Pt. 5,165m at PD. They suggest the name Lammergeyer Peak for this previously virgin summit, which provided a splendid viewpoint.

This area offers great potential for alpine climbing and further exploration. For instance, during 2006 Kapadia photographed impressive granite walls and towers northwest of the middle valley (but not visible from the valley floor), which he named the Jairai Rocks. And there is the attractive Ranglana, but it will not be an easy catch. Thanks to the Mount Everest Foundation for sponsorship and to Harish Kapadia for information on the Obra valley from the 2006 expedition.

MARTIN SCOTT, Alpine Club

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Gangotri, Meru South, northeast face direct. At 4:30 p.m. on July 13 the sky finally opened for three Korean climbers standing at the top of the northeast face of Meru Peak (6,660m).

Three instructors from the Extreme Riders Alpine Club, Kim Se-jun (38), Kim Tae-man (35), and Wang Jun-ho (36), probably the outstanding big wall climbers in the country, had completed a new direct line up the face, the headwall a continuous 90-110°. They named their route Gate to the Sky. Other members of the team were Ju Wur-yeong, Kim Hyeong-wook, and Son Jung-ho.

The expedition established advanced base below the wall at 5,000m, then for 10days fixed 1,800m of rope over 34 pitches of moderate slopes (50-60° rock, snow, and ice) to Camp 2 below the headwall. They then hauled 120kg of gear and provisions to this site and retreated to base camp. The weather remained unsettled, and both time and provisions began to run short. Unable to wait much longer, they resumed climbing in less than favorable weather and on July 3 jugged the ropes to Camp 2, rested for two days, and The northeast faces of Meru South (6,660m, left) and Meru Central (6,310m). (1) The new Korean route, Gate minimized their gear for the wall above. to the Sky, which reached the most northerly top of Meru On July 5 Kim Sae-joon led the first South. The highest summit is generally accepted to be at pitch on the headwall in a capsule-style push the southern end of the ridge. (C2) The campsite below the headwall (the latter seen in profile on p. 364 AAJ to the top. The climbers bivouaced in a two- 2007). (2) The American attempt on the east pillar: the man portaledge and a hammock but only Shark’s Fin. Their high point was the best to date on this used 200g summer sleeping bags. Rationing most coveted objective. Jimmy Chin food, the three survived primarily on chocolate, three or four sweets a day, and a meal at night. Nevertheless they eventually ran out and on the final three days of the ascent ate nothing. In addition, they only saw the sun on two days.

The climbing was far more difficult than anticipated. They spent nine days reaching the top from Camp 2, climbing 510m (10 pitches) on the headwall. The granite was often fragile and rockfall horrific. Twenty hours were required to aid past the 50m A5 technical crux, on the second pitch above Camp 2, but the greatest obstacle was another 50m section at 6,200m. The climbers nicknamed this A4 section “ED,” for Extreme Danger. It took two days to overcome this section, where they were forced to pry off a large piece of rock in order to make progress.

The three climbers reached the ridge just below and right of the most northerly of the points that make up the near-horizontal summit crest of Meru South. [Editor’s Note: their GPS read 6,660m, the same as the official height of Meru South. However, it seems generally accepted that the main summit of Meru South is at the southern end of the ridge, reached by Japanese in 1980 during the only ascent of the mountain to date. Photographic evidence would seem

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to confirm this, as does Glenn Singleman, who BASE jumped the northeast face from a point a little higher than the Korean exit but didn’t visit the unclimbed northerly summit, which the Koreans eventually reached, just above him. He noted that the highest summit was 500m further south and ca 70m higher.] The return to base camp required two days, with an overnight in Camp 2. The weather worsened rapidly after the climbers arrived at this camp, making it precarious to remove all rope and gear without putting their lives in jeopardy. However, they managed to clean 800m of line. Three pitons, 20 bolts, and 17 rivets were left in the route. Gate to the Sky took a total of 22 days to open and was graded VII, A5 5.10.

The expedition donated 150 books to the village of Indo Dasuda (five days walk from base camp at Tapovan) during their return to Delhi, and they have plans to build a library for this village. The Indian Government and Gangotri National Park plan to prohibit trekkers from using the Gangotri-to-Tapovan trail for five years, so the path can be reconstructed. In addition, the Park may prohibit the entry of any group organized by an agency that does not provide a satellite phone.

LEE YOUNG-JOON and CHRISTINE PAE, KOREA (translated by Peter Jensen-Choi) Gangotri, Meru Central, east pillar attempt. Conrad Anker, Renan Ozturk, and I left Delhi on September 6 hoping to make the first ascent of the east (or northeast) pillar of Meru Central (6,310m)—the feature known as the Shark’s Fin. After several days’ travel and a two-day trek to Tapovan base camp, we carried loads to an advanced base at the bottom of the route. We began climbing on September 16 with a two-person portaledge and 10 days of food and fuel. We planned to climb the route in a single push, so once we left the ground, we continued to our high point without coming back down, using a hybrid alpine/big wall style.

The initial part of the route consisted of steep snow and ice. After two days we were hit by a storm that pinned us on the ridge for five days in the portaledge, while avalanches tore around us. The storm dumped more than two meters of snow. We eventually resumed climbing, halving our limited rations. Progress was slowed by cold and the Creative camping on the east pillar of amount of snow and ice covering the rock and filling Meru Central. Jimmy Chin cracks. We spent almost 10 days on the face before arriving at the base of the overhanging prow. It lacked any real crack systems, so we were forced to climb difficult aid up to A4 with long sections of hooking and thin beak placements. Several leads took five or six hours, and the average daytime temperature hovered around 0 F. After several days of “mind riot” climbing, we ran almost completely out of food and fuel, and by our 18th day on the face had no option but to make a final push for the summit. Running on fumes— for over a week we’d had only three spoonfuls of oatmeal each for breakfast, two energy bars and half a liter of water during the day, and a single bowl of mush for dinner split three ways— we climbed 500m with Conrad leading thin, poorly protected ice and mixed terrain. Here, 150m short of the summit, we were stopped by an overhanging gendarme, which we had neither the time nor energy to climb. We’d climbed the Fin to the final ridge but did not summit.

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Much like the rest of the route, the descent was epic. Suffice to say we were laughing hysterically when we finally made it to the glacier after two days of rappelling on barely any food, and then discovered that our advanced base—tent, food, and fuel—had been buried by the storm. We open-bivouacked on our final night. We agreed that overall it was one of the most difficult climbs any of us had ever been on, and certainly one of the greatest adventures of our climbing careers.

We left with a lot more respect and admiration for each other, and the mountain.

JIMMY CHIN, AAC Gangotri, Vasuki Parvat, west face, attempt. Paul Ramsden and I were turned back high on this year’s objective, rarely climbed 6,792m Vasuki Parvat in the Indian Gangotri. Poor weather and cold foiled our attempt on an aesthetic line up a steep mixed pillar toward the right side of the unclimbed west face.

Our first problem, as usual, was bureaucracy. Peaks in the area now need not only permits from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation but also from the local Utterakhand Government and Forestry Commission. The next problem was The west face of Vasuki (6,782m), showing the line of the Fowler-Ramsden attempt. Mick Fowler weather. While we made a speedy approach to base camp at 4,900m in the Vasuki Valley, once the tent was set up, a storm raged for 48 hours, after which only a few centimeters of roof remained above the freshly fallen snow.

Apart from making conditions on the mountain a trifle difficult, a major by-product of all this fresh snow was that it stopped us acclimatizing to any decent height before making our attempt. It was also impressively cold, the cook remarking that monsoons had increasingly been leading straight into winter. But when clear skies arrived, it was either go up or pack up. So up we went.

Starting up the face all slow and sensible, we had climbed to around half-height on day three and were beginning increasingly technical ground. By day five we were moving too slowly and getting more and more wobbly. I could feel my toes suffering cold damage, and Paul’s feet were cold even in his Everest boots. At one point, using a bare-hand undercut for 30 seconds produced a frostbite blister. On the morning of day six, two-thirds of the way up the face at 6,400m, we concluded that lack of acclimatization was taking its toll. We may have been above the most technical part of the face, but things were likely to go horribly wrong if we continued. The descent, which involved another bivouac, was made more exciting by a rock ripping through the tent fabric and smashing into the hanging stove.

Named after the shape of Vasuki, the famous king of snakes, the 6,792m summit lies immediately east of the better-known Bhagirathi Group. Despite many references, all likely stemming from a single source, that the Indo-Tibet Border Police first climbed the mountain in 1973 (no route description given, or at best extremely vague), the IMF does not recognize this ascent. The only ascent described in detail took place in 1980, by Japanese via the east face and east ridge. However, the IMF fails to recognize this ascent too, presumably because no permit was issued and the ascent was therefore unofficial.

MICK FOWLER, Alpine Club

Shanti (5,687m) above the Panpatia Ice Cap, showing the line of the first ascent on the east face and south ridge.

Alan Tees

Panpatia Glacier, various ascents. A nine-member group of Irish climbers and trekkers, most of whom had never been on an expedition, made first ascents of four modest peaks above the Panpatia ice cap. The climbing party comprised Martin Boner, George Carlton, Martin Hasson, Valli Schaffer, Andrew Tees, and I. C.F.Meade first visited this region in 1912. In 1933 Shipton and Tilman came in search of a legendary easy passage through the mountains between the holy temples of Badrinath and Kedernath, reputedly used by a priest to conduct services in both temples on the same day. The route they found over the Satopanth Col and Gondharpongi Valley was desperately difficult, and they barely survived. In 1984 two Indian mountaineers disappeared during a similar mission.

One possible route linking the temples would be over the Panpatia ice cap. There appears to have been little exploration of the Panpatia Glacier until Jagdish Nanavati penetrated the valley in 1963 during an exploration of possible approaches to Nilkanth. In 1989, Duncan Tunstall and friends crossed the complex icefall at the head of the valley and reached the ice cap, descending back to the valley by a “scree gully” to the north, thus avoiding the icefall completely.

The years 1995 and 1997 saw two more unsuccessful attempts to reach the ice cap, by C. Ghosh and Harish Kapadia, respectively. In 1999 Anindya Mukherjee, starting from Madmaheshwar (Madhyamaneshwar), went through the col and Thendup Tower on the northern rim of the Panpatia Ice Cap, showing the route of the first ascent via the south couloir and west reached the ice cap but had to retrace his steps due to the illness of his ridge. Alan Tees

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companion. In 2000 a British group with Martin Moran’s Nilkanth expedition climbed two peaks in the Vishnu Ghar just east of the glacier. They then breached the icefall (PD+), continuing over the ice cap and through the Panpatia Col (5,200m) to make the first complete crossing from the Panpatia Valley to Madmaheshwar.

In June 2007 a team from Kolkata led by Tapan Pandit reached the ice cap and col by a route north of the icefall, which they named Parvati Gully. This is possibly the route used in 1989 by the British team. The Indians continued across the ice cap and descended safely to Madmaheshwar. Until 2008 no one had attempted any of the Panpatia peaks. I met Anindya Mukherjee in 2006 and we hatched a plan to climb in the Panpatia. Our approach in the spring of 2008 was from Badrinath up the Dumkal Kharak Valley and a crossing of 4,500m Holdsworth Pass. We established base camp at Unini Tal, just below the snout of the Panpatia Glacier. Over two days, expedition members and the four remaining staff carried loads to an advanced base camp at 4,400m on the glacier. We avoided difficulties on the icefall by a rightward traverse off the glacier to steep ground and an icy couloir (Parvati Gully?). This led to the ice cap, where on May 30 we established a high camp. The following day all six members of the climbing party, with Anindya Mukherjee and Tindoop Sherpa, summited Pt. 5,687m. We named the mountain Shanti (Tranquility) Peak. We made the ascent from the east to a col on the south, then up mixed rock and snow on the east face, and along the narrow summit ridge.

The route was around Alpine D, but the route of descent, on the west side, is easier (PD or less).

The following day was scheduled for rest and acclimatization, but five members climbed the spur above high camp and named it Nasta (Breakfast) Point (5,296m). It provided a superb viewpoint for the entire area.

On day three the party planned to cross the ice cap to climb an attractive, chisel-shaped peak on the far side, which would also give views down Shipton and Tilman’s “Bamboo Valley.”

However, that night it failed to freeze, so the party spent three hours plowing through soft snow before climbing the north summit of what we named Panpatia Ridge. This is an unimpressive looking mountain of three humps. However the ridge is knife-edged, corniced, and proved time-consuming. Therefore, we reached only the lowest of the three summits, via a couloir on the east face (D).

The next morning only two of our team, plus a Sherpa and a guide, were keen to tackle the rock tower (dubbed Thendup Tower) between Shanti and unnamed Pt. 5,841m. Approaching from the south they climbed a rocky gully to reach an obvious snowy couloir leading to a notch between the two summits. Exposed mixed climbing along a short ridge, again about D, led to the higher summit. They descended by rappel to the glacier. Three days later we were back at the road.

ALAN TEES, Ireland

CENTRAL GARHWAL Kamet, southeast face, Samuri Direct. One of the outstanding climbs of the year was the first ascent of Kamet’s previously unattempted but much admired southeast face, by the Japanese couple Kazuya Hiraide and Kei Taniguchi. They left advance base camp, below the wall at 5,900m, on September 28, reached the 7,756m summit on October 5, and descended through snowfall on the normal route, reaching base camp on the 8th. Their route, Samuri Direct, featured crux sections of AI 5+ and M5+. An account of this climb by Taniguchi is a feature article in this Journal.

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EASTERN GARHWAL Kalanka, northeast face and central spur, Bushido; history. Kazuaki Amano, Fumitaka Ichimura, and Yusuke Sato made the first ascent since 1982 of 6,931m Kalanka. Their new 1,800m route, Bushido, started up the northeast face following a line attempted by Nick Bullock and Kenton Cool in 2007, before traversing right to the crest of the central spur, reaching the summit on September 22. An account by Yusuke Sato appears in the features section of this Journal. The central spur on the north face had become one of the most sought-after lines in the Garhwal.

In 1977 a 14-member Czechoslovakian team led by Frantisek Grunt inspected the line before climbing the right side of the north face. From the top camp, Ladislav Jon and Josef Rakoncaj reached the summit via the supper section of the west ridge (1975 Japanese Route), making the second ascent of the mountain. Despite the use of fixed ropes, this route remains one of the most underrated achievements in the Himalaya. In 2001 Americans Carlos Buhler and Jack Roberts made an unsuccessful attempt on the elegant central (north) spur. Two years later another American team, Sue Nott and John Varco, climbed the lower part of the spur, then used a portaledge to fix ropes through the vertical to overhanging central barrier (M6), completing all the technical difficulties and bivouacking at 6,550m before being forced down by storm.

Buhler returned in 2004 with Sandy Allan and John Lyall, but the attempt failed at around 6,000m. In 2007 Nick Bullock and Kenton Cool tried another tact, climbing the big snow and ice slopes of the northeast face left of the spur, only to be defeated on the crest of the east ridge at over 6,300m.

LINDSAY GRIFFIN, Mountain INFO

SIKKIM West Sikkim, Jopuno, west ridge.

After 12 days of unstable March weather in the Thangsing Valley and an unsuccessful attempt on the northwest ridge of Tinchenkang (6,010m), Sarah DeMay, Sam Gardner, Josh Smith, and I turned to the aesthetic unclimbed west ridge of Jopuno, a 5,936m peak just south of Tichenkang. From our 4,200m base camp the ridge appeared to start with a short rocky section to gain the glaciated lower crest, which Jopuno (5,936m) with the ca 900m new route up the west ridge marked. The only previous known ascent of this peak was made in quickly turned into a steep, sharp 2002 by the right skyline (south ridge). Jason Halladay snow ridge leading to broken yet gorgeous golden granite. Above, the rock appeared black and loose before reaching the snowcapped summit. As best we could surmise, Jopuno had been climbed only once, in April 2002 via the south ridge, by Kunzang Bhutia and Sagar Rai (AAJ 2008, p. 120).

Leaving camp at 3:30 a.m. under a nearly full moon, we four moved quickly up snowcovered grass and talus to the base of the west ridge at 5,100m. We there broke into teams of two and began wandering up the lower glacier to the first major obstacle, a 12m WI3 pitch on the ridge’s north side. This led to the upper glacier, where steep snow, followed by a well-defined

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Josh Smith on the first ascent of Jopuno's West Ridge. Jason Halladay

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The east face of unclimbed Chombu (6,362m). In front and toward the right of the picture is the somewhat dwarfed, red triangle of Marpo Peak (ca 5,400m), first climbed in 2008 by the left-hand ridge. Roger Payne

icy and exposed ridge, led toward the band of golden granite. Josh and I roped up for the last 30m—a rightward traverse on solid water ice above an exposed face. We reached the rock at 5,600m and unroped.

The golden granite was more challenging than it had appeared from below, but the rock was solid.

For the most part we stayed below and to the right (south) of the crest. Brumkhangshe (5,635m, left). The peak has only one recorded ascent, by the northwest ridge (right skyline). The small summit At 11:30 a.m. we reached the start of immediately right of the col is Brumkhangshe North (ca 5,450m, the rotten, unpleasant black shale at three or four ascents). The higher peak to the right, with the pre5,800m. The wind had picked up, carious pinnacle, is unclimbed. Roger Payne and it was snowing lightly. We radioed Sam and Sarah, who informed us they had just reached the golden granite, but because the weather was worsening, were opting to sit and wait for us to return.

Josh and I continued cautiously through the black shale, treacherous because of the poor rock quality and lack of previous traffic. It was not uncommon for chunks of rock to slough off under hands and feet, and progress slowed as we tested and retested each hold before committing full weight to it. In addition, the new snow made the surface slick and forced us to keep crampons on. With 70 vertical meters to go, we reached solid snow and ice and eventually gained the summit at 12:45 p.m. in a near whiteout. Seven hours were required to reverse the route to base camp. The west ridge gives a sustained and direct route to the summit of Jopuno at around AD+. The team wishes to thank Barap Namgyal Bhutia and www.sikkimholidays.com for help with trip logistics and base camp support.

Northeast and West Sikkim, various attempts and ascents. During October and November Claire Humphris (U.K.), Simon Humphris (U.K.), Monica Kalozdi (U.S.), Tom Midttun (Norway), Jean Pavillard (Switzerland), Fabian Pavillard (Switzerland), Owen Samuel (U.K.), and I visited Sikkim. Our team first traveled to the northeast of the state, where Midttun and Samuel attempted the first ascent of the east ridge/buttress of Brumkhangshe (5,635m), reaching 5,050m before being stopped by bad weather and deep fresh snow. The rest of the team attempted the northwest ridge of the same peak [Editor’s note: This ridge was climbed in 2007

by Payne with Julie-Ann Clyma to make the only recorded ascent of the peak], but were stopped by the same bad weather and associated avalanche conditions. However, on October 30 Humphris, Humphris, Midttun, Samuel, and I reached the summit of Brumkhangshe North (ca 5,450m) making perhaps the third or fourth ascent. Next day Humphris, Humphris, and I made the first ascent of a rocky peak above our glacier camp, calling it Ta (Horse) Peak (ca 5,300m, UIAA II). On November 2, while exploring the west branch of the Rula Kang Glacier, Midttun and Samuel made the first ascent of a ca 5,000m rocky summit they called Changma (Bride) Peak (UIAA II). On the 3rd Humphris, Humphris, Midttun, Samuel, and I made the first ascent of a ca 5,400m summit we called Marpo (Red) Peak (UIAA II+).

After leaving this area Samuel and I traveled to West Sikkim, where we attempted the excellent-looking southeast ridge of Rathong (6,679m). We set off on November 12 from a 5,100m advanced camp on moraines above the Rathong Glacier, just below the ridge. We made two bivouacs, at 5,800m and 6,300m. The terrain was mixed, with difficulties up to UIAA IV/V rock and II/III snow and ice. In the higher part the climbing was sometimes delicate and insecure in an exposed position (i.e., easy but deep, poorly consolidated snow on the crest). In strong winds we were forced to stop on the 14th at 6,300m, after a bivouac in an exposed position. Eighteen rappels and down-climbing were needed to descend from the high point. A map in AAJ 2008 shows the location of some of these peaks.

JASON HALLADAY, AAC

ROGER PAYNE, Switzerland