A South Korean team flying under the radar has achieved a first ascent of 6,620m Pangri Goldumba in Langtang. Son Ho Sung, Jeong Ji-Hun, and Park Joung Yong summited on April 11, after spending one month in the mountain. They have only confirmed their success now through their outfitter, 8K Expeditions.
Confusing records
When the team left for the mountain, they were not sure if the peak had been climbed before. Now, Nepal’s Department of Tourism has confirmed to 8K that this is the first recorded ascent of the peak in their files. The Himalayan Database and the American Alpine Journal have no records of previous ascents, either. Mountaineering historian Damien Gildea told ExplorersWeb: “Langtang has a history of ‘unauthorized’ climbing, but…not so much up near the border.”
Pangri Goldumba seems to be the peak marked as 6620, in the lower left-hand corner. It lies on the Tibetan border, near Goldum peak. Map: Camp to Camp
Pangri Goldumpa is right on the Tibetan border and from the summit, the climbers would have seen Shishapangma to the northeast.
The variety of peak names in that rarely visited area adds to the confusion about previous ascents. According to some sources, Pangri Goldumpa stands northwest of the better-known and also unclimbed Goldum peak (see map above). But according to The Himalayan Database, Pangri Goldumpa and Goldum are two names for the same mountain.” Himalaya-info.org also only names Goldum on its maps.
We hope to clear such questions when the summit team shares details on the expedition and their route. Meanwhile, for Korean speakers, here’s their summit message:
