Tengi Ragi Tau East, first ascent of peak via south pillar. In autumn
Tengi Ragi Tau East, first ascent o f peak via south pillar. In au tu m n 2004 a team o f young French alpinists attem pted to clim b a new route on the n o rth e a st face o f Tengkangpoche. T hey were unable to achieve this, due to high objective and avalanche dangers, an d settled for a new route on P ham lahaka [a.k.a. Tangi Ragi Tau Southeast; 6 ,187m; first know n ascent in 2002 via the south ridge; A A J 2003, p. 382—Ed.], w hich th ey clim bed via the strik in g southw est ridge (Le Sourire de M igma; A A J 2005, p.389). T he team ’s m ain players re tu rn e d in O cto b er 2005 for an attem p t on the neighbouring, higher, Tengi Ragi Tau East an d fo u n d m u ch d rier co n d itio n s th an th ey h ad th e year before. M axim e Belleville, Sébastien C orret, Louis Laurent, Julien H erry, and Xavier Vimal, all aspirant high m o un tain guides from C ham onix, spent tim e acclim atizing, w ith an ascent o f nearby Par-
cham o (6,279m ), before retu rn in g to base cam p to p re p a re for th e m ain objective, the south pillar o f Tengi Ragi Tau East (6,650m ; the v irg in su m m it b etw ee n 6,938m Tengi Ragi Tau and Pham lahaka). T he team sp e n t several days fer ry in g lo a d s a n d c lim b in g ro c k p itc h e s o f g ra d e F5 a n d 6. T h a t the clim bing w ent free, w ith som e excellent pitches, cam e as a pleas an t su rp rise ; th e y h a d ex p e cte d it to re q u ire aid. At 6,200m they w ere fin ally re p u lse d by fatigue and w ind, so they descended to base camp, rem oving all th eir fixed rope and gear. W ith 10 days rem aining, C o rret, L aurent, and V im al left cam p in search o f projects for future visits. Belleville and H erry stayed, m otivated by their objective, w hich now seem ed p o s sible, given a recent stable w eather forecast. They w ent lightw eight, w hittling th eir sacks dow n to 15kg, plus a 20kg haul bag. The early rock pitches w ent easily and, leaving gear at 6,000m on the first bivouac ledge, they set off for the second day’s climbing. A fter m ixed terrain leading to the second tower, they passed th eir previous high poin t and were on u nknow n terrain. A “tra verse o f the gods” enabled them to avoid an overhanging g endarm e and reach delicate m ixed ground. Above lay a sharp arête, w hich had posed a question from the start. Two pitches of fine crack clim bing (F6a, 6b) provided the key to this passage and, farth e r on, they discovered a good ledge for their second bivouac. T he height was 6,400m.
B elleville a n d H e rry sta rte d c lim b in g a g a in at 2:30 a.m . a n d reach ed th e snow y su m m it arête at day b reak . M ax led th e way to the top, clim b in g steep snow slopes to a fin al tw o -p itc h ice gully o f 55°80°. T he tw o reach ed the flat su m m it at 11 a.m . o n N o v e m b e r 20. T h ey n a m e d th e ir ro u te Le P ilier d u G ran d D a rb o n (1 ,300m , ED 6b W I4) in m em o ry o f D aniel Stolzen b erg w ho, w ith a g ro u p o f F rench clim b ers, w as lo st in an avalanche o n th e slo p e s o f K ang G u ru th e m o n th p re v io u s [see above]. T he descent to o k tw o days and required 30 rappels. H ilary Sharp , Vallorcine, France
cham o (6,279m ), before retu rn in g to base cam p to p re p a re for th e m ain objective, the south pillar o f Tengi Ragi Tau East (6,650m ; the v irg in su m m it b etw ee n 6,938m Tengi Ragi Tau and Pham lahaka). T he team sp e n t several days fer ry in g lo a d s a n d c lim b in g ro c k p itc h e s o f g ra d e F5 a n d 6. T h a t the clim bing w ent free, w ith som e excellent pitches, cam e as a pleas an t su rp rise ; th e y h a d ex p e cte d it to re q u ire aid. At 6,200m they w ere fin ally re p u lse d by fatigue and w ind, so they descended to base camp, rem oving all th eir fixed rope and gear. W ith 10 days rem aining, C o rret, L aurent, and V im al left cam p in search o f projects for future visits. Belleville and H erry stayed, m otivated by their objective, w hich now seem ed p o s sible, given a recent stable w eather forecast. They w ent lightw eight, w hittling th eir sacks dow n to 15kg, plus a 20kg haul bag. The early rock pitches w ent easily and, leaving gear at 6,000m on the first bivouac ledge, they set off for the second day’s climbing. A fter m ixed terrain leading to the second tower, they passed th eir previous high poin t and were on u nknow n terrain. A “tra verse o f the gods” enabled them to avoid an overhanging g endarm e and reach delicate m ixed ground. Above lay a sharp arête, w hich had posed a question from the start. Two pitches of fine crack clim bing (F6a, 6b) provided the key to this passage and, farth e r on, they discovered a good ledge for their second bivouac. T he height was 6,400m.
B elleville a n d H e rry sta rte d c lim b in g a g a in at 2:30 a.m . a n d reach ed th e snow y su m m it arête at day b reak . M ax led th e way to the top, clim b in g steep snow slopes to a fin al tw o -p itc h ice gully o f 55°80°. T he tw o reach ed the flat su m m it at 11 a.m . o n N o v e m b e r 20. T h ey n a m e d th e ir ro u te Le P ilier d u G ran d D a rb o n (1 ,300m , ED 6b W I4) in m em o ry o f D aniel Stolzen b erg w ho, w ith a g ro u p o f F rench clim b ers, w as lo st in an avalanche o n th e slo p e s o f K ang G u ru th e m o n th p re v io u s [see above]. T he descent to o k tw o days and required 30 rappels. H ilary Sharp , Vallorcine, France
