In late October, Paul Manson (Scotland), Norihide Yamagishi (Japan), and I (Australia) made the first ascent of the summit at the junction of the western and central massifs of the Gangga Range. It lies at the head of the Niyada Qu river valley, and we named it Asura Peak (31.473447°N, 99.910003°E). Maps give it an altitude of 5,207m, which we were unable to verify. This was the first official ascent of any of the 40 or so peaks in the range above 5,000m; one unauthorized ascent was made in 2013 (AAJ 2014).

The Gangga Range lies in the far northwest of Sichuan, 700 km from Chengdu and 250 km from the border with Tibet (Xizang). It is part of the most northeasterly extension of the Himalaya and has had limited accessibility in the past. More than 75 percent of the region's population is Khampa Tibetan, centered on the trading and monastery town of Ganzi. Nomadic families from the high plateau pass through the Gangga valleys in early winter.

The timing of our 2015 expedition was based on weather observations made the previous year, when logistical problems prevented me from summiting a 5,439m peak in the central massif. Our aim in 2015 was to make an unsupported, alpine-style ascent of the north face of an undocumented peak. Once we left the road at 4,200m, without porters or electronic communication devices, we were self-contained for nine days. A three-day approach took us to a cold yet ideally sited camp below the 400m north face of the mountain we eventually called Asura. Nearby peaks and passes afforded good views of the face and chances to acclimate.

On our first attempt we took a direct line up the center of the face, where we found good snow to 70°, thin ice, and rock of varying quality. There was an obvious ice line, but we found it too thin, and instead climbed increasingly difficult mixed terrain beside it. We eventually retreated after Yamagishi took two 6m falls on an overhanging pitch at ca 4,900m and lost an ice tool. Similar long lines cover the face and have great potential.

Our second attempt took a meandering line that linked two tiers of exposed snowfields via pitches of Scottish 5 mixed. These led into the obvious couloir that bisects the face. After several steep snow pitches in the couloir, we arrived below an overhanging, corniced notch, surrounded by towers and dangerously loose rock; this was ca 60m below what we assumed to be the summit. We retreated down the couloir and returned to camp 13 hours after setting out.

A rest day allowed more discerning reconnaissance and confirmed the true summit was set back from the main face and best reached by crossing the central couloir and making a rising traverse across a series of snowfields at the base of the headwall. However, with the arrival of our first spell of bad weather, we worried me might not get back on the face in the little time left.

Several centimeters of snow fell that night, but the sky had partially cleared by midmorning. With a degree of expectation and the pressure of an unpredictable weather window, we simul-climbed to the couloir, reaching it in late morning, and then continued to simul-climb across the upper snow and mixed sections. Minimal snow had collected from the previous night’s precipitation. A short, corniced ridge was followed by a traverse to the summit, which we gained at 12:30 p.m. An encroaching cloud base gave only 15 minutes to take photos of the previously unseen southern reaches of the range, as well as the southern aspects of the highest peaks and multiple alpine objectives. We reversed the route to the central couloir, where we used our previous rappel line to descend. The route gave ca 700m of climbing and was Scottish V M5 70° snow.

Ed Hannam, Japan