IFMGA mountain guides Joshua Jarrin of the U.S. and Oswaldo Freire of Ecuador have climbed a direct route on the north face of 6,387m Ganchenpo in the Jugal Himal.
They did this in light alpine style just a few days after their first ascent of 6,567m Yansa Tsenji in neighboring Langtang Himal. The two peaks lie fairly closely together.
The north face of Ganchenpo, red dot in the background, as seen from Yansa Tsenji. Photo: Oswaldo Freire
After descending from Yansa Tsenji, Freire said that they needed to wait for a weather window in order to attempt the north wall of Ganchenpo, also known as Ganchempo or Fluted Peak.
Yesterday, on Nov. 3, Freire contacted ExplorersWeb from the summit of Ganchenpo to say that they had succeeded. Today, they descended from the mountain. From base camp, Freire gave us some details about the climb.
One of the climbers ascends the ‘Cold Therapy’ route on Ganchenpo’s north face. Photo: Oswaldo Freire
Details of the climb
The pair called their route Cold Therapy and graded it 1,000m AI 4+ 90 degrees TD/TD+. The ascent took just over 13 hours, and the round trip required a total of 18 hours and 20 minutes.
According to Freire, the ice on the face was in good condition, which helped them progress effectively. The intense cold didn’t let them rest during the ascent.
Joshua Jarrin and Oswaldo Freire on the summit of Ganchenpo. Photo: Oswaldo Freire
Unauthorized past attempts
The north face of Ganchenpo has had a number of attempts in the last 30 years. The Himalayan Database does not include any successful ascents, but the Langtang area has a long history of unauthorized ascents since the 1970s, and it is possible that one or more unauthorized parties may have summited at some point.
Nevertheless, Jarrin and Freire seem to have made the first official ascent of the north face of Ganchempo. It’s been an excellent week for the two good friends.
Jarrin and Freire work their way up the north face of Ganchenpo. Photo: Oswaldo Freire
