"There is no
doubt that those who first climb Kangchenjunga
will achieve the greatest feat in mountaineering,
for it is a mountain which combines in
its defences not only the severe handicaps
of wind, weather and very high altitude,
but technical problems and objective dangers
even higher than those we encountered
on Everest".
John Hunt, leader
of the 1953 expedition that first climbed
Everest.
Kangchenjunga - a
potted history
After the
first ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1955, by
a British team via the south west face,
22 years elapsed before a second ascent
by an Indian Army expedition in 1977 and
a further 2 years before Doug Scott and
party made a third ascent in 1979.
Between 1955 and
1993 a total of 29 ascents were made of
the main summit, of which 17 were made from
the southwest. There have been few succeses
since 1993 and the mountain has seen less
than a handful of British summiters. Only
one woman has ever survived an ascent of
the mountain.
Kangchenjunga is the
worlds third highest peak, towering to 8586
metres.
The name means
the 'Five Great Treasures of the Snow',
the massif however has seven summits, and
has great religous significance for the
local people. The mountain is revered as
the the abode of the gods and as with many
people around the world the mountain gods
are responsible for the prosperity of the
local villages.
There is a tradition
amongst mountaineers that you do not stand
on the actual summit, honouring a promise
made by the first successful expedition
to the Maharaja of Sikkim.
The mountain is
noted by it's remoteness and it's reputation
for producing a high number of large avalanches.
Kangchenjunga - The
Weather
Because of
its position at the extreme east of the
Himalaya, Kangchenjunga experiences unique
weather conditions which include extremely
high winds and heavy precipitation. As the
monsoon approaches it is preceeded by high
pressure which usually arrives over the
mountain in the middle of May. This indicates
a short period of settled weather during
which an attempt to reach the summit can
be made. It is crucial that the expedition
is in a position to launch its summit bid
when this brief weather window arrives.
Kangchenjunga - The
South West Face
From a base
camp at 5,300 metres on the Yalung glacier
the main team will face over 10,000 feet
of hard climbing to reach the summit. The
team will take four weeks to establish high
camps at around 20,000 feet, 22,000 feet,
24,000 feet and 26,000 feet, before launching
a summit bid from the highest camp.
Ramtang Peak - The
Route
The Ramtang team
will accompany the Main Team to their base
camp and then backtrack and cross the Mirgin
La to Ghunsa from where a further 4 or 5
day trek will take them to their own Base
Camp at Pangpema. From there they head south
along the Kangchenjunga Glacier towards
the northwest face of Kangchenjunga from
where they will turn west and establish
a camp at a height of about 6200m on the
Mouse Glacier, below the south face of Ramtang.
From that camp they aim to climb up to the
East Ridge and follow it to the summit.
