|
Latest news: Location: Outline: 29/8 We reached a grassy camp site with easy walking just beyond a grazing area called Phonglas (4560 m). Captain Vrijendra Lingwal (LO), Jim Lowther, Mark Richey and Mark Wilford pushed on to recce a site for base camp, returning that night. 30/8 Reached site of base camp at 4800 metres in a well sheltered spot just short of the Phunangma Glacier. I'm sitting in our little communications tent at Base Camp with an amazing mountain view around me. Immediately opposite within half an hours walk are granite buttresses offering fun multi pitch rock climbs. Over them towers a rock spur reminiscent of the South West Pillar of the Drus, leading up to a 6020m summit. Looking south east up the valley, the right hand retaining wall of the glacier presents a series of thousand metre plus rock walls and buttresses that compare in size and seriousness to the best of the Alps, but of course they start at a height higher than any climb in the Alps. We've already named one huge wall, the North Wall of the Eiger, another, the Walker Spur of the Grandes Jorrasses. Mark Wilford observed gleefully that it was like coming to the European Alps for the first time before anything had been climbed. We haven't yet been able to see around the corner of the glacier where we shall find the highest peaks and our principal objective - . 6789 which we have named Argan Kangri. In the next few days we plan to recce a site for an advance base part way up the Northern flank of the Phunangma Glacier, and then do a series of training climbs, every one of them on unclimbed peaks and faces, before attempting Argan Kangri and some of the neighboring high peaks. We are in an Alladins cave of challenging unclimbed peaks and faces - the next few weeks should be fun. |
Base camp position
Superb rock climbing
a short distance from base camp on rock butresses we names The Badile
on the right and the South West Pillar of the Drus after the smooth spur
on the top left hand sky line.
View looking South East, up the Phunangma Glacier on our first night at base camp. The Wall we named North Wall of the Eiger on Right.
Approaching base camp with our horses and mules - the superb rock walls of the Northern flank of the Phunangma Glacier in background.
|
