Located immediately opposite the east face of Langtang Lirung, Kimshung (a.k.a. Tsangbu Ri, 6,781m, 28°16’19.74”N, 85°33’6.47”E) has a long south-southeast ridge between the Lirung and Kimshung glaciers, with subsidiary tops. The southern and lowest of these summits (28°15’40.42”N, 85°33’41.24”E) is around 6,320m and was given the name Kimshung Sar by the team that attempted it in 2024.

In 2016, the main summit of Kimshung had two attempts. Italians François Cazzanelli, Giampaolo Corona, and Emrik Favre tried the southwest face to south-southeast ridge, stopping at around 6,500m, a little below the crest, due to strong wind. The same year, two Swiss climbers, Philip Bührer and Alex Gammeter, tried an east-facing couloir from the Kimshung Glacier and reached a col of approximately 6,450m on the south-southeast ridge, where they retreated after finding the way ahead dry, with very loose rock. This same couloir was later attempted twice by Masha Gordon, with Yannick Graziani and with Jacques Sturm.

In 2024, Cazzanelli and Favre returned with six other Italian climbers. The team established base camp at 4,100m on October 14, then Camp 1 at the start of the Kimshung Glacier (5,400m) and Camp 2 (5,800m) toward the top of the glacier.

On October 27, Roger Bovard, Favre, and Stefano Stradelli left Camp 1 and climbed an east-facing snow slope up to the start of the south-southeast ridge, aiming for the southern top (Kimshung Sar); they felt this ridge was comparable to but a little harder than the Peuterey Ridge on Mont Blanc. At 2 p.m., 12 hours after leaving camp, they reached a rocky top about three meters lower and perhaps 100m distant from the highest point of Kimshung Sar. They were separated from this by a dangerously corniced arête, and they stopped there.

The three descended the upper section of the ridge in half a dozen rappels, with sound anchors difficult to place. Realizing it would take too long to reverse the entire route, they headed down a couloir on the east face. After nine rappels they reached the glacier, eventually regaining their camp at 11 p.m.

On the same day, Cazzanelli, Jerome Perruquet, Francesco Ratti, and Giuseppe Vidoni left Camp 1, trudged farther up the glacier through deep snow in cold, windy conditions, and climbed the same couloir used by the 2016 Swiss team. The ascent was on snow up to 60°–70°. Just below the col, they found a piton from one of the previous attempts.

The four climbed two mixed pitches up the ridge toward the main summit of Kimshung, gaining about 80m in height. Although the terrain ahead did not look particularly difficult, the wind was now a real problem, blowing the ropes out horizontally. They turned around, making two difficult rappels to regain the col, followed by 12 rappels down the couloir, mostly from V-threads. They arrived back at base camp at 8 p.m.

After three days of rest, both teams were ready for a second attempt on Kimshung when they heard of an accident on Langtang Lirung (see story above). Two of the party went up to that advanced base camp, where they were told that Ondra Húserka had died and Marek Holeček was in trouble. Everyone went down to Kyanjin Gompa to organize a rescue, but this proved unnecessary when Holeček arrived later the same day.  

       —Lindsay Griffin, with information from Emrik Favre, Italy, and Rodolphe Popier, Himalayan Database