Sherpi Kangri Attempt. The Kobe University Expedition was composed of Toshiho Tanaka, leader, Takuo Kawamoto, Yoshikazu Hatta, Hiroshi Nishiuchi, Yukihisa Yamaguchi, Toshinao Sakai, Dr. Noboru Funatsu and me as deputy leader. We left Khaplu on July 6 and established Temporary Base Camp at 12,625 feet on the left bank of the Sherpi Gang (glacier) on the 11th. The Workmans’ expedition visited this valley, the Khorkondus, in 1912 and tried to approach Sherpi Kangri up the Dong Dong Glacier. Steep granite walls and the huge icefall of the Sherpi Gang prevented their getting to the upper part of the glacier. Since then no party has tried to get up it. We easily reached the Workman campsite. After a week of reconnaissance, on July 17 we established Base Camp at 14,100 feet on the right bank of the glacier above the first big icefall. From there, we reconnoitered our way through the second and third icefalls, taking many days and using much equipment. The glacier has eight tributaries. We tried to reach the west ridge of Sherpi Kangri up the fourth, but steep granite walls of the needle peaks prevented us. We abandoned our plan to climb the south and west ridges. We established Camp II (17,225 feet) on July 28 on the main glacier. It took us five days and 3000 feet of fixed rope to place Camp III (18,875 feet) above the fourth icefall. From a big col near Camp III the gentle and snow-covered P 36 Glacier descends to the north. Northeast of the big snowfield rose the two peaks of Sherpi Kangri (24,212 and 23,960 feet), covered with hanging glaciers. Avalanche danger prevented our climbing to the high ridge between the peaks. We gave up the east ridge of the main peak and turned to the south ridge of Sherpi Kangri II, where we fixed 3000 feet of rope. On August 11 we gave up at 20,650 feet with many overhanging ice blocks on the ridge above us. The people in the Khorkondus call Sherpi Kangri “Shere Gangri”.

Tatsuo Inoue, Kobe University Alpine Club, Japan