First Summit of 2019 on Nuptse

Tim Mosedale and Dorjee Gyalgen Sherpa are the first climbers this season to summit the tricky 7,861m Nuptse.

Mosedale and a team of climbing Sherpas have put in some backbreaking work since early May. They repeatedly broke trail to Camp 3 and painstakingly fixed ropes above 7,000m. They had anticipated a May 14 summit, but mixed weather slowed their progress. A summit attempt on May 16 fell short when the team ran out of daylight while fixing the route.

On May 15, Mosedale accidentally activated his SOS beacon and narrowly avoided a large bill. He’ll no doubt be more careful with his packing arrangements in future! Photo: Tim Mosedale

The third try proved the charm for Mosedale. He and Dorjee Gyalgen set off last night and summited in late afternoon on May 21. There have been 37 climbing permits issued for Nuptse, and now that the route to the summit is set, this rarely climbed peak could see significant traffic in the next few days.