Nepal’s Department of Tourism of Nepal has published an updated list of climbing permits, issued between March 1 and March 27. As the list below shows, the cheapest fee is for 6,184m Jugal 3, located in the Jugal Himal, near the Tibetan border. The one male climber is paying a permit fee of $250, an amount that sounds like it’s from another era. The name of the climber is not available at present.
Climbing permits for the Himalaya. Photo: Everest Today
Jugal peaks opened last year
The Jugal Himal lies in the Central Himalaya, about 70km north-northeast of Kathmandu. It’s on the Nepal-Tibet border, east of the Langtang area and southeast of Shisha Pangma.
Last year, Nepal began issuing permits for several new peaks in that region. They included 6,591m Jugal, 6,518m Jugal 2, 6,184m Jugal 3, 5,936m Jugal 4, and 5,922m Jugal 5.
Jugal Himal. Photo: Ralf Dujmovits
In 2023, a party of three sherpas and two clients claimed to have made the first ascent of Jugal 5, although this is not registered in The Himalayan Database.
For adventurous parties, several of the least-known and most intriguing Jugal Himal peaks lie in Tibet — 7,292m Porong Ri, 7,050m Risum, 7,365m Yebokangal Ri, 7,661m Phola Gangchen, 7,445m Pungpa Ri, 7,071m Nyanang Ri, and 6,830m Pemthang Karpo Ri.
In 2022, Paul Ramsden and Tim Miller made the first ascent of the striking 6,563m Jugal Spire (Dorje Lhakpa 2) in Nepal. The two UK climbers opened its north face via a route they called The Phantom Line.
The Jugal Himal saw some action in earlier eras. Bill Tilman was there in 1949, as part of an exploratory expedition. In 1955, Elizabeth Stark and Monica Jackson from the Ladies’ Scottish Climbing Club made the first ascent of 6,151m Gyalzen Peak, on the Nepal-Tibet border. They named it after their lead sherpa, Mingma Gyalzen. A third member of their group, Evelyn McNicol, had to stay at base camp due to sickness.
This all-female team was the first to climb in the Jugal Himal. Wrote Stark wrote for the Himalayan Club: ”We had experienced the delights of climbing in the Himalaya, the adventure of the unexplored, and the peace of high camps. We could ask no better than that.”
Monica Jackson and Evelyn McNicol in front of Gyalzen Peak. Photo: The Himalayan Club
