Tagne and Sagar, first ascents. A team of young climbers from Imperial College of London made a highly exploratory visit to the fairly recently de-restricted area north of the Kunzum La. The peaks here are non-technical and rather arid, the weather mostly hot and dry. In fact the party reported frequent daytime shade temperatures of 36°C at their base camp during their stay in July. Dan Carrivick, Jon Ellis, Alan Geer, Stephen Jolly, and Andrew Vine approached via the Chandra River and Tokpo Yongma (where a horseman attached to their expedition was killed when he fell in to the river and was swept away). Two first ascents were achieved. On July 20 Tagne (6111m, though sometimes quoted as 6404m) was ascended via the south glacier. The climbers worked up scree to gain a ridge on the south face, from where they reached the upper plateau of the hanging glacier. They then traversed the amphitheater above to gain the west ridge (45 degrees). The crest led past three icy sections (Scottish II) to the summit. The route was comparable with an Alpine AD.

Later, on the 26th, three of the team ascended Sagar (6030m), again at an estimated AD, via the east ridge from a col at the head of the north glacier. The crest had a number of steps at ca 40 degrees and a 100-meter-long icy knife edge. Tagne lies at 32° 35' 44" N and 77° 39' 00" E, while Sagar is situated at 32° 37' 19" N and 77° 38' 04" E.

Mountain INFO, High Mountain Sports 235