Pasang Lhamu Chuli, first ascent of southwest face and south pillar ...
Pasang Lham u Chuli, first ascent o f southwest face and south pillar. A fter attem p ts in 2005 and 2006, H ans K am m erlander finally clim bed the southwest face and south pillar o f Pasang Lhamu C huli (7,351m ), a peak im m ediately southw est o f C ho O yu. It was form erly Jasam ba b u t offi cially renam ed after the death in M ay 1993 o f Pasang L ham u, a Sherpani w ho was the first Nepalese w om en to climb Everest but perished during the descent. The peak forms the m ost west erly sum m it o f the N angpai G osum group and had been climbed at least four tim es previously. In O cto b er 2004 Slovenians Rok Blagus, Sam o K rm elj, an d U ros Samec m ade a highly u n d errated ascent o f the so u th pillar, reaching the u p p er crest at 6,650m via a difficult ice and mixed clim b (ED M5) up the southeast face. They used no fixed ropes b u t first clim bed the face to 6,100m , slept there for acclim atization, and fixed rappel anchors for the descent. T hey next clim bed to 6,400m an d did th e sam e. O n th eir th ird foray they left th eir advanced base at
5,450m and clim bed the whole southeast face in 14 hours, slanting left o n to the crest at 6,650m. T here the angle eases, an d they sp en t tw o nights at th at altitude before going for the sum m it. The first narrow corniced section above proved difficult, b u t above 7,000m they fo u n d the route straightforw ard. In spring 2005 K am m erlander, w ith fellow S outh T yroleans Luis Brugger an d Karl U nterkircher, a ttem p te d th e so u th p illar integral from th e “sad d le” betw een Pasang L ham u C huli an d the 6,295m D zasam pa Ri. T he “saddle” is actually a long, q u a si-h o rizo n tal ridge, stu d d ed w ith rocky pinnacles an d towers. Italians had reached it at its n o rth e rn end via steep snow and ice slopes on the southw est face. They progressed p a rt way up the steep mixed crest above over snow and p o o r rock before retreatin g in high w inds. In 2006 Brugger an d K am m erlander returned, following the sam e line, fixing rope and reaching the end o f the steep sec tio n , w here the Slovenian route com es in from the right. As they were re tu rn in g to base for a rest before the final push, Brugger becam e detached from a fixed rope and fell dow n the so u th east face to his death. K am m erlander, w ith Ernst Brugger (b ro th er o f Luis) and film m aker/cam eram an H a rt m an n Seber, arrived at th eir 5,200m base cam p im m ediately south o f the m o u n tain on May 2, 2007. U nterkircher arrived the next day an d w ith K am m erlander set ab o u t establishing C am p 1 at ca 6,050m on the crest o f th e so u th ridge. To reach this p o in t the tw o reclim bed th e ir old line up the southw est flank, fixing a few ropes. T hey sp en t a couple o f days an d nights at this cam p, to aid th eir acclim atization, an d w orked on th e ro u te above, before re tu rn in g to base cam p on the 12th in heavy snowfall. T hey re tu rn e d a few days later an d clim bed th e difficult pillar above, fixing ropes to 6,700m , w here the m ain technical difficulties ease an d th e angle relents. T his high p o in t was the sam e reached by B rugger an d K am m erlan d er in 2006 w hen,
due to inaccurate altim eter readings, they th o u g h t they were over 7,000m . At 6,500m a steep, difficult rock b and bars th e route, a n d the p air was forced o ff the crest, m aking a q u a si-h o ri zontal traverse to the right before they could slant back left up a line o f weakness to regain the ridge at 6,650m. This line o f weakness appears to be the sam e snow/ice couloir that was climbed in 2004 by the Slovenians. T h ro u g h o u t th eir tim e on th e m o u n ta in the w eather was less than clem ent; by late m ornings the sky had becom e cloudy, an d from th en on snow show ers w ould occur. O n the 18th they descended to base cam p to rest an d wait for a good spell d u rin g which to m ake their sum m it attem p t. G ood w eather never really arrived, b u t the p air decided to set off on the 21st a n d later th at day regained C am p 1. After resting there, they started clim bing again at 1:30 a.m . on the 22nd, jum aring their fixed ropes to the high point and then em barking on the final 650m to the sum m it, w hich had been clim bed by the Slovenians in 2004. A lthough less difficult, it was not straig h tfo rw ard , and th e final 120m lay on a p articu larly sh arp a n d exposed crest. T he pair reached the sum m it at 3 p.m ., after a clim bing tim e from base cam p o f a ro u n d 20 h o u rs an d a vertical gain from the m o rain e o f alm ost 2,000m . T hey regained C am p 1 at 9 p.m . D u ring the descent the follow ing m o rn in g they fo u n d th at a section o f rope on the southw est face a little below cam p had been sw ept away by avalanche; the slope they h ad ascended a couple o f days before was now sm o o th and clean. T hey had a couple o f ice screws an d a length o f Kevlar for em ergencies, and m anaged to set up a series o f delicate rappels an d arrived in base cam p at 2
p.m. K am m erlander, w ho after the ascent called it the m ost difficult o f his career, felt the clim b ing on the ridge to be o f the sam e o rd er as the n o rth face o f the Eiger b u t at a m uch higher alti tude. This was the first o f U n terk irch er’s tw o notable ascents in 2007. He later m ade th e first n o rth -to -so u th traverse o f G ash erb ru m II (see C lim bs an d E xpeditions, Pakistan), clim bing a new route on the C hinese face. L i n d s a y G r i f f i n , Mountain INFO, www.climbmagazine.com, and www.kammerlander.com
5,450m and clim bed the whole southeast face in 14 hours, slanting left o n to the crest at 6,650m. T here the angle eases, an d they sp en t tw o nights at th at altitude before going for the sum m it. The first narrow corniced section above proved difficult, b u t above 7,000m they fo u n d the route straightforw ard. In spring 2005 K am m erlander, w ith fellow S outh T yroleans Luis Brugger an d Karl U nterkircher, a ttem p te d th e so u th p illar integral from th e “sad d le” betw een Pasang L ham u C huli an d the 6,295m D zasam pa Ri. T he “saddle” is actually a long, q u a si-h o rizo n tal ridge, stu d d ed w ith rocky pinnacles an d towers. Italians had reached it at its n o rth e rn end via steep snow and ice slopes on the southw est face. They progressed p a rt way up the steep mixed crest above over snow and p o o r rock before retreatin g in high w inds. In 2006 Brugger an d K am m erlander returned, following the sam e line, fixing rope and reaching the end o f the steep sec tio n , w here the Slovenian route com es in from the right. As they were re tu rn in g to base for a rest before the final push, Brugger becam e detached from a fixed rope and fell dow n the so u th east face to his death. K am m erlander, w ith Ernst Brugger (b ro th er o f Luis) and film m aker/cam eram an H a rt m an n Seber, arrived at th eir 5,200m base cam p im m ediately south o f the m o u n tain on May 2, 2007. U nterkircher arrived the next day an d w ith K am m erlander set ab o u t establishing C am p 1 at ca 6,050m on the crest o f th e so u th ridge. To reach this p o in t the tw o reclim bed th e ir old line up the southw est flank, fixing a few ropes. T hey sp en t a couple o f days an d nights at this cam p, to aid th eir acclim atization, an d w orked on th e ro u te above, before re tu rn in g to base cam p on the 12th in heavy snowfall. T hey re tu rn e d a few days later an d clim bed th e difficult pillar above, fixing ropes to 6,700m , w here the m ain technical difficulties ease an d th e angle relents. T his high p o in t was the sam e reached by B rugger an d K am m erlan d er in 2006 w hen,
due to inaccurate altim eter readings, they th o u g h t they were over 7,000m . At 6,500m a steep, difficult rock b and bars th e route, a n d the p air was forced o ff the crest, m aking a q u a si-h o ri zontal traverse to the right before they could slant back left up a line o f weakness to regain the ridge at 6,650m. This line o f weakness appears to be the sam e snow/ice couloir that was climbed in 2004 by the Slovenians. T h ro u g h o u t th eir tim e on th e m o u n ta in the w eather was less than clem ent; by late m ornings the sky had becom e cloudy, an d from th en on snow show ers w ould occur. O n the 18th they descended to base cam p to rest an d wait for a good spell d u rin g which to m ake their sum m it attem p t. G ood w eather never really arrived, b u t the p air decided to set off on the 21st a n d later th at day regained C am p 1. After resting there, they started clim bing again at 1:30 a.m . on the 22nd, jum aring their fixed ropes to the high point and then em barking on the final 650m to the sum m it, w hich had been clim bed by the Slovenians in 2004. A lthough less difficult, it was not straig h tfo rw ard , and th e final 120m lay on a p articu larly sh arp a n d exposed crest. T he pair reached the sum m it at 3 p.m ., after a clim bing tim e from base cam p o f a ro u n d 20 h o u rs an d a vertical gain from the m o rain e o f alm ost 2,000m . T hey regained C am p 1 at 9 p.m . D u ring the descent the follow ing m o rn in g they fo u n d th at a section o f rope on the southw est face a little below cam p had been sw ept away by avalanche; the slope they h ad ascended a couple o f days before was now sm o o th and clean. T hey had a couple o f ice screws an d a length o f Kevlar for em ergencies, and m anaged to set up a series o f delicate rappels an d arrived in base cam p at 2
p.m. K am m erlander, w ho after the ascent called it the m ost difficult o f his career, felt the clim b ing on the ridge to be o f the sam e o rd er as the n o rth face o f the Eiger b u t at a m uch higher alti tude. This was the first o f U n terk irch er’s tw o notable ascents in 2007. He later m ade th e first n o rth -to -so u th traverse o f G ash erb ru m II (see C lim bs an d E xpeditions, Pakistan), clim bing a new route on the C hinese face. L i n d s a y G r i f f i n , Mountain INFO, www.climbmagazine.com, and www.kammerlander.com
