Back at home after opening a difficult route on 6,781m Kimshung in Nepal, Francois Cazzanelli spoke to ExplorersWeb about his decade-long history with the peak.
Also known as Tsangbu Ri, Kimshung lies in Langtang National Park on the Tibetan border. It remained unclimbed until this year, despite several attempts over the last 10 years, four of which involved Cazzanelli.
At 35, Cazzanelli is a versatile alpinist, professional guide, and rescuer from Italy’s Aosta Valley at the foot of the Matterhorn. His relationship with Kimshung features friendship, rescues, death, and pushing himself to the limit.
The story behind ‘Destiny’
Francois Cazzanelli and Giuseppe Vidoni of Italy and Benjamin Zoerer and Lukas Waldner of Austria opened their new route on Kimshung in pure alpine style in a single day, October 20. They started from 5,450m at the base of the Kimshung Glacier, summited at 12:30 pm, and were back down in the valley by 7 pm.
They graded the 1,300m route 60°, AI4, M5. Cazzanelli named it Destiny.
“It’s a simple yet nice story, ” Cazzanelli told ExplorersWeb. “It started in a pub in Kathmandu in 2014, after an attempt on Kangchenjunga.”
Advanced Base Camp at 5,200m. Photo: CVA 2025 Kimshung Expedition
The 2015 earthquake
Cazzanelli had just met Gianpaolo Corona, who was himself just back from an attempt on the northwest pillar of 7,349m Talung, also in the Kangchenjunga region. Over a glass of beer, the two Italians started making plans for the following year.
A very young Francois Cazzanelli in 2014. Photo: Facebook
“Gianpaolo and I wanted to find a peak which provided a good climb and a good adventure,” he recalled. They started researching and eventually chose Kimshung, in part thanks to fellow Italian Oskar Piazza, who knew the Langtang area well.
Adventure they had, but not the one they expected.
The year 2015 was a dark time in the history of Nepal. That spring, a massive earthquake shattered the country, causing thousands of deaths, both in towns and in the mountains. Langtang, near the epicenter, was the hardest hit. Landslides almost completely buried Langtang village, and other settlements suffered terrible losses.
“What was supposed to be a climbing expedition turned into a rescue mission,” Cazzanelli explained.
One of the bodies they retrieved from the debris was that of Oskar Piazza, who was also in the area exploring remote valleys.
Kimshung (6,781m). Photo: CVA 2025 Kimshung Expedition
Kimshung
The Italians returned home after the traumatic experience. However, they returned to Langtang and Kimshung the following year.
Cazzanelli leads on the snow ramps of the upper sections of Kimshung. Photo: DVA Kimshung 2025 expedition
“On the second expedition, we learned more about the peak, which has two particularities,” Cazzanelli said. The first is its verticality. There is no easy side to attempt a climb and no break along the way, so anyone willing to attempt it has to be in very good shape.”
“The second is its proximity to the Tibetan plateau, which produces strong winds that hit the mountain directly, often for many days.”
Cazzanelli explained that the wind also changes the conditions on the mountain. In a week, relentless winds may sweep the snow from the face, leaving it dry, difficult, and too dangerous to climb. That is exactly what happened in 2016.
To make things worse, during a final attempt, a falling rock hit Cazzanelli, and he had a long, painful retreat with an injured arm, helped by Corona.
Years passed, and Cazzanelli became engaged in other expeditions around the world, from Alaska to Patagonia. In the Himalaya, he focused on climbing the 8,000’ers fast and light, without supplementary oxygen (except on Everest, which he climbed with a client in 2018). He also targeted highly difficult 7,000m peaks such as Pakistan’s Ogre (Baintha Brakk).
Following the trend of the new generation of alpinists, he also specialized in fast traverses and link-ups of routes in the Alps, as well as ice climbing lines and new lines on well-known peaks near home, such as the Matterhorn (which he summited for the first time at 13).
The comeback
Yet Kimshung had never left Cazzanelli’s mind. In 2024, he put together a strong team of fellow guides and traveled again to Langtang. The team comprised Roger Bovard, Emrik Favre, Jerome Perruquet, Stefano Stradelli, Francesco Ratti, and Giuseppe Vidoni. They reached 6,500m but had to retreat due to high winds and tough conditions.
The 2024 team on the ridge, the highest point reached. Photo: CVA 2024
On November 1, as the team prepared for a second attempt on Kimshung, they received an SOS about a crevasse incident from nearby Langtang Lirung. They dropped everything and went down to help. It turned out that Marek Holecek of Czechia and Ondrej Huserka of Slovakia were coming down from the summit when Huserka fell into a crevasse. While some details are still confusing, the fact is that the Italians were later told their help was no longer needed, as Huserka had died.
This year, at the beginning of October, Cazzanelli quietly returned to Langtang again, this time with only Giuseppe Vidoni.
Giuseppe Vidoni, left, and Francois Cazzanelli in Langtang some weeks ago. Photo: CVA Kimshung 2025 expedition
“We already knew the mountain very well, so this time we focused on training specifically for this challenge. We were in great shape, stronger than last year, and we made sure we had the right equipment for that precise climb.”
Still, it was a mighty challenge for just the two of them. Then destiny acted again.
New friends
First, Cazzanelli notes, they had perfect conditions and a perfect weather window. Second, they were not alone on the mountain.
“On reaching the valley, at Kyangin Gompa village, we met two climbers from Austria who also wanted to climb Kimshung,” said Cazzanelli. “We spoke and decided to join forces, which, in the end, was the key factor to success at last.
One of the Austrian climbers. Photo: CVA Kimshung 2025 expedition
Their collaboration was no small thing. In times when climbing teams have raised concerns about other climbers snatching their planned routes or staying secretive, Cazzanelli, Vidoni, Benjamin Zoerer, and Lukas Waldner quickly agreed to join forces to achieve a common goal.
The Austrian pair was also strong and skilled. During the climb, in two roped teams, they switched the lead and climbed at the same pace on a clear, windless day. After so many difficulties through the years, it felt like a well-deserved bonus.
“The route is quite impressive, very steep from base to summit,” Cazzanelli said. “There is no specific crux or a particular section with more difficulty or exposure. Rather, it is a line of sustained difficulty, constantly demanding.”
However, he highlighted the last part of the climb as the most committing.
“It was all snow with no way to place protection,” he said. “The roughly 90 minutes we spent climbing this part required all of our attention because a wrong move would have meant a fatal fall.”
Steep snow ramp with no spot to place protection. Photo: CVA Kimshung 2025 expedition
The descent followed the same line. They carefully downclimbed the snowy upper section, and then they did 12 rappels to the base.
For a speedster like Cazzanelli, the pace the team kept was one of the essential factors. They made the round trip to the summit and back in the day. “We returned home safe, successful, and with two new friends!”
Francois Cazzanelli, third from the left, and the team on the summit of Kimshung. Photo: Benjamin Zoerer
