More climbers summited Kangchenjunga today. John Gill of Canada and several members of his international expedition, outfitted by Grand Himalaya Tours, reached the top at around 8 am Nepal time.
Joining them were Eli Potter (U.S.), Catalin Mastan (Romania), Barath Thammineni and Satya Adeep Gupta (India), and Arie van de Kolk and Pieter Boogaard (Netherlands).
Captain Raju Shrestha and Jawan Amit Thapa of Nepal’s army summited today as well, together with Chhiring Jangbu Sherpa (IFMGA guide), Furba Sherpa, Ngima Chhiring Sherpa, and Chhewang Sherpa. Peak Promotion was their outfitter.
Still more climbers left Kangchenjunga Base Camp today for the summit. Among them are Adriana Brownlee and others from Seven Summit Treks, as well as Jon Gupta and his team of five clients and six Sherpas.
A climber on a ridge section between Camp 1 and Camp 2 on Kangchenjunga. Photo: Jon Gupta
Some climbers who turned around on the previous attempt are trying again. “It’s now or never,” said Dutch Wilco van Rooijen before leaving Base Camp today.
Later, he texted that his climbing partner, Cas van de Gevel, felt sick on the way to Camp 2. “He pushed, but against the odds,” van Rooijen wrote. Van Rooijen’s tracker put him at the altitude of Camp 2, so presumably, at least he made it there.
Meanwhile, the last of the second wave of summiters, such as no-O2 climber Horia Colibasanu and his teammates are expected back in Base Camp today. Colibasanu’s partners retreated short of the summit because of frostbite.
Everyone who has summited this season has commented that this was an extremely hard climb. Horia, in particular, reported one of those neverending climbs in which every seeming summit had a new, higher summit behind it. He also reported very high winds around the summit area.
Dhaulagiri
The plan for Kari Kobler’s team was to go for the summit today. It will not be easy for them. Both Kristin Harila, who summited yesterday, and Carlos Soria, who has returned to Base Camp, have reported tough conditions. Soria says that forecasts predict high winds around the summit today.
