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KANGCHENJUNGA

Third highest peak in the world 

~ April 1 to June 10, 2002 (71 Days). Full-Service Expedition. Cost:  $6950,   £4170,   €6950 ~

Kangchenjunga, third highest peak in the world. NELSON CHENKIN PHOTO

* What does the price include? Our full service expeditions include: a highly qualified British, European, and/or American leader; sherpas for the group; 3 hot meals per day on the mountain, on trek, and in basecamp; trek and base camp cooks; trek, mountain, and basecamp food; ALL permit fees; liason officers; hotels, guesthouses and restaurants in route; transport: bus, train, jeep, porters, yaks, camels, internal flights for Ama-Dablam and Pumori; use of group gear and supplies: rope, ice, snow, and rock gear; trek, base, and altitude tents; cookers, fuel, walkie-talkie radios, gamow bag, medical oxygen, first-aid kits, etcetera. In addition to our normal trekking and high-altitude tents, we now provide an individual tent (1 tent per person) in basecamp. Note :  Our full-service expeditions employ climbing sherpas, high-altitude porters, and medical oxygen (in basecamp) to assist the team as a whole, and to carry group equipment and supplies. We DO NOT ask you to carry heavy group equipment (although it is an option if you really want to), such as tents, rope, gas, etcetera. For a minimal expense, we can also provide personal sherpas, porters, and climbing oxygen, to individual members who wish to use these services. Thank you!

Training Note: Upon arrival in the basecamp, all members are kindly requested to participate in one or two days of training in the areas of climbing techniques, rope fixing, ascending, descending, safety techniques, rappels (abseils), belaying, medical equipment and procedures, communications equipment, camping techniques and high-altitude cooking. For the expert and beginner alike, it is important to review these techniques in order to work together as a team.

Communications Note. Our expedition is equipped with "walkie-talkie" radios, and a satellite telephone for international voice telephone calls and emails. The members wishing to use the telephone will contribute $4 per minute of use. Not only will the phone be convenient for sending and receiving voice calls, it should be possible to send and receive 5 small emails per minute.

Kangchenjunga at 8586m (28,169') is the 3rd highest peak in the world and is located on the border of Nepal and Sikkim. We will be climbing it from the Nepalese side. The name Kangchenjunga means "The Five Treasures of the Snow" in the local dialect, referring to its five summits all over 8000m. After several attempts the mountain was first climbed in 1955. Our chosen route is the North Face because we have climbed it twice before, in 1997 and 1998. We placed members on the summit during both expeditions. During the spring of 2002 we hope it is relatively free from objective dangers such as avalanche. It is a varied and interesting route with loads of superb climbing - not just a huge snow slog. The technical climbing tends not to be sustained but comes in short manageable sections.

Basecamp is on grass. D.L.Mazur. Jon and Dan at Camp 4, 7300 metres. Photo: Scott Darsney. Scott in the rock band. D.L.Mazur

"The route (North Face) is definitely the safest, although not the easiest" H. Warth 1983 German expedition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ROUTE

In 1983 Herman Warth's German expedition found a route on the lower part of the North Face that by-passed the avalanche dangers of the Japanese route, to its right.. Unfortunately they were not able to summit. We will climb the Warth route which was ascended to the summit by our teams in 1997 and 1998.

Base Camp 5140m - Camp 1 at 5500m

Walking up moraine and across the low angle non technical rock and ice glacier to make a temporary camp.  

Camp 1 - Camp 2 at 6000m

Continue up the non technical glacier to make Camp 2 at 6000m.

Camp 2 - Camp 3 at 6600m

Climb through a short icefall and up an ice gully (45^o) through rock wall to reach first snow plateau.

Camp 3 - Camp 4 at 7300m

Cross 15-30^o snow slopes to camp at base of the rock band.  

Camp 4 - Camp 5 at 7500m

Climb 250m rock band (via a snow gully and 100m mixed rock wall, grade british severe, u.s. grade 5.4) to reach upper snow field at 7500m. 

Camp 5 - Camp 6 at 7900m

Climb upper snowfield to make high camp below summit pyramid.  

Climbing and shoveling deep snow up high. J.C.Pratt. Scott McKee summited in 1997, four others in 1998. D.L.Mazur

Camp 6 - Summit 8586m

Day-by-day itinerary for KANGCHENJUNGA climb     

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Last modified: 15 March, 2003