ASIAN ALPINE E–NEWS
Issue No.18, February 2018

Elizabeth Hawley(Photo: Colin Monteath, NZAC)

CONTENTS
1. Elizabeth Hawley 1923–2018

Lisa Choegyal Page 2~5

2. First Ascents of Sunkala Topi, Lek Fett, Pratibandhit Lek Nepal, Namja
Laguja Danda and Kangla Himal

Christof Nettekoven, German Alpine Club (DAV) Page 6~22
3. Unclimbed peak, Lajo Dada (Langju Himal) 2017 Expedition Report
Kojuro Hagihara, Yudai Suzuki and Norifumi Fukuda

Tomon Alpine Club Page 23~39
4. The First Ascent of Lopchin Feng (KG-2) 6,805m
Autumn 2009 Expedition to the Kangri Garpo East Mountains, Tibet
Unknown Peaks in the Range1

Tim (Tatsuo) Inoue Page 40~55

Elizabeth Hawley 1923 – 2018

Lisa Choegyal, Kathmandu Nepal

Elizabeth Hawley, who died in
Kathmandu on 26 January 2018 aged
94 years, was an American journalist
living in Nepal since 1960, regarded as
theundisputed
authorityonmountaineering in Nepal. Born 9
November 1923 in Chicago, Illinois andeducated at the University of Michigan,
she was famed worldwide as a “onewoman mountaineering institution”,
systematically compiling a detailed
Himalayan database of expeditions
still maintained today by her team ofvolunteers, and published by theAmerican Alpine Club.
Respected for her astute political antennae and famously formidable, Miss Hawley
represented Time Life then Reuters since 1960 as Nepal correspondent for 25 years. Sheis credited with mentoring reporters and setting journalistic standards in Nepal,
competing to file stories from the communications-challenged Nepal of the 1960s. She
worked with the pioneer adventure tourism operators, Tiger Tops, from its inception in1965 with John Copeman, until she retired as AV Jim Edward’s trusted advisor in 2007.
For Sir Edmund Hillary, she managed the Himalayan Trust since it started in the mid1960s, dispensing funds to build hospitals, schools, bridges, forest nurseries andscholarships for the people of the Everest region. Generations of Sherpas remember
being overawed by the rigor of Miss Hawley’s interviews, and quake at the memory ofher cross-examinations when collecting their scholarship funds. Sir Edmund Hillarydescribed Elizabeth Hawley as “a most remarkable person” and “a woman of great
courage and determination.” She served as New Zealand Honorary Consul to Nepal for
20 years until retiring in 2010.
Elizabeth first came to Nepal via India for a couple of weeks in February 1959. She wason a two-year round the world trip that took her to Eastern Europe, the Middle East andSouth Asia. Bored with her job as researcher-reporter with Fortune magazine in New
York, she had cashed her savings to travel as long as they lasted. Nepal had been on her
mind since reading a 1955 New York Times article about the first tourists who visitedthe then-Kingdom.
Because of her media contacts, the Time Life Delhi bureau chief asked her to report on
Nepal’s politics. It was an interesting time - as one of only four foreign journalists, she

2
was present when King Mahendra handed over the firstparliamentary constitution, which paved the way fordemocracy in Nepal. Fascinated by Nepal’s politics andthe idea of an isolated country emerging into the modern
20th century, she returned in 1960 and never left, livingin the same Dilli Bazaar apartment, the same blue
Volkswagen beetle car, and generations of faithfulretainers.
A diminutive figure of slight build with a keen look,Elizabeth was bemused at the universal attention she
received. Her Himalayan Database expedition records aretrusted by mountaineers, newswires, scholars, andclimbing publications worldwide, published by Richard
Salisbury and the American Alpine Club. She was one of
only 25 honorary members of the Alpine Club of London, and has been formallyrecognized by the New Zealand Alpine Club and the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
In 2004 she received the Queen's Service Medal for Public Services for her work as New
Zealand honorary consul and executive officer of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust.
She was awarded the King Albert I Memorial Foundation medal and was the firstrecipient of the Sagarmatha National Award from the Government of Nepal.
Elizabeth’s career in the collection of mountaineering data started by accident: “I’venever climbed a mountain, or even done much trekking.” As part of her Reuters’ job, shebegan to report on mountaineering activities and in those pioneering days of first
ascents and mountain exploration, there was strong media interest in Himalayan
expeditions. She relied heavily on the knowledge of mountaineer Col Jimmy Roberts,
founder of Mountain Travel.
Since 1963 she has met every expedition to the Nepal Himalaya both before and after
their ascents, including those who climbed from Tibet. Her records contain detailed
information about more than 20,000
ascents of about 460 Nepali peaks,
including those that border with China
and India. Over the course of some 7,000
expedition interviews, her research work
has sparked and resolved controversies.
Elizabeth
has
seen
the
Nepal
mountaineering scene transformed froman exclusive club to a mainstream
obsession.
Elizabeth did not suffer fools gladly.

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3
Though some mountaineers were intimidated by her interrogations - sometimes jokingly
referred to as an expedition's "second summit," - serious alpinists greatly admired her.
"If I need information about climbing 8,000-meter peaks, I used to go to her," says
Italian climbing legend Reinhold Messner. Nepali trek operator and environmentalist
Dawa Steven Sherpa underlines the point: "Although it's the authorities that shouldhave been doing this, they're not as strict or accurate as Miss Hawley. One of her biggest
contributions is keeping mountaineers honest."
Elizabeth applied her trademark scrupulous precision to summarizing the political anddevelopment events in Nepal in her monthly diary, published in 2015 in two volumes as“The Nepal Scene: Chronicles of Elizabeth Hawley 1988-2007”. They stand as a faithfuland unique historical record of the extraordinary changes that took place in Nepal overnearly two decades.
Her enviable journalistic sources were based on long friendships with the political,
panchayat and Rana elite. She had the confidence of a wide range of prominent Nepalis,and shared a hairdresser with the(then) Queen. Educated as anhistorian, Elizabeth regarded herself
as a reporter not a writer, stringently
recording Nepal’s political andmountaineering facts with minimal
opinion or analysis. Although there isno disguising her liberal bent and heradmiration for the force of democracy.
Former American Ambassador Peter
Bodde said, Elizabeth Hawley was
one of Nepal’s “living treasures” and“her contribution to the depth of knowledge and understanding between Nepal and the
US was immense.”
Elizabeth Hawley’s achievements have featured in many books and articles about Nepal,
and her biography by Bernadette McDonald, I’ll Call You in Kathmandu, was publishedin 2005, then updated and reprinted as Keeper of the Mountains. In 2013, to mark the60th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest, Elizabeth was featured in the awardwinning US television documentary of the same name, produced by Allison Otto. On
screen in Keeper of the Mountains, her straightforward manner and fearless modesty
made her something of a cult classic. In 2014 the Nepal government named a 6,182
meters (20,330 feet) peak in honour of her contribution to mountaineering. Elizabeth
was not impressed: "I thought it was just a joke. Mountains should not be named after
people."Miss Elizabeth Hawley is the last of the first generation of foreigners who made their34
life in Nepal, single and determinedly independent. She is survived by her nephew
Michael Hawley Leonard and has bequeathed her library and records to the American
Alpine Club. As both a successful woman in a man’s world and a highly visible foreignerrecording Nepal’s history, we are all in her debt. She defied the conventions of her time,and determined to live life on her own terms and in her own incomparable style.

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Christof Nettekoven, German Alpine Club (DAV)First Ascents of Sunkala Topi, Lek Fett, and Pratibandhit Lek
Nepal, Namja Laguja Danda and Kangla Himal

Sunkala Topi, Nils on true summit
SUPPORTED BY the German Alpine Club, Nils Beste, Bernde Emmerich, Franz
Friebel, Harry Kirschenhofer, and I flew to Jumla in western Nepal at the start ofOctober. From there we drove 10 hours to reach Gamghadi, north of Jumla, and thentrekked for five days, heading east up the Mugu Karnali Nadi and then turning north
into the Mugu Khola. Shortly before the Namja La on the border with Tibet, we turned
northwest into the Takya Khola (Takya Valley), where we set up base camp at 4,666m(29°55.262'N, 82°20.214'E). We were now beneath the highest peak of the Namja Laguja
Danda, a small range between the Kangla Himal in the west and Kanti Himal in theeast. The Namja La appears to be an actively used pass for trade between Mugu andTibet, judging by the Lhasa beer and Chinese Budweiser cans found along the way.
On October 12 we established a high camp at 5,148m (29°55.246'N, 82°30.367'E),
southwest of the highest summit, which we would subsequently name Sunkala Topi
(5,865m). We awoke next day to the bad news that Harry felt unwell and would not be
accompanying us. The rest of the team set out at 6 a.m. and climbed northeast up aridge and through a maze of scree and boulders to a plateau. A rocky ridge then led us

1

down onto the glacier that drapes the south flank of the mountain between the west andsouth summits.

We slanted up across this glacier to reach the crest of the south ridge of the main peak.
After reaching a false summit at 5,856m (29°55'39.67”N, 82°31'12.25”E), we saw thatthe actual top, just to the north, would involve a difficult crossing. Nils was the only one
to take up the challenge: He downclimbed, overcame a horizontal crevasse, and finished
up a knife-edge to the true summit. Clouds and strong wind denied a decent panorama,
but a glimpse to the west gave a brilliant view over the Kangla Group, where threepyramidal peaks above 6,000m caught our attention.
On the 14th we left the Takya Khola and crossed a pass into the western Chawarsing
Khola (Chawarsing Valley). Shortly below the pass we camped at a lake (ca 4,800m),
and from here Nils decided to try the border peak of Lek Fett (5,767m), the summit
immediately north of the pass. His plan was to traverse rock and scree on the southwest
face to a scree couloir that would lead to the north west ridge.
He set out at 8 a.m. on October 15,finding the frozen scree difficult to handle and taking
two hours to climb 600m to the ridge. To avoid the further inconvenience of rock towers
on the crest, Nils descended to a relatively benign glacier basin on the far (northeast)side. It led to a 50° névé slope, which he climbed for 150m to regain the ridge at around
5,550m. A wide snow crest led easily to the summit (5,767m, 29°56'55.11”N,
82°29'45.94”E), which he reached at 11 a.m. The crux had been crossing the open
bergschrund between the glacier and the 50° slope. A clear blue sky presented a2beautiful panorama. To the east lay Sunkala Topi and to the west the unclimbed N3 (ca5,850m from contours on the HGM-Finn map); farther to the west lay the seductive
pyramid peaks of the Kangla Himal, and, more distant, unclimbed peaks of the Gorakh
Himal.
That same day, we descended the Chuwarsing Khola into the Take Khola and camped
at the high meadow of Take Kharka (4,200m). On October 16,Nils, Franz, and I left thiscamp and entered the Kangla Khola. After 6km another valley branches northeast
toward the Kang La on the Tibetan border. I felt weak thanks to a respiratory infection,and rather than slow down the other two, I decided to quit. They continued another 3km
to a campsite in a side valley at about 4,700m. Their goal was Pratibandhit Lek, thehigh peak immediately east of the Kang La. This pass is used for trade, and there is agood path on the southeast side of the valley, avoiding the glacier. In contrast to what isshown on old maps, there is no glacier to cross to reach the pass.

The two left camp at 4:45 next morning and walked the 4km to the pass (5,400m). They
then ascended scree, snow, and mixed terrain for 300m to reach the northwest ridge of
Pratibandhit Lek at about 5,700m. This ascent was 55° and corniced, with steep drops
on both sides (“more impressive than the Biancograt on Piz Bernina”). This ridge led3southeast for 2km to the summit (6,130m, 30°00'13.63”N, 82°25'14.31”E). Observations
from the top, and on Google Earth, indicate that Pratibandhit Lek is the highest peak of
the Kangla Himal. However, since various peaks have similar elevations, further
ascents (particularly of Kangla II) are needed for confirmation.
Another day of prefect weather gave a fantastic panorama over the Kangla Himal’sunclimbed peaks. West of the Kang La is the unclimbed pyramid that we dubbed
Kangla II (on the Japanese sketch map it is referred to as Ngomo Ding-Ding, 6,133m
HGM-Finn) with a beautiful snow and ice northeast ridge. Behind lay unclimbed
summits of the Gorakh Himal, including the impressive pyramid of Absi (a.k.a. Gorakh
Kang, 6,254m). To the east the view stretched as far as Kanjiroba (6,883m), and to thesouthwest as far as Saipal (7,031m).
We completed the expedition by walking out to the west to Simikot.

The next page 5 shows AAJ 2010 and map of the Japanese Alpine News N0.16 20154

5

Photos and Topos

Christof Nettekeven" A short distance above Mugu village, in a side valley to the west, lies Mugu Arch, withthe main summit at approximately 5,430m. It was first noted in 2009 by a British
expedition led by Freeman-Attwood. Marvelous rock formations created an impressive
6

rock face with a beautiful rock arch high up in the east face. Nils Beste and Bernhard
Emmerich briefly explored the peak in October. From Mugu village at around 3.000m
the two climbed up the side valley and camped at around 4.500m close to the wall. The
serious rock face starts at around 4.800m but unveiled a more demanding climb than
expected. They soon realized they had too little rock gear for such a climb or a rappel
descent. Mugu arch remains unclimbed."

Christof Nettekeven Abis (Gorakh Kang) 6,245m seen N1 Sunkara Tobi summit to
the southeast above Mugu vi

7

Nils Beste
Seen from Lekh Fett. (A) Unnamed twin peaks at the head of the Bholbihan Khola,(B) Asaiya Tuppa 6,265m, (C) Abis 6,254m, (D) Lachama (a.k.a. Kubi Kangri) 6721m,(E) Kangla II (F) N3 ca. 5,850m , (G) Pratbandhi Lek 6,130m GPS.

Sungkala Topi seen from Take Khora route 2. Red2

8

Sungkala Topi seen from route 2, Red4

Sungkala Topi seen from route 4, Red 3
9

Panorama K1N3K2 Absi, Bolbikan, Lurupya from N2 Lekh Fett

Bholbikan and Luruya Khola peaks
10

K1 Ridge with K2 in back ground

N3

K1 West face & North ridge and unclimbed N3 from Lekh Fett
11

Absi and Kangla 2

K1 Ridge with unclimbed peaks around Kangla Pass and Bholbikan, Lurupya andunclimbed peaks in far distance (right end)
12

Ki Summit in view to the east. Kanti Himal seen in far distanceKangla 1 climbing route13

N Group
14

Kartenzusammenschnitt Jumla Mugu Simik of NEU

15

Route Gesmit Roh Final

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17

Unclimbed peak, Lajo Dada (Langju Himal) 2017 Expedition Report
Kojuro Hagihara, Yudai Suzuki and Norifumi Fukuda
Tomon Alpine Club1
Writer: Yudai Suzuki (November 25, 2017)
Summary
In the autumn of 2017, we made the first ascent of Lajo Dada (6,426 m) in the Himalayas, Nepal.
Our team consisted of two young alumni, Kojuro Hagihara and Yudai Suzuki, and a senior student,
Norifumi Fukuda. This report briefly introduces our climb.

1, Introduction
Lajo Dada is one of the peaks thatwerelisted

in

the

“104

new

unclimbed peaks in Nepal,” thatwere opened to the public by the
Nepalese government in 2014. The
unclimbed peak is located in Tsum
Valley,

one

of

the

remotest

Himalayan valleys, which was aforbidden area until being opened
for trekkers in 2008, so we were
only able to find very limited
information, even for the approach
route, let alone regarding thedetails of the mountain. In thissituation, we located the peakusing the Google Earth map and a
1/50,000 scale map covering thearea. There was such a limited
amount of information available that we were sure the trip would be quite adventurous.

1

1

An alumni organization of the Waseda University Alpine Club

2. Expedition Data
Name of mountain: Lajo Dada (Langju Himal)
Latitude and longitude: 28°32’45”, 85°03’19”
Summit altitude: 6,426 m
Members: Kojuro Hagihara (Leader, 23), Yudai Suzuki (Sub Leader, 22), Norifumi Fukuda (21)

Trekking Map

2

Brief Itinerary:
9/20 - 22, 2017 - Preparing in Kathmandu
9/23 - Driving up to Soti Khola
9/24- 28 - Trekking to MuGumba (Soti Khola - Tatopani - Philim - Chumling - Lamagaon MuGumba)
9/29 - Setting up a Base Camp (BC) at 4,650 m, and going back to stay at MuGumba (3,600 m)
9/30 - Rest day
10/1 - Climbing up to and staying at the BC
10/2 - Rest day
10/3 - 6 - Carrying some equipment and food up to 4,900 m, returning to the BC(* Yudai and Norifumi had altitude sickness for two days during this period.)
10/7 - Setting up a Camp 1 (C1) on the glacier at 5,200 m, returning to the BC
10/8 - Rest day
10/9 - Climbing up to and staying at C1
10/10 - Fixing ropes on the glacier up to 5,400 m, returning to stay at C1
10/11 - Fixing ropes up to 5,650 m, returning to stay at C1
10/12 - Setting up an Attack Camp (AC) at 5,730 m, staying at the AC
10/13 - Climbing down to the BC
10/14 - Rest day
10/15 - Climbing up to and staying at C1
10/16 - Climbing up to and staying at the AC
10/17 - Summitting Lajo Dada (6,426 m), returning to the AC
10/18 - Returning to the BC
10/19, 20 - Rest days
10/21- 25 - Trekking back to Lakuwa (including a reconnaissance trek to Ganesh BC for two days)
10/26 - Returning back to Kathmandu by helicopter due to heavy sickness of a member

3, Details of Climb【Climbing Method】
We did not use oxygen equipment, high-altitude guides or porters to help us climb above the basecamp. To acclimatize ourselves to the thin air, we climbed up and down along the slopes and glacierof Lajo Dada, instead of doing the same in advance in other, easier mountains. We also tried not toleave ropes for use on later occasions, even when we came across difficult part crossing crevasses on
the glacier.

3【October 3-7】 Base Camp (4,650 m) - Camp 1 (5,200 m): Time for reconnaissance andacclimatization
We did not set up Camp 1 (C1) too early as we wished to properly acclimatize. Besides, it was quitedifficult to do so as we were all suffering from some sort of sickness during our stay at the base camp(BC).
The route condition up to C1 was not bad at all. First, there was a gully on the left-hand side whenlooking up from the BC, so we traversed left on the glacier toward the very bottom of the gully (wecalled it “Waseda Glacier”). After that, we simply followed the line of the gully, as it was not coveredby snow at all until we eventually reached the edge of the glacier with a two-hour walk. We thenscrambled over a huge rock 20 meters in height with a climbing grade of 2nd class to step up onto theglacier and walked along the glacier with a tight rope system to avoid falling into hidden crevasses.
Two hours later, we found quite a flat plateau with a little pond that was drinkable at 5,200 meters.

This was a perfect site for our C1.
Photo 1: “Camp 1 at 5200m on Waseda Glacier”【October 10 - 12】 Camp 1 (5,200 m) - Attack Camp (5,730 m); Time for reconnaissance andacclimatization
We took three days to set up
the attack camp (AC). The
route from C1 to the AC wasin a much worse condition
than we had imagined.
On October 10, we started

4
Photo: Kojuro Hagihara leading the 10m ice wall (3rd class)walking at 6:00 a.m. and moved through the glacier that had many crevasses and seracs. Of
particular note was that, in the middle of the way, we had to pass through a very fragile snow bridge
like a horseback, following an ice block of 10 meters in height, which seemed to have an ice gradingof WI3, at 5,400 meters. We finished the first day’s activity at 4:30 p.m. at C1.

Photo: Kojuro carefully crossing the horse backOn October 11, the second day on the glacier, we started climbing at 5:30 a.m. and were able to movevery smoothly up to the point where we had reached the previous day, because we had become
familiar with a better way to move around and were also aided by the ropes we had fixed the day
before. After we climbed a 10 meter high ice wall which went up to our right along a huge ice serac,
we came across a 25 meter high ice and snow-mixed section with a maximum incline of 85 degrees.
Yudai led this pitch, having a 4th class (WI4) grading, and fixed a rope.

5

Photo: Yudai leading the 4th class ice pitch

After climbing the ice pitch, we were about to lose our way on the glacier where many seracs werestanding as if forming a complicated maze. Thinking our way through the situation, we eventually
managed to find weak points in some of the ice walls and escape the area. There came a 10 meterhigh wall with highly unstable sugar-like snow, which was quite frightening and had what was likely
a 5th class (WI4) grading. However, such grading really had nothing to do with the difficulty ofclimbing because the true core portion was projecting out over the sugar-like snow and we had toevade it with ice screws unsteadily secured on the unstable seracs. Luckily, that was the last section
requiring us to climb with double axes before we reached the AC; however, at the time we climbed
out of it, we were completely exhausted from the hard work of climbing and the high altitude of 5,650
meters that we had not experienced since the beginning of this expedition. Thus, we decided to leavesome equipment there and returned to C1.

6

Photo: The route we climbed up to the Attack Camp. This was actually the toughest point of all sections of this mountain in terms of technical grade.

On October 12, our third day on the glacier, we started climbing at 4:50 a.m. and set up the AC at
5,730 meters. Surprisingly, we found a little pond covered with a thin layer of ice near the camp,which meant that we didn’t have to make water there. We still couldn’t see the summit of Lajo Dada
from the camp site.

On the next day, October 13, we went back to the BC to have a rest day and prepare for our attack
toward the summit.

7

【October 15 - 18】 BC - C1 - AC - Summit - AC - BC
On October 14, we had a day off to prepare ourselves for the task ahead.
On October 15, we finally left the BC aiming to reach the summit of Lajo Dada.
We left the BC at 9:15 a.m. and arrived at C1 at 3.00 p.m.
On the next day, October 16, we started climbing at 4:50 a.m. and reached the AC at 12:30 p.m.
On October 17, we started climbing towards the summit. When we woke up, the weather was clear
enough that we could see a starlit sky. We left the AC at 3:20 a.m., but when climbing a 40 degreeslope that was covered with 25 cm of snow on ice, we heard the slope starting to make a tremendous
sound. The avalanche caused one of our members to fall around 15 meters but was not a big deal. In
fact, we were still in complete control throughout the event. After the avalanche, we climbed up via
an icier and steeper slope, and made it to a very flat section at 5,850 meters, which was at the very
top of this glacier. We slowly yet constantly climbed up to a col named Chossin Himal and then kept
climbing along the ridge towards an unnamed peak, which was also unclimbed. The ridge was mostly
covered with hard snow, and there was constantly a very steep slope almost like a cliff to theclimbers’ left. We then came across a steep rock section of approximately 3rd class grading, with 50
meters of relatively easy climbing. We climbed such section in a parallel manner.

8

Photo: We could finally see the entire mountain at Chossin Himal.

Photo: Yudai climbing the third-class rock at Chossin Himal ridge.

At 9:00 a.m. we reached the unnamed 6,200 meter peak, and then climbed over the peak anddescended towards Lajo Dada, losing some altitude; however, the snow plateau between theunnamed peak and Lajo Dada required a lot of strenuous work as we had to make progress breaking
through the 40 cm-deep snow all the way up to the foot of Lajo Dada. We actually spent around fourhours proceeding in such manner before we finally reached the base of our target. Treading snow at
6,200 meters altitude was incredibly rough for our bodies which were not sufficiently acclimatized tothe thin air.
After tough work making our way through the breakable snow, we were finally able to reach thebottom of a ridge, at around 6,170 meters, below the summit of Lajo Dada. We had around 250
meters of altitude left to the summit. Actually, the ridge was quite a bit steeper than we expected.
Our right was completely dominated by the ice-covered rocky cliff, standing over 2,000 meters inheight. If any of us had slipped without a rope, we would certainly have plunged to our deaths.
Naturally, we made sure to connect securely to each other with ropes immediately when we arrived
there and kept being bound tightly all the way up to the summit. In addition, the snow conditions on
the ridge were quite different from what we had been expecting. We had assumed that the snow on
the ridge would be extremely icy as the climb up to the AC had always been performed in icy

9conditions, so much so that we could not use snow pickets. Thus, we had brought along a large
supply of ice screws instead of snow pickets. They were also much lighter to carry. The snow on theridge, however, ended up being far too soft for us to utilize our ice screws. Therefore, we were only
able to set two protection runners for the full-rope length of 60 meters. It was certainly a thrilling
and risky journey to the top.
From the first to third pitches, the ridge slope was 60 degrees on average, and 75 degrees at the
maximum. The technical grading seemed to be about 4th class snow and ice mixed climbing. Yudai
led all of the pitches. He carefully fixed the ropes for the two following climbers. The waiting time
while the followers were climbing using an ascender gave the lead climber some time for rest. The 4th
pitch was much tougher as the steepness was around 50 degrees and there was a lot of sugar-like
unpacked snow, causing us to have hard work in breaking through the snow again. The pitch was led
by Kojuro, and then switched to Yudai again. The remaining two pitches were not so steep as theprevious first to third pitches, with about 50 degrees of snow and ice. Yet, we had to continueexerting great efforts because of the high altitude and our mental pressure that the leading climbershould not fall at this stage.
After having endured six physically and mentally tough pitches, we finally made it to the very top of
the peak at 5:30 p.m. It was a thrilling moment that can now be recorded as the first ever ascent of
Lajo Dada; however, we could not afford to spare too much time soaking in our achievement due tothe rapidly approaching darkness after the sun started to sink below the horizon. We immediatelybegan rappelling for five pitches, with two of them performed in the dark, and arrived back at thebottom of the summit ridge of Lajo Dada at 9:00 p.m. Although we were completely exhausted, we
still had to climb up to the unnamed peak again and to continue descending in the darkness. From
the unnamed peak, we climbed down a different slope which we had not traced, as it seemed like itwould be an easier descent; however, during our climb, our rope became stuck and we lost one ofthem. In the end, it took us a total of eight hours before we managed to get back to the AC. It had
been a long and grueling journey, taking 26 hours for a round trip to and from the summit.
We awoke at midday on October 18, all suffering from sore and tired bodies. It was time to leave
our AC, so we packed up all our belongings and started walking toward the BC at 1:00 p.m. We
eventually arrived safely back at the BC at 7:30 p.m. and our successful journey was mostly over.

10

Photo: Norifumi Fukuda looking the sunrise from the unclimbed ridge, Chossin
Himal.

11

Photo: Lajo Dada (The highest peak in the photo) and the snow plateau.
Photo: Norifumi Fukuda building a snow anchor at the bottom of the north west ridge of Lajo Dada.

12

Photo: Yudai Suzuki climbing the first pitch of the north west ridge.

Photo: Kojuro and Norifumi following the first pitch.

13

Photo: At the anchor of the 2nd pitch.

Photo: Yudai struggling with the sugar snow section at the 3rd pitch.

14

Photo: At the end of the 4th pitch after tough breaking snow.

Photo: Kojuro enjoying his last few steps to reach the summit.

15

Photo: Our delight at reaching the summit of Lajo Dada.

Photo: The intrepid trio in the tent (Kojuro, Norifumi, and Yudai from left to16

right)

Photo: We could just see Lajo Dada over the ridge from the Attack Camp on a sunny day

Photo: Waseda Glacier, which has countless crevasses (The photo taken from the Base Camp)

17

AAE draft

The First Ascent of Lopchin Feng (KG-2) 6,805m
Autumn 2009 Expedition to the Kangri Garpo East Mountains, Tibet
Unknown Peaks in the Range
By Tim (Tatsuo) Inoue

Lopchin Feng (6,805m), the White Hawk

from the road to Dema La“The White Hawk” Lopchin Feng (KG-2) was climbed by two Tibetan students, Deqing Ouzhu
and Ciren Danda, on 5th November 2009, and two Japanese, Masanori Yazaki and Koichiro Kondo(student), on 7th November 2009. The Joint Scientific and Mountaineering Expedition organized by
ACKU (the Alpine Club of Kobe University) and CUG (the Mountaineering Association of Chinese
University of Geosciences, Wuhan) was led by co-leaders Tim Inoue and Dong Fan. 17 members,
including 9 students, established the Base Camp (BC 4,320m) on the east side moraine valley of the
Ata Glacier on 18th October, and returned to BC on 10th November.
Even though there are more than 47 unclimbed 6,000m-peaks in the Kangri Garpo Mountains, it
is remarkable that no 6,000m-peak had been climbed until the first ascent of Lopchin Feng. Since
this area is very close to the disputed border between China and India, foreigner’s entry is severely
restricted. Only Kobe University received the official climbing permit. In 2003, the Kobe
University party had tried to climb Ruoni Feng 6,882m, the highest peak in this mountain range, butfailed because of bad weather with difficult and dangerous conditions of hanging ice collapse. In
autumn 2007, ACKU and CUG sent a reconnaissance party to the Ata Glacier led by Takeru
Yamada. They recognized 3 major peaks, KG-1 (Ruoni), KG-2(Lopchin) and KG-3 on the mainridge. They could not find a safe and passable route to the summit of Ruoni, but were impressed by
KG-2, which has a beautiful skyline and a possible route to the summit. The altitude of KG-2 was

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6,703m printed on the old Soviet Union map. But in reality, the GPS indicated 6,805m on thesummit.

Progress on the Ata Glacier
On 18th October, 23 yaks and 15 porters with 1,500 kg load arrived at BC (4,320m) in a moraine
valley of the north tongue of the Ata Glacier. We completed the DPC(Deposit Camp 4,440m) on
21st October, after 5 shuttle transports over 3 days by the local porters in snowy weather, while themembers had opened a route to the ABC (Advanced Base Camp 5,660m) through the labyrinth ofcrevasses in the first ice fall with fixed rope at a few points.

Climbing route to Lopchin Feng

We observed relatively low snowfall and less piled snow on ice throughout the days in themountains in 2009. That weather looked unusual in this year compared to 2002, 2003 and 2007 inwhich years our parties had experienced heavy snowfall and deep snow on the glacier.
Passing through the zigzag trace in the first ice fall, a flat snow field on the Ata Glacierprovided us with a good location for ABC. On 24th October, almost all members moved to ABC.

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Moon set and Sun rising at C1 ; Morgen rot on Lopchin (KG-2 ,left) and KG-3

We enjoyed the view of Ata 3-Sisters (KG-1, 2 and 3) in the deep glacier origin. They showed
their flanks to the sunrise that presented to us a dramatic festival of light in the morning.
Camp-1 (C1 4,890m) was placed in the middle basin of the glacier on 29th October, where we
could provide good coaching to the summit attackers. 600m of fixed rope work and cutting ice/snow in the seracs led us to the Camp-2 (C2 5,680m) on the scree of Insel Ridge.
After opening the route to the Camp-3 (C3 5,910m), all members assembled at C1 on 3rd
November to form an attack operation. In any event, we were ready to ascend Lopchin Feng.

The route to C2 through seracs in the 2nd ice fall

Kondo carried heavy stuff.

The First Ascent of Lopchin Feng
On the morning of 4th November, 5 CUG members and 4 ACKU members started from C1 withclimbing gear and 5 days food. They moved to C2 in the evening. The weather was perfect, but cold

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wind blew over the main ridge.
On 5th November, 5 CUG attack members started from C2 at 4:00 AM in the dark with the moonlight and were opening a route to the southeast ridge of Lopchin Feng. They fixed a 200m of ropeon the way to the middle of the summit ridge. Three of them abandoned their attempt to the summit
at 6,450m on the steep slope of the snow ridged face. Deqing and Ciren had continued to climb theridge in deep soft snow and reached the summit at 1:18PM in hazy and windy weather. They madethe first ascent of Tibetan virgin peak by Tibetans.
While this drama was going on, the ACKU Team established C3 (5,910m) on the edge of Ruoni
Terrace near the northwest Col of Ruoni Feng. Yazaki and Kondo stayed at C3. Shigeaki Yamamoto,the climbing leader, and Shoji Ishimaru returned to C2 in the evening.
Deqing and Ciren had descended the ridge carefully to C3 where they took a rest and returned toC2 after 14 hours of work.
On 6th November, it was windy and the route was veiled with clouds. All of us stayed at camps.

Watching attempt ,C1

Deqing on the summit 1:18PMth

On 7 November, the weather turned favorable. The ACKU team started C3 at 8:00AM. Yazaki
had led Kondo and had made smooth progress to the middle of the summit ridge about 6,600m
around 1:00PM. A walkie-talkie at C1 received a message from Kondo, “We made the summit.” It
was 3:36PM. Kondo was surprised with his GPS receiver that indicated 6,805m.
Their descending was critical. Dizziness had overcome Yazaki and slow descending consumed
time. They met darkness on the foot of the ridge where the large Ruoni Terrace expands ahead andthey lost their way back to C3 in the dark. They come back to C3 at 8:00PM.
On 8th November, All attack members had come back to C1 and our first ascent drama come to theend.

Climate Change
Through our 4 visits to the Ata Glacier area in 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009, we experienced climatechange. One change is the Shrinkage of the Ata Glacier. We compared two pictures, the map of theSoviet Union and Google Earth. Two additional lakes were created in the past half century.

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Newly born glacier lakes

photo takenfrom Hiyona Pass

Another change was snowfall. We had predictedheavy snowfall in 2002, 2003 and 2007. The results
were as expected. In the case of 2009, we did notexperience such heavy snowfall. At DPC (4,440m), we
had daily snowfall, but no cumulative snow on theglacier. We put tents on the bare ice. At ABC (4,660m),
we measured 130 cm snow pile up on the glacier ice.
But, At C1 (4,890m), we met the same conditions as at
DPC. We felt hanging ice cornices on the flanks of the
3-Sisters had shrunk compared with the past years. We
suppose a drier climate is increasing in southeast Tibet
recently.

The latest glacier condition of the Ata North tongue

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Unknown Peaks in the Southeast Area of the Kangri Garpo Mountains
The first ascent of Lopchin Feng provided us with many discoveries of peaks. We put numbers on
the peaks in order to discuss and identify peaks. Heights of peaks are put by our presumption.

Lhagu Glacier and surrounding peaks

I have picked up almost all pictures of numbered peaks in this article. I will be happy if thereaders of this book become interested in those new shots of the mountains.

KG-1 6,882m : Ruoni / Chombo / Bairiga
It has 3 names and different heights, 6,805m (Soviet Union map), 6,882m (Chinese map), 6,900m(estimated) and others. The local people call her “Ruoni”, but we suspect the 2003 ACKU
expedition members called her “Ruoni”, and influenced the locals. A recent Chinese map has thename “Bairiga”.
The ACKU 2003 expedition had reached 5,900m on Ruoni Terrace just in front of the steep wall.
We heard news from a student of Tibet Mountaineering School that a Swiss party accessed 3
different routs to Ruoni in 2005, but we did not get any information about this attempt from the
Chinese Tibet Mountaineering Association. They said they gave a permit only to ACKU.
We could not find a safe and passable route to the summit of Ruoni despite 3 reconnaissancetrips that were done over the past several years. There are 3 considered routes to the top. But
we were too overwhelmed by hanging seracs and steep saw-tooth rocks and snow ridges.

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South-east range of the Kangri Garpo Mountains

Sketch of the peaks and Glaciers in the South-east Kangri Garpo Mountains

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KG-1 Ruoni 6,882m from the road to Dema La

KG-2

6,805m

KG-1 Ridges and flanks are guarded by huge seracs.
From 5,050m point in the upper Ata GlacierLopchin Feng

Since the peak had no name, we expected to get a local name. We asked Lhagu village people andgot several answers. One person said, “White bird’s peak” but it was not confirmed and we asked
the Village leader to research the name. Finally we got a proposition from them. “Lopchin”(Chinese “Lou bu qin”) is the Tibetan pronunciation written in English. It means; male hawk, brave,
intelligence and university. Another alternative was “University Peak”, but CUG and ACKU
preferred to choose the local pronunciation of “Lopchin”.

KG-2 Lopchin Feng 6,805m
Gold shine in the morning at C1(4,890m)

KG-2 at C3: Left skyline was the route.

The Soviet Union map shows the height of KG-2 as 6,703m. The GPS indicated 6,805m when
Kondo measured the height on the top. The difference of about 100m was a big surprise.

KG-3 6,726m
KG-3 was a missing peak in the Ata Glacier before ACKU identified it in 2003. Since KG-3,
KG-37 and KG-5 overlap each other when viewing them from the road to Dema La; it was difficult
to distinguish them individually. Only P 6,443m (KG-37 6,554m) is printed on the Soviet Union
map.

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KG-3 6,726m and KG-37(6,554m ;right back)Twins and KG-4 6,290m

KG-1, KG-2, KG-3 and KG-5 on the main ridge of the Kangri Garpo Mountains
from the road to Dema La

Peaks on the divide of the Ata and Lhagu GlacierKG-4, Twins, KG-5, Ata-Lhagu Pass (5,500m) and KG-6-Ⅰ,Ⅱ,Ⅲ

KG-4 6,290m
The main ridge of the Kangri Garpo Mountains runs from KG-4 to KG-5 via Twins (This is not an
official naming, but just a nickname for identification.). The upper plateau cut the main ridge off
near KG-5. The main ridge starts again from KG-37(P 6,443m) and continues to KG-2 and KG-1.
KG-4 stands on the edge of the upper plateau and is visible from Ruoni Terrace.

KG-5 6,325m
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KG-5 is visible from the point on the road to Dema La, but many observers could not recognize it
because KG-5, KG-37 (P6443m), KG-6-Ⅰand Ⅱ have overlapped on a line. ACKU 2007
reconnaissance party identified this peak.

KG-4 (6290m left end) ,KG-5 (6325m)
from C2

KG-5 Morgen rot

from C1

KG-6
Ⅰ 6,067m
Ⅱ 6, 003m (Zyaddo 5,903m on the Soviet Union map)
Ⅲ 6,025m
On the Soviet Union map , Zyaddo has just one peak. But in reality, she has 3 peaks. The Lhagu
Glacier side has a steep rock wall and the Ata Glacier side is covered with gentle slopes of glacierfingers. The Ata-Lhagu Glacier Pass (5,500m) is located between KG-5 and KG-6-Ⅰ

KG-7 5,699m :Schuvina

KG-7 Minor Peak (5,699m)
from the Lhagu Glacier Lake

KG-7 Schuvina from ABC(Ata Glacier)While the bumpy 4-wheel drive vehicle was approaching the Lhagu Glacier Lake in the U-shaped
valley leaving from the main road to Zayul, the jagged peaks in front of the main ridge of theKangri Garpo Mountains, KG-7 and KG-6 pressed ahead. It is supposedly said that a monk at
Shugden Gompa, the old Buddhist monastery near Yang Lake, named KG-6 Zyaddo, KG-7
Schuvina, KG-8 Shana, KG-31 Dojitsengza and KG-32 Tsoshi as sacred mountains. The 5,699m
height on the Soviet Union map may correspond to KG-7 Minor Peak seen from Lhagu village. The
highest point of KG-7 is not visible from the village.

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KG-7(left) and KG-6-Ⅲ Photo taken from the gate of Lhagu Village

KG-8 5,598m :Shana
KG-8 Shana is visible from the road near Yang Lake. She stands on the divide of the Kangri Garpo
main ridge, but looks isolated by the Ata Glacier and the glacier of Ata Kang La. Those two glaciers
have a unique topography, that both of them flow into two legs surrounding Shana.

KG-8 Shana (5,598m)

from ABC

KG-8 Shana (5,598m)

from ABC

KG-12 6,423m: Gongyada and KG-13 6,127m :Zeh
The glacier view from Lhagu village is one of the best places to see the glacier and needle peaks.
Even though it is far and remote from cities and has a high altitude (about 4,200m above sea level),
many tourists visit there nowadays.

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Lhagu Glacierfrom Lhagu village

KG-12 Gongyada (6,423m)

KG-13 Zeh (6,127m)

KG-22 Yuhe Kangri 6,327m and KG-23 6,010m
KG-23 (P 6,327m) is seen on the Soviet Union map, but KG-23 (6,010m) is not seen on it. KG-23
was discovered by ACKU in 2009. A picture taken from Camp 3 (5,910m) clearly shows the peak.

KG-23 (6,010m)

KG-22 (P6,327m)

KG-22 Yuhe Kangri and KG-23 were seen from the Ata Glacier. Two zoom shots were not
identified when it was taken. We could identify these peaks through our check on the map anddirection analysis. Mr. Tom Nakamura took a picture of KG-22 near Zayul. The new shot is on the
opposite side of his picture. The picture of KG-23 is the first shot of her.

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KG-24 6,150m Gheni-1 and KG-25 6,050m Gheni-2
KG-24 Gheni and KG-25 Gheni-2 are visible from the road to Dema La. We could see them fromC3 and the 5,050m point on Ata Glacier.

KG-26 (6,000m; left sharp peak) and linking rocky ridge. KG-25(white trapezoid peak)and KG-24 (Gheni, a half black trapezoid peak behind the rocky ridge) are seen.
from the 5,050m point of Ata GlacierKG-26 6,000m and KG-27 5,850m
KG-26 and KG-27 were not recognized in past years. These peaks are newly identified. The
skyline ridge of KG-26 and KG-27 connects to KG-28 (Tongkole).

KG-27 (5,850m; left end rocky pyramid) and KG-26 (6,000m; center triangular peak of the picture)from the 5,100m point on the route to C2

KG-28 5,800m:Tongkole and KG-29 5,770m : Pongle

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KG-29 (5,770m Pongle , left) and KG-28 (5,800m Tongkole)from Lhagu Village

From the playground of Lhagu Elementary School, pupils can see sharp and rocky triangular
Tongkole and the white dome of Pongle. Water from the white dome grows wheat in the village.
More than 500 yaks graze on the foothills pasture.

KG-30 5,760m: Ata Kangri

KG-30 (5,760m Ata Kangri; left)
and KG-8 (5,598m Shana)from Yang Lake
KG-30 (5,760m) Ata Kangrifrom ABC in the Ata GlacierKG-31 5,662m Dojitsengza and KG-32 5,298m Tsoshi

KG-1(Ruoni), KG-2(Lopchin), KG-3, KG-37 and KG-5 (from left to right)
From 4,700m in the Ata Glacier

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KG-32 (5,298m) Tsoshi
from Yang Lake

KG-31 (5,662m) Dojitsengza
from Yang Lake

The sacred mountains, KG-31 Dojitsengza and KG-32 Tsoshi, stand on the left bank of Parlung
Zangbo’s U-shaped valley. These rock pinnacles are visible from Shugden Gompa (Buddhist
Temple). These names are also supposedly the names of ancient gods.

KG-33 6,380m
We expected an outstanding peak set off from the main ridge of the range. We found KG-33 andtook the first picture of her from the 6,450m point on the southeast ridge of Lopchin (KG-2).

KG-1 Ruoni (6,882m) and KG-33 (6,380m, right)
Photo taken from 6,450m on the southeast ridge of Lopchin (KG-2)
The flat snow field on the lower left is Ruoni Terrace (a 5,900m).

KG-37 6,554m (P 6,443m on the Soviet Union map)
A small top part of KG-37 is visible from the road to Dema La, but it looks like a part of KG-5.
Many observers misunderstand that KG-5 is KG-37 (known as Peak 6,443m on the Soviet Union
map.)

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Upper Plateau of the Ata GlacierKG-37 6,554m (P 6,443m )photo taken at 4,600m in the Ata Glacier

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