As with the other members of our expedition from South Tyrol (see reports here and here), heavy snowfall immediately after our arrival at base camp in the Rangtik Tokpo prompted Hannes Niederwolfsgruber and me to choose the steep, dry northwest face of Little Jamyang Ri (a.k.a. Torre Fanni, ca 5,600m) for our first climb. We opted for the farthest right of three potential lines.

The first two pitches on our line were precarious, then we reached a wonderful layback crack. Hannes climbed this crack until he encountered a loose flake, followed by a seemingly blank section and an overhang. We retreated; however, the next day, Elisabeth Lardschneider and Markus Ranalter found a way through a seemingly impassable section more to the left. Their breakthrough would allow us to continue with our route.

We returned to the wall with Patrick Tirler and ascended the pitches climbed by Elisabeth and Markus to a point where our proposed line headed up right. Patrick led a new pitch to a big ledge and then we all descended. Due to time constraints and frequent rain showers, we decided to equip these challenging lower pitches with fixed rope for future attempts.

A few days later, we ascended the ropes, Hannes led another free and aid pitch to a comfortable belay, then I embarked on a precarious, demanding crack with loose flakes. At this point, we saw no future in the line and decided to descend and remove all the ropes. However, in base camp we had a change of heart and decided we had to give it one more try.

On July 28, we found ourselves back on the challenging section with loose flakes. Persevering, we reached more manageable terrain, and three fine pitches of around VII took us to a big shoulder on the southwest arête of Little Jamyang Ri, basking in the last rays of sunlight. Opting to skip the remaining three pitches to the summit—in order to allow for some daylight on the descent—we began rappelling our line.

We named the new route Lam Thuk Khamzang (370m of climbing, 13 pitches, the first five of which are in common with Norbu Duk Lam, VIII A2). The name comes from a Ladakhi proverb conveying good wishes to a friend embarking on a journey; khamzang captures the idea that paths may diverge, but in the end, individuals reunite to continue their shared journey.

During time off from the northwest face, Hannes Sullmann and I tried a direct route up the northeast face of Shawa Kangri (5,728m, 33°27’46”N, 76°44’07”E). Starting from base camp at 4:30 a.m. on July 14 and reaching the foot of the mountain at 8 a.m., we first climbed 65° ice to the base of the steep granite wall, then five engaging pitches in perfect cracks. The cruxes, including one wet section, were short; the pitches were graded VII+, VII, VII, VII+, and VII.

A few meters before a ledge at around three-quarters height, and where the 2008 route Rolling Stones (Pellissa-Ricart) comes in from the left, we made the difficult decision to descend, due to snow on the route and unsafe conditions. We hoped to return after predicted hot weather had melted the snow. Unfortunately, Elisabeth’s tragic accident (described here), prevented us from doing so.

— Stefan Plank, Italy