Two expeditions are currently targeting the Langtang massif on the Nepal-Tibet border. Marek Holocek is — seemingly — going for 7,227m Langtang Lirung. Meanwhile, Francois Cazzanelli and his team aim for unclimbed Kimshung (also known as Tsangbu Ri). They will then climb Langtang Lirung, too.
Playing clue with Holecek
Holecek has not revealed his exact plans but is dropping plenty of weighted hints. He mentions a “lifetime dream” and “an untouched wall, rising almost two thousand meters from its base.” At the same time, he posts photos of Langtang Lirung almost daily.
Langtang Lirung from the Lirung Valley. Photo: Kunlun/SummitPost
The 2,000m wall could refer to either the south face, where Tomaz Humar died during a solo attempt in 2008, or the east face, attempted last year by Topo Mena, Roberto Morales, and Joshua Jarrin of Ecuador.
“It’s one of the most impressive walls I have ever seen,” said Morales before the attempt, which was thwarted by constant rockfall.
The Ecuadorian team last year under the east face of Langtang Lirung. Photo: Roberto Morales/Instagram
But then, Holecek said, “untouched.” The east face has been attempted several times but never completed. The normal route goes up the southeast face. Adam Bielecki and Felix Berg attempted a new route up the northwest face in 2019. An Iranian team did the south face in 2010. A handful of climbers have done the southeast ridge, and some have also succeeded on the southwest ridge. But whichever route the Czech team chooses, it will not be easy.
Italians to try two
Meanwhile, Cazzanelli has returned to take on his old nemesis, 6,781m Kimshung. He previously attempted it in the spring of 2015 and the fall of 2016. This time, he is taking a strong group of climbing partners from the Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps: Roger Bovard, Jerome Perruquet, Stefano Stradelli, Emrik Favre, Francesco Ratti, and Giulio Vidoni.
Perruquet and Ratti opened two new routes in Ladakh last year. Stradelli and Favre have partnered with Cazzanelli on many bold routes in the Alps, such as a new route on Matterhorn earlier this year.
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The team also stated that they would attempt Langtang Lirung but didn’t provide details on their route.
