The first alpine-style expedition of the season leaves for Nepal shortly. Nives Meroi, 63, Romano Benet, 62, both of Italy, and Peter Hamor, 60, of Slovakia, will return to finish the job they started last year on 7,590m Yalung Peak. Yalung is a subsidiary peak, the lowest of the four main ones along the Kangchenjunga massif. The veteran trio plans to open a new route, alpine-style.
The points of the Kangchenjunga massif. Photo: Peter Hamor
Hamor flies to Nepal tomorrow to trek with his wife before the expedition. Benet and Meroi leave on April 2. Aiming to keep their style pure, the team will not acclimatize on their planned route but on nearby Kabru (7,412m), Romano Benet confirmed today.
The three climbers know this area well and have good memories of 2023 when they did the first ascent of nearby Kabru South (7,318m). Meroi won a Piolet d’Or in the female category for that climb.
Hoping for better weather
This will be their second attempt on Yalung Peak. Last spring, a long spell of bad weather hit eastern Nepal, thwarting most attempted climbs in that region. Even the commercial teams on Kangchenjunga had to abort their expeditions. Only a few independent climbers who launched a last-minute push reached the summit.
Hamor, Meroi, and Benet had planned a single push to the summit but couldn’t even try it. So their climb this spring will still be on new terrain and so within the strict rules of alpine style.
“Let’s hope it goes better this time,” Benet wrote today.
The team will climb Yalung Peak via the southeast spur, the same planned route as last year, Meroi confirmed to us today. Last year, the trio also hoped to traverse from Yalung Peak to higher Kangbachen (7,902m) along the summit ridge. Benet and Meroi attempted Kangbachen in 2019, but access to the face was too crevassed. The approach from Yalung Peak would be a safer option. Meroi told ExplorersWeb that they will decide, based on conditions at the time, whether to attempt this serious traverse this year.
Nives Meroi amid seracs during the previous attempt on Kangbachen’s south face in 2019. Photo: Nives Meroi
