Asia, Tibet, Himalaya, Chomolhari, North Face, and Chomolhari, Northwest Pillar

Publication Year: 2007.

Chomolhari, north face, and Chomolhari, northwest pillar. A Slovenian expedition comprising Rok Blagus, Tine Cuder, Matej Kladnik, Samo Krmelj, Boris Lorencic, and Marko Prezelj, accompanied by a doctor, Damijan Mesko, established base camp at 5,000m below Chomolhari, a 7,326m peak on the remote Bhutan-Tibet border. For acclimatization the team first climbed three peaks of 5,700m-5,800m on side ridges above base camp and then turned to the north face of Chomolhari II (Tserimkang or possibly Jangmo Gopsha, 6,972m on the Chinese map), which they climbed up the left side via a line between seracs, with short 60° sections. This brought them to the east summit, which is around 50m lower than the west summit. In mid-October, Blagus, Cuder, Kladnik, and Krmelj reached the summit of Chomolhari by a new route toward the left side of the north face, a steep snow-and-ice couloir that they climbed in four days roundtrip from base camp. The couloir led to the upper section of the east ridge, which they followed to the summit on the 14th (1,900m, TD+ 80°). At the same time Lorencic and Prezelj climbed the magnificent and much-eyed northwest pillar in a six-day round trip from base camp, reaching the summit on the 15th. Prezelj led every pitch (1,950m, ED2 M6+ 80°). All routes were climbed in alpine style. Prezelj’s account of this expedition appears earlier in the Journal.