Peak 6,153m, East-Northeast Ridge; Peak 5,920m, North Ridge

Nepal, Far West Nepal, Nalakankar Himal
Author: Lindsay Griffin. Climb Year: 2016. Publication Year: 2019.

A five-man Japanese expedition comprising Tetsuji Otsue (leader), Shigekazu Kawajiri, Kiyotaka Nakamura, Koji Matsumoto, and Goto Tomio, with three Nepalese climbing members, Man Bahadur Gurung, Iman Gurung, and Ramesh Gurung, reached the summits of unnamed Peak 6,153m and Peak 5,920m during an expedition to the remote Takphu Himal in August-September 2016. This was immediately before the German ascent of Takphu North reported in AAJ 2018.

The Japanese and German expeditions took the same approach, from Simikot across the Nyalu La to Takchhe, and up the Sakya Khola to a base camp at 30°17'56"N, 81°27'29"E, just below the lake at 4,972m. This approach, including one day of rest, took 10 days. The Japanese warned against attempting a southerly approach via the village of Halje (Halji). The people of this village will stop foreigners attempting to climb their mountains. (The Japanese went to this village after their expedition and were fined $600.) For this reason, they also suggest bypassing Takchhe and staying elsewhere, as the people of Takchhe might inform Halje that foreign climbers are in the area. In 2008, another Japanese expedition to this area (AAJ 2009) was stopped at Halje and had to change plans, instead trekking northeast to make the second ascent of Changwatang (6,130m).

From their base camp, the 2016 Japanese team moved west to the glacier bay between Takphu Himal and Takphu North, placing a high camp at around 5,000m. They then climbed to the col between Takphu North and Peak 6,153m, and from there followed the east-northeast face of the latter, followed by the short, sharp, snow crest leading to the summit.

The team also climbed an elegant snow pyramid, Peak 5,920m, which lies about 3.5km east of Til Kang (6,369m) and over 4km south of base camp. They climbed via the north ridge from a high camp on the glacier at HMG-Finn spot height 5,390m.

– Lindsay Griffin, from information provided by Christof Nettekoven, Germany



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