In the spring, a joint expedition from Korea and Nepal, led by Um Hong-gil and Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa, completed the first ascent of Jugal I (6,591m, 28°10’26.73”N, 85°48’59.13”E), north of Kathmandu. The expedition marked the occasion of the golden jubilee of the bilateral relationship between South Korea and Nepal, and was a collaboration between the Korean Alpine Rescue Association and the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

A four-day trek brought the team to base camp at 4,700m, near the base of the Jugal Glacier. It was a full day’s difficult hike from here to the foot of the mountain, so they set up an advanced base below the east-southeast face at 5,300m. Koo Eun-soo (climbing leader), Joung Je-gyun, Kim Dong-jin, Baek Jong-min, Um Tae-chul, and Byeon Joon-gi, along with high-altitude porter Dame Sherpa, fixed rope on the lower part of the mountain and set up camps. Lakpa Dendi and Lama Babu then fixed rope up to the summit slope at 6,300m, after which the whole team descended to base camp.

On May 2, Lakpa Dendi, Lama Babu, and Um Hong-gil left for the summit. They camped at 5,600m, then left at 12:30 a.m. on the 3rd. Lakpa Dendi reached the summit at 12:30 p.m., followed by Lama Babu and Um at 3:30 p.m. The same afternoon, Koo, Joung, Kim, and Baek climbed up to the top camp (5,600m), took a brief rest, then left for the summit at 11 p.m., reaching it at 8 a.m. the next morning.

Although the expedition had hoped to climb the adjacent Jugal II as well, they could see from high on Jugal I that the route over to Jugal II would involve complex terrain. They concluded it would be better to climb II separately, but did not have time to do so.  

       —Oh Young-hoon, Korea

Exploration Near Jugal V: At around the same time as the Korean expedition, in April, four women from the U.K. set up base camp at 4,600m below Jugal V. They had to access this via the west side of the Jugal Glacier, as earlier in the year a landslide had made the 2019 via ferrata approach on the east side (see AAJs 2020 and 2024) inaccessible. Their approach proved precarious, and four sections were equipped with fixed rope. The goal was unclimbed Peak 6,200m on the frontier ridge and to explore ski potential. After a big storm, they established a high camp at 5,200m, north of Jugal V. They completed some skiing, but snow conditions were deemed too poor for summit attempts. The team noted considerable glacier recession compared with photos from 2019. Download the full expedition report here.