Kojichuwa Chuli (6,439m), Attempt

Asia, Nepal, Kanti Himal
Author: Lindsay, Josue, Elizabeth, Richard Griffin, Roibal, Hawley, Salisbury. Climb Year: N/A. Publication Year: 2010.

In October 2008 José Maria Alvarez, Antonio Fernandez, and Josue Roibal, all from the Spanish island of Mallorca, flew via Nepalgunj to Talcha (2,748m, three hours walk from Rara Lake), and trekked via Mugu to the Kojichuwa Valley (possibly also referred to as Gokichuwa). Their goal was to reconnoiter a route on Kojichuwa Chuli for an ascent the following spring. Alvarez, Fernandez, and Da Dorche Sherpa climbed to the Kojichuwa La (5,550m) and moved a short distance up the frontier ridge to 5,625m, from where they could see that to continue to the summit of Kojichuwa Chuli would be hard. After noting that the Tibetan flanks looked relatively gentle, they returned to base camp and climbed a small (ca 5,400m) peak above the valley before returning home. One outstanding peak noticed during this exploration was the unnamed 6,310m summit on the frontier ridge immediately south of Kojichuwa Chuli, which they dubbed Mugu Chuli.

Both Kojichuwa Chuli and Mugu Chuli were “on the list” when Fernandez and Roibal returned in April 2009 with Santiago Amengui, Rodrigo Rodriguez, Luis Miguel Lopez, and Pedro Navarro. The team again helicoptered to Talcha, and then trekked along the Mugu Khola and up the Kojichuwa Valley, to establish base camp at 4,750m west of Mugu Chuli. They first examined the impressive west face of Mugu but found it too threatened by serac fall and avalanches. Lopez Narravo and Dawa Sherpa then moved up to the Kojichuwa La but found it a dangerous affair due to loose and falling rock. As their ascent was to be a siege and they deemed fixing this section impracticable, the team gave up further climbing and investigated the Koji Valley immediately to the southeast.