The Spanish team is back in Kathmandu after their first ascent of Jugal II via a highly difficult 2,000m route. Yet, the climbers insist that the best part of the experience was climbing part of the route with Italians Nives Meroi and Romano Benet. Jugal II was Plan B for the Italian pair after flooding washed out access to their primary target, Tilicho Peak in the Annapurna region.
The peak, northeast of Kathmandu on the Nepal-Tibet border, has been a coveted goal since it opened to climbing teams in 2023. In the end, it was the skill and smart strategy of Mikel Zabalza, Ruben Perez, and Mikel Saez de Urabain that put them on the unclimbed 6,518m summit after an alpine-style push via the east-southeast face.
Route topo, including a special mention of Nives Meroi and Romano Benet.
The team said that the greatest technical difficulties came high on the route. “From the upper bivouac, the climb goes on pretty vertical mixed terrain, with sections of poor-quality rock,” Zabalza explained. “It’s sustained M5 with some even harder sections, until 6,450m. Then the rest of the way to the summit follows along a 55˚-60˚snow slope.”
A tough, vertical mixed section. Photo: Mikel Zabalza
They reached the summit on October 29, at 4:00 pm. The weather was clear but very cold, with some evening humidity.
“We made three bivouacs on the route, two on the way up and one more on descent, and all of them were rather precarious,” Mikel Zabalza told ExplorersWeb from Kathmandu. “Luckily, we had a tarp to enlarge them.”
One of the climbers on the summit of Jugal II. Photo: Mikel Zabalza
Studied the route
The Spanish team, all highly experienced alpinists, had been studying the route for months. This was key to their success.
The situation was different for Benet and Meroi of Italy. Since they had not planned to do Jugal II, their approach to the route was more improvisational. They had no previous information about what they would find. To make matters worse, the third member of the team, Tine Cuder of Slovenia, had to abandon the expedition due to health problems.
One of the Spanish team’s bivouacs, with a tiny ledge enlarged by a fabric tarp. Photo: Romano Benet
There was no competition between the two teams, who happily joined forces for the summit push. However, the Spaniards’ strategy proved essential on the highly steep ramps covered with unstable snow.
Nivel Meroi loaded with bivy gear on highly steep mixed ramps on Jugal II. Photo: Romano Benet
“We set off on an adventure, having never seen the mountain before and not knowing what kind of ascent awaited us, but we gave it a try,” Romano Benet reported from Kathmandu. “We decided to turn back to avoid a third bivouac. ”
The two teams joined forces and were in good spirits on the route. Photo: Romano Benet
Impossible to carve ledges
Benet explained that they lacked the necessary gear (specifically, a tarp like Zabalza’s group) to pitch bivvies “on this type of face, where it’s impossible to carve out a ledge.”
Otherwise, the two groups returned as friends. “Nives and Romano are exceptional people,” Zabalza said.
“We are back from the mountain with new experiences and ideas but, most of all, with three new fantastic friends with whom, hopefully, we will share more adventures in the future,” Romano Benet concluded.
The Spanish team sent us the video below summarizing the climb.
