ASIAN ALPINE E-NEWS
Issue No.4, February 2017
Asian Alpine Associates

Unknown unclimbed Damyon massif east face, southeast Tibet, viewed over Mekong

Contents
New species of Blue Poppies from Bhutan(Page)

Toshio Yoshida
Paul Ramsden

Nyainqentanglha SE (VI)–First ascent of north face
[In the Indian Himalaya]
Sersank–The Mick and Vic. Reunion, first ascent
Mick Fowler
Haptai Mountains Slovenian Expedition, Zanskar Matija Jost-MaticFirst ascent of the South Face of Brammah II
Jeff Shapiro
Exploration of Mulung Topko 2016, Zanskar
Kimikazu Sakamoto
First Ascent of Xialong Rezha, Ge’nyen, Sichuan
Edward Hannam
Bolivia’s Royal Mountains–2015 AC Expedition
Derek Buckle

Langtang Lirung 7227m, Nepal Himalaya
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TOSHIO YOSHIDA

New species of Blue Poppies from Bhutan
Blue Poppy, or Meconopsis in science, is a symbolic flower of the Himalayas and also thenational flower of Bhutan. Recently four new species of Meconopsis have been foundfrom Bhutan and described by the present author and other coauthors: M. bhutanica T.
Yoshida & C. Grey-Wilson (2012), M. elongata T. Yoshida, R. Yangzom & D. G. Long
(2016), M. gakydiana T. Yoshida, R. Yangzom & D. G. Long (2016), and M. merakensis T.
Yoshida, R. Yangzom & D. G. Long (2016). The latter three species were collected in thecollaborative field researches between Blue Poppy Society, Japan, and National
Biodiversity Center, Bhutan.

Meconopsis bhutanica (Fig.1) is endemic to western Bhutan and occurs only in a limitedarea south of Mt. Chomolhari. The flower color is pale blue variously tinged with purple.
This species had been wrongly included in M. discigera Taylor in the past. However, thelatter, M. discigera, has pale-yellow flowers. This group (subgenus) of Meconopsis ischaracterized by the disc-like appendage covering top of the ovary.

Meconopsis elongata (Fig.2) is also endemic to western Bhutan, occurring in Haa andadjacent regions of Paro and Thimphu districts. The flower color is blue to purple with areddish tint. The specific name derives from the elongate, whitish strings of vascularbundles protruded from the tip of filaments and also from the elongate narrow racemes.
The picture of a stamp once issued by Bhutan Post with a name of Meconopsis horridula
seems to be this species growing at Chelei La on the ridge between Haa and Paro
districts.

Meconopsis gakydiana (Fig.3-5) occurs in eastern Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh of India,
and southern Tibet. This species had been wrongly included in M. grandis Prain or its
subsp. orientalis Grey-Wilson in the past. According to an official site of the National
Tourism Organization of Bhutan ‘The national flower is the Blue Poppy (Meconopsis
grandis). It is a delicate blue or purple tinged blossom with white filaments. It grows toa height of 1 meter, and is found above the tree line (3500-4500 meters) on rocky
mountain terrain. It was discovered in 1933 by a British Botanist, George Sherriff, in aremote part of Sakteng in eastern Bhutan.’
The national flower written in the official site of NTOB with a name of M. grandis is
now to be called M. gakydiana. The specific name derives from the Dzongkha word for2happiness, gakyid, to reflect Bhutan’s important cultural aspiration of ‘gross national
happiness’. The most important origin of garden varieties of Meconopsis cultivated in
English gardens and collectively called Himalayan Blue Poppies is said to be ‘George
Sherriff 600’, which was collected by G. Sherriff in the Sakteng region, and now
included in M. gakyidiana.

Meconopsis merakensis (Fig.6) occurs in eastern Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh ofIndia. This species had been wrongly included in M. prainiana Kingdon-Ward in thepast. The type variety of M. merakensis is endemic to eastern Bhutan and has
blue-purple flowers, whereas the var. albolutea occurs in eastern Bhutan and Arunachal
Pradesh and has white or pale-yellow flowers. The specific name derives from theregional name, Merak, located in the easternmost Bhutan.
References:
Yoshida T. & Grey-Wilson C. (2012). A new species of blue poppy. The Plantsman 11(2):96-101.
Yoshida T., Yangzom R. & Long D. G. (2016). A new species of Meconopsis. The

Plantsman 15(3): 177-181.
Yoshida T., Yangzom R. & Long D. G. (2016). Dancing butterflies of the east Himalayas– New Meconopsis species from east Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and south Tibet.

Sibbaldia 14: 69-96.
<Figure legends>
Fig. 1.

Meconopsis bhutanica at Tsho Phu, Paro district, W Bhutan, alt. 4400 m. Photo T.
Yoshida, 3 July 2012.
Fig. 2.

Meconopsis elongata at Tsabjo La, Haa district, W Bhutan, alt. 4050 m. Photo T.
Yoshida, 12 July 2015.
Fig. 3.

Meconopsis gakyidiana at Merak, E Bhutan, alt. 4,000 m. Photo T. Yoshida, 4 July 2014.

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Fig. 4.

Meconopsis gakyidiana with dark-red flowers at Merak, E Bhutan, alt. 4,000 m. Photo T.
Yoshida, 2 July 2014.
Fig. 5.

Meconopsis gakyidiana and yellow-flowered M. paniculata at Merak, E Bhutan, alt.
4,000 m. Photo T. Yoshida, 1 July 2014.
Fig. 6.

Meconopsis merakensis var. merakensis at Merak, E Bhutan, alt. 4350 m. Photo T.
Yoshida, 3 July 2014.

Fig. 1

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Fig. 2

Fig. 3Fig. 5
5

Fig. 4

Fig. 6PAUL RAMSDEN

Nyainqentangla SE Report –First ascent of north face
September-October 2016
While perusing the latest ‘Japanese Alpine News’ several years ago I was struck by a setof pictures of the four 7000m Nyainqentanglha peaks. Tom Nakamura’s pictures takenfrom the northeast showed a large north wall falling away from the four summits. Ninemonths later myself and Nick Bullock arrived in Tibet.

6Base camp was in a pretty location and despite the poor weather we decided to press onwith some acclimatisation as you might as well sit around with a headache feeling sickas not when the weather is bad.

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North face of Nyainqentanglha SE 7046m (leftmost), Central Peak 7117m (centre)
Our original plan had been to climb the north buttress of Nyainqentanglha’s main
summit, which looked just brilliant in Toms pictures. However as we walked below theface we realised there was a hidden monster. The lowest 7000m peak and first on theridge, Nyainqentaglha South East had a recessed north face not really visible fromanywhere other than directly below. As we edged into position the clouds cleared toreveal a huge north buttress that was just incredible. Our first attempt on the route isbest forgotten about. We camped under the face, it dumped snow, the tent nearly blewaway and we retreated. Lets just call it a gear carry to Advanced Base Camp!
Eventually conditions were deemed to be suitable, or as good as it was going to get so we
set off for our second attempt.
Luckily the only two really nice days of the trip coincide with our walk back up and our
first day on the face. It didn't last though! Once on the face we soon discovered that weweren’t going to get any neve on this trip. The snow was deep, really deep and the only
ice existed when things steepened up and the powder had sloughed off. That first day
working our way up the lower slopes was really hard work, almost never ending post
holing as we worked our way towards the planned first bivy ledge below the eversteepening rock bands above.

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Climbing route with bivouacs marked
Unfortunately it only produced two semi reclining sitting ledges, grim! Open bivouacs inmediocre weather are best avoided, a bad night on your first night on the mountain is areally recipe for a retreat.
From our bivy ledge, things steeped up alarmingly. From below we thought this would
be the crux of the route. A very steep rock band crossed the full width of the face, inmost places it was too steep for ice but in the centre there was a thin veneer of white
covering the rock.
We traversed diagonally up and rightwards aiming for some steep runnels and theelusive ice. Much of what had looked like ice from below turned out to be powder snow

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stuck to the underside of overhangs and a thin delaminated snow crust on the verticalrock itself. Luckily a series of shallow runnels did hold some goodish ice.
Slowly we worked out way up some very absorbing pitches, occasionally hauling sacks.
The climbing was excellent. Eventually the groove line ended and Nick was forced toclimb a steep rock wall, fortunately beneath the snow veneer were a series of flakes thatallowed for good if scary hooking, a fine lead.
Then we were though the rock band and looking for somewhere to camp. The following
day we woke pretty exhausted. From this point we had two options, either follow the
crest of the buttress or the more mixed ground on the right, however concerns about theavalanche potential on some of the snow fields and the feasibility of some of the rockbands meant that the crest of the buttress was clearly the best option.
Traversing leftwards we hit the crest and climbed an arête in a pretty wild position. We
decided to make day three a short one and we stopped as soon as we could find anothergood spot. The ledge was better this time and the tent fitted on comfortably. In theevening we had great views of the adjacent Nam Tso Lake and could quite literally see
the moisture being sucked of the surface ready to dump on us. The lake was so big theroute felt a bit like a sea cliff!
Now we were following the crest of the buttress the setting was dramatic but as theroute became less technical the snow just got deeper and deeper, which combined withthe altitude made for some lung busting pitches.
The fourth camp was good but that night it started to dump snow and at 6700m you
suddenly start to realise what a serious position you are in. Retreat down the line would
be difficult due too a lack of ice making abolokov threads time consuming to find and we
didn't have enough rack to abseil on rock anchors all the way. Upwards to the summitand hopefully down an easier ridge was the best option but all this snow could makethat option hazardous for avalanches.
Dawn brought more snow and cloud. Post holing upwards we made the summit about
midday. It was the second ascent of the peak and my first time over 7000m, we wereboth exhausted. There wasn't any view due to the clouds so after a quick selfe I was
keen to get off down. We descended the east ridge until it terminated in a huge cliff at
which point we would abseil down the north side on abolokov’s before regaining theridge again at a col. From here we descended into the valley to the north whichamazingly the valley opened out onto grassy slopped just above the small hamlet where
out Liaison officer was living with the village headman, perfect. Big celebration followedwith many rounds of rancid salted yak butter teas. It turns the stomach but you get
used to it!
10Supplements
We began the climb on the 2nd October, summited on the 6th October and got down on
the 8th October. I don’t think any climbers have been to the north side before. The
climb itself was really good, 1600m of climbing and pretty steep in places. Nick likened
the bottom half to the Colton Macintyre on the Grandes Jorasses, the top half was moreof a Peuterey Arete. It was my first time to 7000m and much panting was involved. The
weather in the region is particularly bad, probably due to the adjacent high altitude
lake that makes sure there is always plenty of moisture in the air. I think it snowed,
hailed, rained, the wind blew, then a bit of sunshine almost every day, though it was
cloudy most days most of the time. I was particularly pleased with the latest version of
my snow hammock (thanks Di for the excellent sewing), which basically allows you topitch a tent almost anywhere there is snow. We slept flat most nights which was a
massive improvement over previous trips. The route involved four bivies on the way up
and two on the way down. We ended up descending into a different valley.
.
Editor’s note: Nyaiqentanglha SE 7046m
First Ascent by Japanese in 1995, Second Ascent by Austrian in 2002 and Third Ascentby British in 2016.

Snow hammock (latest version)

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Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden

Photo Gallery of Climbing

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MICK FOWLER

Sersank - The Mick and Vic Reunion
The first ascent in Pangi –West Lahaul

North face of Sersank showing the summit pyramid – Photo taken by Jim Lowther from
Gupta Peak
It was the British mountaineer Martin Moran who prompted our interest in Sersank.
He led a trek across the Sersank La in 2011 and wrote that the north side presented a‘tremendous north face of linked white spiders.’ Victor and I knew Martin well enoughto read between the lines. We contacted him confirmed our suspicions and found our2016 objective.
Vic and I had not climbed together since we did the Golden Pillar of Spantik in Pakistan
in 1987. Over the intervening years we had a boxing match in a seedy East London pub
and intermittently kept in touch but essentially we went our separate ways; Victor
became a mountain guide based in Chamonix and I stayed with my tax office job in
England. And then, in 2015, a joint selection of our memoirs was published in France, a13literary award was won and talk of a fresh trip together was born. And so it ended upthat Vic and I, at 66 and 60, were back together in the mountains - 29 years after our
Spantik experience.

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Himalayan trips have changed a lot in 29 years. Back in the 1980s we freighted gas
cartridges, spent hours in customs sheds, negotiated with porters and generally did
everything ourselves. Now though gas cartridges can be bought in India, bigger baggage
allowances to Delhi mean there is no need to freight kit and a plethora of in-country
agents means that mountaineers can lay back and let others take the strain. We
embraced the new world. Simplicity is all. With logistics all arranged through Kaushal,
our ever reliable agent in Manali, our first job was a quick drop in to the Indian
Mountaineering Foundation in Delhi and meet up with our Liaison Officer, Sanju. An
air conditioned 16 hour Volvo bus ride to the honeymoon town of Manali followed. Here
we met Kaushal and Devraj our cook before boarding a mean vehicle called a Force
Traveller to cross the Rhotang Pass into the heart of the Himalaya. 12 hours or so from
Manali we arrived in the delightful Sural valley where, in line with so many of thevalleys hereabouts, the road head has now been extended to the last village, Sural
Butori.
From here mules were hired (and never turned up) porters were engaged and after ahalting two days of slow walk and negotiation base camp was established in sight of the
Sersank La pass and at an altitude of about 4,400m. And then, after a day of rest andsorting, two days of getting us and our heavy sacks up the energy sapping screes to the
Sersank La and a further day of descending the far side, Victor and I were able to lie in
our little tent acclimatising and peering at the face we had come to climb.
Our initial plan of accessing the face via a very steep runnel was soon dismissed as too
exposed to anything falling down the face. But like minds spied a single safe line
accessing the face via a buttress to the left. It would add a few hundred metres to theclimbing and no doubt increase the time we would spend on the climb but the fact that
we both homed in on it was refreshing. Like minded thinking in the mountains isimportant and we had both wondered whether we would still feel the same way after somany years apart. Our personalities have always been very different but by the time wewere settled into our acclimatisation routine the banter was flowing as freely as it did in
the 80s (albeit with old man subject matter) and our mountain judgement looked as if it
was in tune too. Already we were agreeing that it was great to be back in the mountains
together.
Before climbing though we had to re-cross the Sersank La, drop down to base camp, sort
ourselves out, fill our stomachs and then re-cross again to the foot of the face. I could see15that I was going to get quite weary of the steep, energy sapping screes of the pass. By
the time we were at the foot of the face I had been reminded of Victor’s wiry strengthand enviable ability to plod through deep snow and carry huge loads at great speed. I
had hoped that my fell racing efforts might have levelled us out in this respect but thatappeared not to be the case.
The buttress was steep with powdery snow stuck to all but the very steepest rock.
What looked to be straightforward from a distance was terribly precarious and painfully
slow involving clearing perhaps 15cm of snow, hooking crampon points over rugosities
in the rock and teetering upwards. It was not until early on our second day that the
ground changed as we reached the knife edge crest of the buttress. The pitch that Victor
led to get us to this point was a heroic performance that left me in no doubt that years ofcommercial expeditions have not dented the Saunders ability.
The way forward now was to traverse the sharp crest towards the face. It wasn’t thekind of ground that was condusive to abseiling and if we should fail higher on the face it
was clear that we would have to reverse these pitches followed by a climb back over the
Sersank La. That would be horrendous. I very much hoped we were good enough to getup. ‘My stomach is not feeling too good’ It was at the end of our second day on the face.
By the end of day 3, as we were being buffeted by spindrift in our precariously
positioned tent, it was clear that it had worsened. Got to get out’ came urgently from thefar end. Being of slight build and with minimal blubber Victor likes to wear a lot ofclothes both in his sleeping bag and whilst climbing. We were testing various items of
Berghaus clothing and Victor was wearing them all together. This meant that he was
wearing five layers and a harness.
For the rest of the night we lay with our own thoughts. The accumulation of spindrift
was pushing the tent off the ledge but Vic’s predicament was a more serious problem for
us both. Four days out from base camp and three days into the face it was not the best
position to have this kind of difficulty. Come the morning there was no improvement but
Victor was irrepressibly positive. ‘Looks to be wonderful climbing’ he enthused staring
up at the ice streaks above.
The conditions on this upper part of the face were indeed much better than lower down.
It felt as if every pitch looked uncertain to begin with but turned out to be just about
within our limits. Progress was slow but steady. On this difficult ground it was
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interesting to note that I readily recognized Victor’s distinctive way of moving from 29
years before. He too commented that he instantly recalled my habit of resting my headagainst the slope when tired. A fantastic day ended with us at a little snow crest where
we were able to cut two small sleeping ledges, one above the other. Victor was still not
feeling well. I think perhaps it is the dehydrated food’ he announced leaving most of his
portion.
This was unfortunate as, aside from boiled sweets, we didn’t have anything else to eat.
It also struck me that Victor had told me that his usual weight is 59Kg (compared to my70Kg) and our pre climb blubber comparison had suggested that I had more reserves. As
I boosted my calorific intake by polishing off his food I couldn’t help but wonder how
Victor could survive on so little. ‘Not a problem’ he assured me. ‘It’s probably that I’mallergic to the evening meals. The porridge for breakfast will stay down.’ Whatever thesituation we were high on the face and it was clear that finishing the climb anddescending the far side would be considerably easier than retreating and re-crossing the
Sersank La.
The porridge only partially stayed down and day 5 on the face proved both challenging
and memorably fine. By the time we had solved the difficulties of the headwall and had
the cornice in sight the Saunders body was surging forward. Where he found the energy
from I do not know. Despite numerous trouser dropping stops not once did he complain
about a situation that would have ended the climb for lesser beings. At the age of 66 heis a truly remarkable man. The cornice provided an acrobatic finale before, at 18.30 on
our fifth day, we flopped out to a new panorama and the relatively amenable slopes ofthe south west side of the mountain.
The summit pyramid itself had not been climbed. In 2008 a team of Japanese climbers
and high altitude porters had reached its foot via the glacier systems to the south west
but they did not proceed further as local people had apparently asked them to leave thesummit untouched. Knowing this beforehand we had quizzed locals at Sural Batori who
assured us that they had no objection to us climbing to the highest point.
From the side we approached the pyramid it was not particularly difficult and by 12.30
on our seventh day out from base camp we stood on the top and built a little cairn tomark our passing. The panorama of the Kishtwar, Pangi valley and Lahaul peaks was
inspirational. Every time I stand on a summit in this area I seem to see exciting new17

objectives. It was a first for Victor in this area and he was like a playful puppy facedwith an array of new chews. It was left just to descend the glacier systems of the south
west side. Martin Moran had suggested the descent would be easy. Let’s just say on thatfront he was wrong. After a day and a half of complex glacier travel, including several
forced abseils through icefalls, we eventually escaped onto rocky ground and descended
to a welcome tea and nibbles meeting with Sanju and Devraj.
Back home Victor wrote; "On return to base there was pleasant recovery haze as we ate
our first real cooked food for nine days; dozed in comfort on flat ground without beingtied into the mountain; and generally enjoyed the warmth of the lower altitude. Mick
was content to lie in his tent in a bubble of happiness; having ticked the adventure
climbing boxes: new route, sizeable length, sufficiently challenging, previously
unclimbed summit and descent by a different route. Meanwhile I was in my own bubble,
happy to have discovered that the old friendship was still intact.’
All we have to do now is agree a follow up re-union climb. There’s a lot to be said forthem.

(left) Victor Saunders, (right) Mick Fowler on the summit

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Victor meets dinner at BC

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Photo Gallery of Climb & Descent

Start of Day 4, crest of Day 3 below

About to leave 4th bivouac on the face

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Pitch one on Day 5

Mick Fowler on pitch 3, Day 5

Victor Saunders on complex glacier descent – Day 8

Descent route with bivouacs marked

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MATIJA JOST – MATIC
Haptal Mountains 2016 Slovenian Expedition
Exploration of RANGTIK TOKPO, SHIMLNIG TOKPO, DENYAI TOKPO
Alpine climbing potentials in Zanskar
In summer 2016 Anastasija Davidova – Nastja and I (Matija Jošt – Matic) (with thesupport of Alpine Association of Slovenia) spent some nice time exploring and trekking
in the Haptal mountains massif. Idea to travel back to beautiful Zanskar arises in2015 when we spent nice time in Raru Mountains and Tetleh Nala. At that time werealize that mountain area southwest of the Doda river (also refer as Stod river) is very
rarely visited by mountaineers and may be hiding some nice alpine climbing potentials.
From mid July to beginning of September 2016 we visit Rangtik Tokpo, Shimling Tokpoand Denyai Tokpo.
Main Doda river valley (Zanskar valley) running from Darung-Drung glacier near Pensi
La to southeast direction towards Padum where after confluence with Tsarap river they
form Zanskar river, a tributary of the Indus river. Along the river is main Kargil –Padum road witch passes villages of Akshow, Abran, Kushol, Phey, Tungri. Southwestof the Doda river is Great Himalayan range, there are many valleys originate from it
and converge to Zanskar. Some of them are (from north to south): Haskira Tokpo,
Kange Tokpo, Hangshu Nala, Panding Tokpo, Bakarsei Tokpo, Denyai Tokpo, Mulung
Tokpo, Shimling Tokpo, Rangtik Tokpo, Haptal Tokpo, Chhogo Tokpo, Gompe Tokpo.
All this valleys are surrounded by many mostly unclimbed peaks. The altitude of thepeaks vary from 5200 m to 6400 m. Local Ladakhi people (and early explorers) uses
some of the valleys for connection with Kisthwar in the south. Main “trekking” passes
are: Muni La at the head of Haptal Tokpo, Umasi La at the head of Mulung Tokpo andHagshu La at the head of Hangshu Nala. Most “popular” for climbing is Hangshu Nalawith famous and beautiful peak Hagshu (6515 m). All the other valleys get very little orno attention from climbers, but popularity of the area is increasing in recent years.
In 2009 Spanish climber Sergi Ricart who spent several months in Ladakh and Zanskar
also visit the Haptal area and report in AAJ. At that time he visited Rangtik Tokpo andKange Tokpo.
From 2009 to 2016 Japanese senior expedition leader Kimikazu Sakamoto explore in
the area with different expeditions. He report about their activity and also made some23

mapping of the area and identification of many peaks. They explore Gompe Tokpo,
Haptal Tokpo and Mulung Tokpo if I mention only valleys in the vicinity of Ragtik,
Shimling and Denyai valleys. He produced “Outline of Mulung Tokpo - Haptal Tokpo” in2012 and marked some peaks with M1, M2 ect. for peaks in Mulung Tokpo and H1, H2,
ect. for peaks in Haptal Tokpo. After revision in 2016 he changed some markings. For
example M14 became after revision M26, but it is the same peak P6135 m in Denyai
Tokpo.
With cooperation of local agency Skitpo Travel (http://www.skitpotravel.com/) we first
visit Rangtik Tokpo, where we spent some 20 days climbing and exploring. Skitpo
Travel employs local people mostly from Tungri village and they provide us really withexcellent service and very nice cultural experience as we were introduced well to theirtraditional way of life. First we made acclimatization climb on south slopes of Remalaye(H5, 6278 m) and we reached prominent point on west ridge of the mountain (Remalayewest, GPS: 6266 m, 33°28'50" North, 76°43'33" East). It was obvious that main summit
is higher and also some ridge gendarmes leading to the main summit looked higher
than our standing point. After this weather turn to very unstable with mostly morethan one shower per day. We made some attempts on Phobrang and P6193 m (aka H8).
Every time we were forced to retreat quite low from their faces. Despite not so good
weather we managed to climb route “Rolling Stones” to the summit of Shawa Kangri.
First ascent of peak was made 16th August 2008 by Spanish climbers Luc Pellissa andSergi Ricart via approximately 500 m high route “Rolling Stones” and they graded it D+,
ice 65°, rock UIAA V+. They also named peak itself. The summit block looks like horn sothey named it Shawa (Shawa means horn in Ladakhi language). Climbing was on niceice and very good quality rock. It took us 8 hours roundtrip from our BC (GPS: 33°28'30"
North, 76°45'13 East, 4926 m)

to repeat this real nice alpine route. At summit we did

GPS reading so the coordinates of Shawa Kangri are: 5728 m, 33°27'46 North, 76°44'07"
East.
Because no improvement in weather we evacuated our BC and went for trekking. We
started up the Shimling Tokpo, trekked almost to the very head of Shimling glacier,then turned back and passed 5638 m col to Mulung Tokpo and ended our trek at Zunkul
Gompa. Shimling Tokpo is very unspoiled and we see no trace of human in the upper
part of the valley. There is no record of mountaineering activity on the mountains
surrounding this valley.

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After some days in Tungri village we did also trek to Denyai Tokpo. We started our trek
up the valley in Denyai village. During two days we visited head of the Denyai glacierand returned back to Denyai village. I think all peaks we see in Denyai are unclimbed
and unnamed but they provided great potential for alpine style ascents of all sorts andof all grades. We found very little trace of human passage. Local people graze theiranimals in lover part of the valley, but upper part of the valley is very unspoiled.
In first days of September weather improves and we hiked again in Rangtik Tokpo We
made strong attempt on P6193 m (aka H8). We climb to small col (between P6110 m andP6193 m) from the east and then move to icy north flanks but we stop at some 6100 m
and returned safe back down to our high camp at Rangtik glacier.
Unspoiled fragile nature, friendly people of Zanskar, heritage of Tibetan Buddhism andof course great mountains to climb is main attributes to visit the area. There is plenty ofroom for pristine alpinism as its best. Dimensions of mountains are more like Alps thanthe Himalaya, just with higher altitudes. Every expedition is pollution somehow. One ofpossible ways to minimize the pollution is to operate in small teams with modest
comfort. We must try to climb clean and leave mountains as nice as we find them.

Foto: Matija Jost–Matic25

View of Rangtik and Shimling mountains from north-east from slopes above Tungri village. V is Zim(5286 m), L is P5480 m, F is Phobrang (5800 m), M is P5820 m, G is Shawa Kangri (GPS: 5728 m,
33°27'46 North, 76°44'07" East), H is P6085 m (aka H2), E is Remalaye (H5, 6278 m), A is P6193 m(aka H8), B is P6110 m, S is P5880 m, P is Starikatchan (aka H7, 5904 m) and R is P6124 m (aka M2).

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Base camp site in Rangtik Tokpo (GPS: 33°28'30" North, 76°45'13 East, 4926 m) and mountains on thesouth side of Rangtik glacier. F is Phobrang (5800 m), G is Shawa Kangri (GPS: 5728 m, 33°27'46
North, 76°44'07" East), H is P6085 m (aka H2), I is P5680 m, J is P6095 m and K is P6005 m. Route offirst ascent of Shawa Kangri is marked in red. First ascent of peak was made 16 th August 2008 by
Spanish climbers Luc Pellissa and Sergi Ricart. They named their approximately 500 m high route“Rolling Stones” and graded it D+, ice 65°, rock UIAA V+. They also named peak itself. The summit
block looks like horn so they named it Shawa (Shawa means horn in Ladakhi language).

Mountains on the south and west side of Rangtik glacier as seen from upper Rangtik Glacier. G is
Shawa Kangri (GPS: 33°27'46 North, 76°44'07" East, 5728 m), H is P6085 m (aka H2), I is P5680 m, O
is P5850 m, J is P6095 m, K is P6005 m, N is P5950 m and A is P6193 m (aka H8).

27

Mountains on the west and north side of Rangtik glacier as seen from Shawa Kangri summit. A is
P6193 m (aka H8), B is P6110 m, C is P6060 m, D is Remalaye west (GPS: 33°28'50" North, 76°43'33"
East, 6266 m), E is Remalaye main (aka H5, 6278 m). Red line indicates line of first ascent via south
slopes by Anastasija Davidova - Nastja and Matija Jošt - Matic in 2016.

East face (in shadow) and southeast face of P6193 m (aka H8) marked with A as seen from the summitof Ramalaye west. N is P5950 m and B is western part of P6110 m

28

East face of Starikatchan (H7, 5904 m), highest point of the mountain is marked with P. Photo wastaken from ridge just east of the mountain (GPS: 5227 m, 33°30'40" North, 76°44'25" East).

E is Remalaye main (H5, 6278 m), D is Remalaye west (GPS: 33°28'50" North, 76°43'33" East, 6266 m),
B is P6110 m. Photo showing west and north slopes of the peaks. Photo is taken from viewpoint above
campsite in lower Shimling Tokpo.

29

Panoramic view of the peaks on the east side of the upper Shimling glacier showing their west andnorth slopes. B is P6110 m, A is P6193 m (aka H8), N is P5950 m, K is P6005 m, J is P6095 m. Photo
was taken from the pass connecting Shimling Tokpo with Mulung Tokpo (GPS: 33°28'58" North,
76°40'32" East, 5638 m). On the far right of the photo is col C5650 m.

Panoramic view towards east from the viewpoint at glacier junction in Mulung Tokpo (GPS: 33°29'25"
North, 76°39'42" East, 5123 m). R is P6124 (aka M2), T is P6033 m, U is P5836 (aka M3) and A is
P6193 m (aka H8). Just in front and right of P6193 m on very right edge of the photo is pass connecting
Shimling Tokpo with Mulung Tokpo (GPS: 33°28'58" North, 76°40'32" East, 5638 m).

30

Mounatins on the south side of upper Denyai glacier. You can see their North-East, North andNorth-West faces on this photo. C is P5525 m, D is P5660 m, E ism, H is P5999 m.

31

P5670 m, F is P5665 m, G is P6095

Montains on the thrue left side of upper Denyai glacier. G is P6095 m, H is P5999 m, I is P5920 m, K is
P5890 m, R is P5520 m, L is P5883 m and M is P6135 m (aka M14 or revisted M2

32

JEFF SHAPIROFirst ascent of the South Face of Brammah II (6486m)
Pneuma (VI AI4, M5, 1300m) – Kishtwar, India

Early in 2016, I was reminiscing over images from the last expedition with my goodfriend and regular climbing partner, Chris Gibisch. It had been too long since our33experience in Western China's Daxue Shan Range and the trip down memory lane
ended with me picking up the phone to point out to Chris;“.....I think it's time to go

somewhere.”

Being the “up for anything” alpinist that he is, Chris was easy to convince. Only issue
was....where? We have always been most drawn toward objectives that require
exploration and an emphasis on adventure. Reports indicated that adventure was easy
to find in Northern India so, after seeing the stunning imagery from lines completed theprevious year by friends, it seemed to us that this was a good region to “have a look”.

34Northern India's Kishtwar National Park has been mostly “off limits” to foreigners since
the early 1980's. After we “flew” the area on Google Earth, iconic and pyrimidal peaks
throughout the range, clearly showing potential, provided all the psyche needed. The
rudimentary imagery Google provided hinted at steep rock and ice faces throughout the
Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh Himalaya. Further research revieled that not only did
many of these peaks remain unclimbed.... some of the most attractive faces hadn't evenbeen photographed! This was indeed where we wanted to go.
So, in Early October, with the support from the Mugs Stump Award and the Copp Dash
Inspiration award, Chris and I boarded a plane...but with mixed emotions following theaftermath of losing two brothers from our mountain community 5 days prior. When
Scott (Adamson) and Kyle (Dempster) disappeared, it shook us to our core. We knew
we had to go – to continue on our path - but, the serious nature of the Himalaya had us
introspective about the decisions we make - how it effects our friends and family – how
it effects our lives relative to growth and perspective. The result for us was that we left
without any real expectations. We'd simply “go”. No photos existed of the South faceof Brammah II so, we'd simply have to take it one step at a time and maintain a “seewhat we find” attitude.

35

The long, 3 day drive began after typical pre-expedition formalities at the IMF, deep inthe chaos of Delhi. Once past the mountain town of Manali, we continued to the
Buddhist village of Udaipur through the mighty Himachal Pradesh, followed by anotherfull day to Galabgarh on one of the wildest roads either of us had ever experienced.
Drops of 1500' straight to the river below had us laughing out loud when the tires of theJeep came within 6 inches of “the fast way down”. Being a passionate BASE jumper, I
remember thinking that much of the road would have been a very nice “exit”.

Our expedition began with the task of getting our massive pile of gear, 12 porters andthe two of us, along with our Government appointed Liaison Officer, across the cable
trolley that bridged the Chenab River.
It would be three more days of hiking big loads through heat that had me question
whether we were actually ascending into the high Himalaya.
The Kijai Nala is notorious for difficult travel but, we found the locals and goat trails tobe reasonable and beautiful although, we were informed by a local herdsman during the36second morning of our approach that a leopard had killed one of his prized cows only ahundred meters above our camp. Still, the occasional snake, monkeys and even a flying
squirrel made for good company as we made progress up the steep Nala toward
mountains we travelled from the other side of the world to find..... but still could notsee.

On the third day, we had to cross a bridge that pushed the limits of what our porters felt
was within their pay grade. The final result was our gear, not much past the bridge,
laid to rest in a spot that would have to do as our Base Camp.
Even though it was miles away and, thousands of feet below where we were hoping to
set up, it was hard to be anything but psyched! Big smiles and waves of encouragementfrom the Nepali crew left us alone with the two Indian friends that would stay with us
at camp to support our expedition. It was simply time to “get to work”.

37

Over the next two weeks, we slowly unlocked the mysteries of the approach. Weather
was a bit “too perfect” with temps well into the 80's, and the mountains spoke loudly
and often. Spontaneous rock fall, collapsing seracs and the absence of ice on the lower
half of Arjuna all helped us to narrow our focus toward an acceptable objective. Racked
up for a “fast and light” mixed rock and ice route, (in other words, not having the gear ortime for a big wall route), the unclimbed South face of Brammah II seemed like the best
fit. Starting just above 17,000', the 4300' wall that made up the technical part of theSouthern aspect seemed to have most of the elements we were hoping for. We just had
to find our way to the base, a prospect that was not as straight forward as a simple hiketo the wall.
It took 2 full days and involved a “run for our lives” under an overhanging serac band
that, like us, spent the warm afternoons sweating until collapse. But, when we did
eventually reach the hanging glacial at 17k to get our first view of the South Face, wewere psyched to see a few options that not only looked logical, but fun, big andadventurous. As the afternoon heat built, the clouds did as well and the mountainagain came alive. One of the most attractive lines was repeatedly scoured by numerous
rock and ice avalanches which, narrowed our choices and increased our conviction tostart early.

38

The

first

morning,wesimul-climbed 1000' in thedark while the sky wascontinually

strobedbylightning flashes from a
distant storm, intensifying
theambience

position.

ofour

By late in theafternoon, thin ribbons ofblue ice bisecting short rocksteps

(welcome

reprives

from endless 70 degree, calf burner alpine ice) led us to a ridge line bivy that I would
have paid for. We had the best views in the house and a very welcome rest after a longday on the move in heat we'd never experienced in the high mountains. We were atexactly 20,000' and right on schedule.
The next day started off with an epic sun rise while traversing a “good morning” pitch
through fun mixed ground leading back onto the ice-face proper. A 500' band of orange
and gold granite seemed to guard the summit slopes but upon a closer inspection, theramping “sneak” that we'd hoped to find was indeed there. The chimney and cracksystem created a weakness that had us hooting and hollering with pure psyche. To
emphasize the point, Chris took off his gloves in the warm temps to “bare-hand” the last
cruxy boulder problem, looking down to laugh out loud.
As the day wore on, we ascended and traversed the summit slopes to theSouth-East. Starting to feel like bonking might be for dinner, I was relieved when I
finally built a belay in a rock band that I felt confident was close the top. I couldn't see
the summit from the overhanging rock band but, I “knew” it was there. Less than 60m
further, the rope stopped moving and when I joined Chris, we sat together smiling,surrounded by one of the most dramatic horizons either of us had ever seen, and could
go no higher. Pointy, raw and rugged peaks were lit up by the last rays of the sun inevery direction and barely a breath of wind interrupted our silence as we took it all in.

39

After rappelling more than a thousand feet, we arrived at the top of a steep, broad ice
face just before midnight and were officially “cooked”. While chopping seats into theancient, bullet hard ice to sit in for the night, more lightning strobed the sky and I
couldn't help but to look over at Chris, my friend and brother for more than 15 years,
and consider our surroundings. We were in one of the most remote spots on the planet,at 20,000', at midnight, and we were both completely worked but – we were friends andon a hell of an adventure. I remembered at that moment that profound experience andthe deep seated friendships we form in the mountains are the true summit.

40

41

KIMIKAZU SAKAMOTO

Exploration of Mulung Tokpo 2016 in Zanskar-Indian HimalayaSince 2009, I have been exploring Southern Zanskar of Indian Himalaya to find theveiled unclimbed peaks. I explored Giable Nala, Lenak Nala, Reru Valley, Temasa Nala,
Gompe Tokpo and Haptal Tokpo. We are pleased that thirteen expedition parties
already challenged the virgin peaks in the Southern Zanskar which I introduced in my
exploration records.
During August 3rd~ 27th in 2016, I went to Mulung Tokpo with Akira Taniguchi and
Toshio Itoh to explore Mulung Tokpo which is locaed in the north west of Padam, one
more north valley from Hapatal Tokpo. In Mulung Tokpo, there are not so many 6,000m
peaks, but all peaks in this area have no climbing record according to the information of
IMF (Indian Mountainneering Foundation).
We arrived at Delhi on August 3rd and reached Padam on August 8th via Kargil by achartered car after spending two days in Leh for acclimatization. On August 9th, we
stayed at Padam to visit Thonde Gompa and Karsha Gompa to pray for our safe
exploration.
On August 10th, we visited Jhunkul Gompa by car. Then, we started our trekking from
Tokhta Bridge near Ating Village and pitched our tents on the left side of Mulung Tokpo,
just opposite side of Jhunkul Gompa. We expected to see P5830(M1) and 6124(M2) on
the top of Chhabar Tokpo, but we could not peep the inside of this branch because of thehigh rock wall with the waterfall. On August 11th, we moved to Sampuk.
We saw P5491(M0)and P5582(M9) in Nabil Tokpo which is going up to Omasi La. On
August 12th, we trekked to Gaura just before the junction of Nabil Tokpo and Mulung
Tokpo. Our trekking pace was very slow, as I had a sprain in my right ankle. We
expected to see P6010(H10)at the top of the un-named left side branch of Mulung Tokpo,
but we could not see this peak because the branch was blocked with high rock wall.
However, we could enjoy the nice view of P5902(M13), P5871(M15) and P5882(M16) in
the Mulung Glacier.
On August 13th, we had a hiking to the glacier tongue of Mulung Tokpo. There are thebeautiful small lakes just before the glacier tongue. Three peaks in Mulung Glacier,
M13, M15 and M16 , are very attractive and will surely fascinate many climbers. We42hope some climbers will challenge the unclimbed peaks in Mulung Tokpo in near future.

43

Originally, we planned to spend three days to explore Nabil Tokpo by carrying up ourtents. But we were obliged to change our schedule because of my right ankle sprain.
On August 14th, Akira Taniguchi, Toshio Itoh, Tsewang Yangphe (our guide) andGyamtso (our kitchen stuff) went up Nabil Tokpo as one day hiking. I gave up joining
them, because I judged that I could not climb up the steep slope at the entrance of Nabil
Tokpo. They left Gaura camp site early morning and came back around 5pm.
They went up to the spot just before the junction of Haptal Glacir and Kanthang Glaicer.
They saw the challenging peak P5878(H21) in Haptal Tokpo and P5602(M7) at thejunction with Kanthang Glacier.
We enjoyed the leisured several days in Mulung Glacier and went back to Padam on
August 19th. After we visited Chiling, we came back to Leh on August 24th. This time,
we could not see any 6,000m peaks, but we were very happy to see several attractive
veiled virgin peaks in Mulung Tokpo area. We hope some climbers will challenge these
unclimbed peaks in this valley at no distant date.

Jhunkul Gompa

44

P5878 (H21) and P5602 (M7) in Haptai GlacierP5878 (H21) in Haptai Glacier45

(left) P5902 (M14), (right) P5781 (M15) in Lulung Glacier(left) P5582 (M9), (right) P53491 (M10) in Nabil Tokpo46

EDWARD HANNAMFirst Ascent of Xialong Rezha 5625m in Ge’nyen Massif
Shaluli Shan Range – West Sichuan Highlands

Genyen Massif panorama view east face

Xialong Rezha west face. Pitches 1 – 4 continue obscured below the fin of rock.
12 pitches, Russian alpine grade 5A (Scottish IV, M4, some pitches run out, somesimu-climbed or soloed). 650m. descent by rappelling the route. Photo: Rob Baker
47

During unbroken perfect weather from late October to early November we made thefirst ascent of the previously undocumented 5625m Xialong Rezha (unnamed andincorrectly marked as 5851m or 5346m by some sources) to the west of the Ge’nyen
massif in the Shaluli Range, Sichuan. In the West Sichuan Highlands, Xialong Rezha isthe closest +5500m peak to the near-completely closed border to the Tibetan
Autonomous Region (TAR )(http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web16f/newswire-british-alpinists-climb-a-virgin-north-face),Relatively well known, the eastern and central areas of Ge’nyen have been visited
regularly for over a decade, including ascents by Sarah Hueniken, Dave Anderson and48

Joe Puryear, with Mt Ge’nyen itself first climbed via south face in 1988 by a team of theHimalayan Association of Japan. That our trip coincided exactly with the 10th
anniversary of the deaths of Charlie Fowler and Kristine Boskoff wasn’t lost on us.
The western side of the Ge’nyen mountains is accessed via 4 days travel along the
Sichuan-Tibet highway from Chengdu via Kangding, Xinduqiao, a town of Litang andthe border town of Batang, then a small road over a 5000m pass almost unknown evento the locals. 25km from the upper Yangtze that forms the administrative border,
Xialong Rezhe is prominently visible from the small hamlet at the end of the road, thename translating as ‘place of big horned animals and large boulders’,
We planned to do a first ascent with no additional support, something developed overmany previous trips to western Sichuan/eastern Tibet. going into undocumented terrain
completely self-sufficient, our only limitation was the loads we could carry, acclimationand the weather, having banked on the dependable early winter window directly after
the last squall of the south Asian monsoon and before the first snows arrived. This year
didn’t disappoint, with an unbroken string of 15 days without any form of precipitation.

(left) Where the wild things are. Xialongrezha from the edge of town. Photo Alex Tang(right) BC I at 4200m was sunny, tranquil and warm. Photo Rob Baker.
BC I was several kilometers from the village thru a beautiful pine and lichen forest to asunny vale at 4200m. a pastoral delight, with clear aquamarine rushing streams, flocksof pheasants and lazy yaks, we did sorties higher up and after 3 nights to consolidate
decided to move the entire BC up to 4900m rather than just a light ‘assault bivy’. This
involved heavy carries up several kms of marsh, bouder fields and scree.

49

BC II below Xialongrezha at 4900m. Photo Mitch Murray.
BC II was a true high Tibetan location; stark and lunar. By a small glacially fed lake,
the high moraine and room-sized boulders showed no signs of visitation aside fromthirsty antelope and small, colourful birds. The difference between direct sun and shade
was a +20c and -10c differential that bookended each day.
From vantage points along the approach it was clear the premium route on the west
face

was

centralthejiltedcouloir.

We

juggled thoughts about
various

other

route

alternatives
confirmedbutthecentralcouloir after a recce day
onto the glacier beneath.
As the route was steep,
ouracclimationthresholdamazing

and

at
the

weather

window getting on, welead in blocks, seconding together for speed. With good team work, good rock and solid
snow this worked efficiently.
(above picture) Ed below the traverse to the upper pitches around 5350m.
Photo: Rob baker.
50After soloing the 90m glacial snout to the couloir’s base cone, Mitch powered us thru thenext 3 pitches, then Ed lead up to and around where the couloir changed direction,
including a long double pitch with a vigorous traverse. This was followed by Rob
launching up 5 run-out pitches on lessening snow quality that ended in a pitch dug thru
to the slab below to the cornice on the summit ridge. a further half pitch by Ed
confirmed the sketchy snow and serious fall potential, leaving the bizarre summit
formation unclimbed out of respect for sanity and local Tibetan lore.

(left) Xialongrezha summit stack, across dangerous granulated snow over seamlessgranite slabs. We left that to the gods of another time. Photo Ed Hannam.
(right) Mitch & Rob at the final anchor, 5610m, with BC II just visible at the lake 700m
below. Photo Ed Hannam.
The couloir presented no good options for bivies so all 12 pitches were climbed in asingle push, non-stop effort on new terrain.
Experience from previous trips had us carrying an array of alpine pro, but we ended up
using a time-proven rack of small to mid cams and wires, beaks and pitons and an
occasional screw. aside from the upper two pitches the snow was excellent, with ice a
mix of glacial and alpine. rock in the western cluster is A grade granite, fissured with
finger to hand width cracks splitting contiguous slabs and faces topped wild gendarmes,
gargoyles and features.
Chopping thru the cornice we could see eastwards into the main Ge’nyen area, with
6200m Mt Ge’nyen and other +5500m peaks clearly visible. Westwards, in the otherdirection, we could make out long ranges of robust peaks over 6000m beyond the closed
Tibetan border.
51

At 16:00 we began the many rappels that would get us back to camp at 22:00.
Continuing the good weather streak we spend the following day laying on sun-warmed
granite boulders and eating, before starting the heavily loaded return to the village
where we were welcomed by the local monk and school kids. Returning to Batang we
consumed the hotels entire supply of roast duck.
The team consisted of organizational legend Zhang Jiyue, sharp-end expert Alex Tang
(China) and climbers Mitch Murray, Rob Baker & Ed Hannam (Australia).
This trip was entirely self-funded, with no sponsors, no grants, no awards and no film
deals, though special thanks go to Sea to Summit for their sleeping mat solutions, andto Cilogear for producing the unique packs that made the unsupported nature of the trip
doable.

52

DEREK BUCKLE

Bolivia’s Royal Mountains
The 2015 AC Expedition to the Bolivian Andes

The Kasiri group, Chico on the left and Pk5694 in the centre, Photo: Derek Buckle
The three of us were simply following our noses. We clearly had to go up, but exactly
where was anyone’s guess. Juan Carlos, our local agent, had suggested Jathi Khollu, a5,421m peak in the Hampaturi range of the Bolivian Andes, as a two-day fill-in as partof our expedition, but even our drivers did not know exactly where it was.1 Perhaps thisshould not have been surprising since the driver of one of the two Landcruisers evenstruggled to find his way out of La Paz! As was typical for most of Bolivia, we had no
reliable maps of this area and were trying to navigate using Google satellite images
downloaded onto mobile phones.2 With the road, such as it was, rapidly terminating,desperate measures were called for in the form of a campesino tending her llamas near
the hamlet of Palcoma. Fortunately, as a local she knew the way.
Despite the warmth of the valley, 18th June was not one of our clearer days and all bar
the lower mountain slopes were blanketed by heavy cloud. The road-head was obvious
enough, as it was cleft by a water eroded chasm, and a well-worn track led to our
proposed camp site at the far end of Laguna Jachcha Khasiri at 4,710m. It was an
attractive spot but would have benefited from a cloudless view. By this stage the active
members of the team were a diminishing group. Altitude problems had forced Hugh toreturn home early, Rafal was suffering digestive problems and Ken had injured hisankle.

Although still fit, Lili decided to stay with Ken while Peter continued toacclimatise further around the camp.
It was still misty when we (Nick, John, Derek) left camp at 4.00am the next morning53

intending to climb the established route on the SW face of Jathi Khollu. The initial
climb over the terminal moraine past a small laguna was relatively straightforward as
there were few other places to go, but when we reached the glacier the options in thedark and mist seemed endless. Climbing unroped, we chose to keep left where Nickkicked an impressive line of steps in the 40-45º slope just right of a rocky rib until thisexited at a fine snow arête. At this point the cloud magically evaporated to reveal thesummit block just 300m or so to the right.

Traversing steep snow under anintermediary rock tower and a 30m scramble over steep, unstable shale then led to theairy summit. By this stage it was obvious that we had not followed the usual route,which was some distance to our right, but had approached the summit from the opposite
side. Subsequently we found that we had climbed a variant of the Gully Route firstrecorded by C Clarke, P Meehan and G Beisly in July 2013.3
Undoubtedly there is a first time for everything, but climbing a rarely visited 5,000m
peak without a map, not knowing exactly where it was and in relatively thick mist, wascertainly a novelty. As we topped out above the cloud base, however, the summit views
were spectacular - Mururata (5,868m) and Illimani (6,439m) dominated thesouth-eastern horizon while hundreds of unrecognised peaks rose to the north-west. It
was a good recommendation by Juan Carlos and making the second ascent of the Gully
Route was a major bonus.
But our expedition had its origins some time earlier. In 2014 the Alpine Club had asuccessful trip to the Peruvian Andes4 and I had always fancied going to Bolivia. Notlong after the idea of visiting the Cordillera Real was muted it attracted significant
interest and we soon had a full team of eight people. Our President, Lindsay Griffin,
hoped to join us but eventually Club and other commitments obliged him to withdraw.
Fortunately, not before introducing us to his friend and local activist Gregg Beisly andsuggesting the rarely visited Kasiri-Caldaza area as a key focal point.

Condoriri Group:
At 3,600m La Paz comes as a shock to those more accustomed to life at sea-level so on
arrival at the end of May the first few days were spent visiting the main tourist
attractions, including Tiwanaku and the Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca, before taking ashort climb up to Huayna Potosi base camp at 5,130m.

Feeling reasonably wellacclimatised after three days in and around La Paz, on 4th June we relocated to our firstclimbing venue; the Condoriri base camp by Laguna Chiar Khota. Even though this54

involves only a relatively short walk-in from the road-head, we chose to take fulladvantage of the available mules and arrieros to help with the load carrying. Now
administered by a friendly ranger/camp-guard, over the years this camp has
transformed into a very respectable location that is equipped with ‘flushable’ toilets andpotable running water delivered from an in situ pipe. Added site security and thepleasant overall ambience more than outweighed the modest overnight fee of around£12 for the group.
By 5th June six of the team were ready to climb the shapely and attractive Pequeño
Alpamayo (5,370m), a smaller and less demanding version of its better known Peruvian
neighbour. In two ropes of three (Lili, Ken, Derek & Nick, John, Rafal) we chose thenormal west-southwest ridge route (Alpine AD) that first traverses Tarija (5,060m), anintermediate peak, before gaining the impeccable snow arête leading to the final snowy
pyramid and summit. After such a magnificent climb we reluctantly returned to basecamp the same way. At this point there was considerable debate over what to do next.
Undoubtedly, Condoriri (Carbeza de Condor, 5,648m)5 is the region’s gem and several
members wanted to attempt it. The question was whether to do so in a single day frombase camp or to establish an intermediate camp? Eventually three of us (Nick, John,
Derek) opted for the two-day approach that ascends what is generally regarded as the‘scree slope from hell’ to camp at 4,680m on a series of level rock platforms abutting theglacier.6
Early on 7th June we left this high camp to follow a well-worn track etched into thesteep glacier until it was possible to traverse right under the southwest ridge to reach ahidden 60-70º ice-topped couloir leading directly to the ridge (AD+). At this point a
truly magnificent steep snow crest led inexorably to the compact summit which we
attained almost simultaneously with two small guided parties that had made the ascentdirectly from base camp. It was a superb climb with tremendous panoramas and well
worthy of the many accolades that have been used to describe it. Planning to return to
La Paz the next day we dismantled the high camp on our return before descending tobase camp the same day.
On the same day Rafal and Hugh climbed Pirámide Blanca (5,230m) by way of thenormal PD snow route from the west. Still hampered by his poor acclimatisation, it
was a challenging day for Hugh, and personal altitude records for them both.
Meanwhile Ken and Lili attempted what quite possibly was an unclimbed mixed route55

on Pirámide Blanca’s west face. Only the last few metres defeated their efforts when
they were faced by unstable, dangerous rock close to the summit and were forced toabseil the route.
Unfortunately, plagued by severe gastric problems Peter was confined to the area close
to camp for much of our stay at Condoriri, although he did manage to travel a bit
further afield on the last day when he started to improve. As we departed from basecamp fairly early on 8th June the outbound track still had several stretches of hard ice
where it was shaded that caused significant problems for the laden mules. Althoughsure-footed on most ground, mules are unaccomplished ice-skaters and several animals
were clearly unhappy on this terrain. The majority, however, managed to cross withvarying degrees of elegance while one lost confidence entirely and finally landed
broadside with hooves flying in all directions. It was only with a struggle that two ofus eventually got him back on his wobbly feet while the arriero simply looked on rather
bemused!

Kasiri-Calzada Group:
Our second and main objective was to explore the region between Kasiri and Calzada to
the northwest of La Paz. Mining activity in the area has led to marked improvements
to the rough road crossing the Kasiri-Calzada pass and, with care, it is now driveable
using 4 x 4 vehicles. Suitably refreshed by two nights’ recuperation in the city, theteam departed on 10th June for the 5 h drive to a camp actually on the col at 5,070m6
sited conveniently close to a cluster of small lagunas. Hugh came along for the ride,but he was clearly unwell and had earlier decided to go back to La Paz and await our
return in seven days time.
On account of its more difficult access, the Kasiri-Calzada area is rarely visited andmost guides and locals really have no idea where it is. Moreover, there is little or no
detailed record of the climbing that has been done from the col, although it is unlikelythat any of the neighbouring summits and tops have been left untrod.7 Since accessfrom both sides of the col is so much easier nowadays we considered it prudent to hire acamp guard for the whole of our stay. Perhaps this was a wise precaution as we did see
several mule trains crossing the pass and, surprisingly, met one vehicle close to the colat a little after 4.00am just as we started out on one of the climbs. One can only guess
which of the two was more taken aback by the encounter.

56

With most of us anxious to get to grips with climbing Calzada (5,634m) two separate
parties set off by different approaches on 11th June.

Ken and Lili were the more

successful party, completing a more or less direct route on the west face; climbing firstrock then the steep glacier and finally mixed ground to gain the ridge which was
followed to the summit (AD+). They returned the same way, abseiling the steeper
sections. Meanwhile John, Rafal and Derek attempted the obvious northwest ridge
while Nick was forced to descend with stomach problems. After climbing the initialbroken ground to the ridge this was followed at a modest angle (AD, III) until a steep,
exposed granite tower some 50m or so short of the summit eventually blocked further
safe progress. Retreat was a disappointment, but in this instance we chose discretionover valour. One abseil led back to easy ground and a return to camp.
Following an easy exploratory day, four of us (John, Nick, Rafal, Derek) climbed directly
up the steep southeast face of Pt 5,662 (a south-eastern outlier of the Kasiri group) until
it was possible to cut up right to gain the prominent south-southeast ridge overlookingbase camp. Continuing along this corniced ridge led to the fore-summit (Pt 5,662, AD)from which a short traverse led to a second, higher top (Pt 5,694) which was separated
from the main Kasiri massif by a steep, substantial drop. We returned the same way.
Having set their sights on an interesting snow dome (Pt 5,649), a little beyond Calzada,
Ken and Lili again traversed the now familiar boulder-field on Calzada on the 15th Juneto reach the northwest ridge. From here they dropped down to and then crossed thenorthwest glacier to a steep (to 80º) slanting couloir giving access to the ridge andsubsequently the snowy summit (AD+/D).8 They descended the same way. On thesame day, Nick, John and Derek attempted the long northeast ridge of Kasiri Chico(5,542m), which was accessed via a steep snow gully rising from the valley runningsoutheast from the ridge. The ridge itself consisted of unconsolidated shale yet lacked
technical difficulty until about one-third distance when a steep tower around 5,300m
blocked further safe progress. Once again a graceful retreat was called for with asingle abseil to attain the glacier a few hundred metres ahead of the ascent gully.
With our allotted time in this area coming to an end we returned to La Paz prior to ourbrief visit to Jathi Khollu, mentioned above, but in the meantime Hugh continued tosuffer altitude problems and had reluctantly decided to fly home early. Ken also left
for the UK soon after, but his early departure was previously scheduled. It was now
Rafal who succumbed to gastric problems so he chose to remain in La Paz until we
57

returned after the next foray to Chachacomani.9

Chachacomani Area:
After some deliberation our diminished group (now just five people) decided to focus on
Chachacomani (6,074m) as the last major objective. The plan was to climb one of thestandard routes on the southeast face, but once again in the absence of an accurate map
we were reliant on local advice for the most appropriate approach. Hitherto there were
known access problems from the south on account of local villager hostility, but we wereassured that this was no longer an issue. Accordingly, on 21st June, we drove northfrom La Paz via the hamlet of Chachacomani to the road-head from where we had priorarranged mules and porters. Trekking13 km along the long, rather bland valley of thesame name then led to our first camp at 4,540m beneath a significant headwall.6 As
mules could travel no further, three porters were enlisted to carry our equipment thenext day; first up the headwall and then leftwards to reach a rocky area at 5,230m6
adjacent to a vast glacier. It was not an ideal place to camp, but we could at least getglacial meltwater. By now, however, we were somewhat concerned that the impending
face in front of us bore no resemblance to the photograph that we had of
Chachacomani’s southeast face. Not only that, the sun clearly appeared to be in thewrong place, so something was evidently amiss!
It was eventually deduced that we must be beneath the southwest face and that accessto the southeast face was impossible from our position. Moreover, the porters hademphasised that we should climb the glacier in a north-northwest direction from ourcamp, starting at a point marked by a cairn. It all seemed rather unsatisfactory so adecision was made to start that way and essentially see what happened. Peter again
decided that he would not accompany us so the rest of the party left in the dark a little
after 5.00am on the 23rd June to trek north-northwest up the easy-angled glacier until
we fortuitously converged with the tracks made by previous parties. Following theseroughly eastwards eventually led to the west ridge which was followed to the airy
summit (PD). It was a technically easy, albeit long, day involving an 11km return trip
back to the high camp, so our earlier decision to spend an additional night at high camp
was fortuitous. When the porters arrived early the next day we descended past the low
camp to collect mules for the long walk back to the car and our return to La Paz.

Huayna Potosi & Illimani:
Initially we had decided against Huayna Potosi (6,088m, PD) but Rafal was by now
58brimming with energy as he had missed out on Chachacomani and was keen to doanother climb. Nick also had energy to spare so the two of them went up to Huayna
Potosi base camp at 5,209m on 25th June from where they easily completed the climb tothe summit and back to La Paz the next day; just in time for the team’s celebratory meal
prior to the journey home. Peter, on the other hand, had been building himself up for
an ascent of Illimani (6,439m, PD) and had several extra days available to attempt this.
On the 26th June therefore he arranged a guide for the three day climb, which hesuccessfully completed.
Summary: In June 2015 a team of Alpine Club members comprising Hugh Alexander,
Nick Berry, Derek Buckle (Leader), John da Silva, Rafal Malczyk, Ken Mulvany, Lili
Mulvany and Peter Yuen spent a month climbing in Bolivia’s Cordillera Real.

In

addition to climbing the classic peaks; Pequeño Alpamayo, Pirámide Blanca, Condoriri,
Huayna Potosi and Illimani by their standard routes, they also visited some of thelesser known regions, including the Kasiri-Calzada, Hampaturi and Chachacomani
areas where they successfully climbed Calzada and its adjacent snow dome Pt 5,649, theKasiri outliers Pt 5,662 and Pt 5,694, Jathi Khollu and Chachacomani itself.
Reference and Notes:
1. Both the spelling and heights of Bolivian mountains are highly variable anddependent on the source. Those used by Yossi Brain in Bolivia, a Climbing

Guide, Cordee, 1999 have been adopted wherever possible.
2. The Austrian Alpine Club publishes two excellent 1:50,000 maps of theCordillera Real; one to the north covering Illampu and another to the south
covering Illimani. In addition, the US Defense Mapping Agency publishes aseries of less useful 1:100,000 topographical maps (series H632) that areavailable free on-line.
3. See http://www.boliviaclimbinginfo.org
4. D Buckle, Alpine Journal, 117-125, 118, 2014
5. Literally Head of the Condor, so named because of its shape as seen from afar.
6. GPS height
7. See J Neate, Mountaineering in the Andes, RGS-IBG Expedition Advisory
Centre, 2nd Edition, May 1994

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8. R F H Hunter (American Alpine Journal, 510-513, 13, 1963) describes the sameor a similar couloir on the northwest face of Calzada.
9. Sir Martin Conway’s Chisel Peak.

Climbers on the classic WSW ridge of Pequeno Alpamayo, Photo: Derek Buckle

John and Nick descending
Condoriti SW ridge,
60

Snow Dome ascent gully, Photo: Ken Mulvany