Papsura, West Face, Variation and First Ski Descent of Peak
India, Himalchal Pradesh, Kullu Valley
Climb Year: 2017.
Publication Year: 2018.
In May, Americans Chris Figenshau, Jim Morrison, and Hilaree O’Neill climbed a variation start to the 1991 New Zealand route up the west face couloir on Papsura (6,461m) and then skied back down it, completing the first ski descent of the mountain. They chose to approach the couloir from the right, as this presented far less objective hazard, and then joined the New Zealand route at around one-third height and followed it to the top.
Media Gallery
The west face of Papsura. The blue line is the route descended by a Korean team in 2017 (northwest ridge into the lower west couloir). The red lines show the 1991 New Zealand route in the west couloir and the 2017 variant, which was followed for the first ski descent of the mountain.
Supplied by Hilaree O'Neill