원정 개요

From DAV 98 (1973)

Allgäu Himalaya Expedition 1972

Carried out by four members of the Allgäu-Kempten section and one member of the Trostberg section.

Participants:
Dr. Karl-Dieter Fuchsberger (leader)
Helmut Schaefer
Franz Bischof
Wolfgang Reichhart
Franz Duerschmidt (Trostberg)

Duration of the expedition: April 22 to June 10, 1972.

Approach:

From Kathmandu by rented bus along the China Route, 86 km to Barabise. With five Sherpas and 25 porters, through the Rolwaling Himalayas over the Trashi Labtsa Pass to Namche Bazar (route of the German Alpine Club's great Rolwaling Himalayan mountaineering expedition).

For acclimatization, we climbed Kang Pom Ri (5750m), Ramdung (6050m), a previously unnamed five-thousander we called the "garden gnome" (5800m, first reached by a Scottish expedition in 1953), and Parchamo (6272m) during the approach.

Mountaineering goal:

First ascent of Kongde Ri (Kwangde) in the Solukhumbu region. This double-peaked six-thousander forms the northeastern cornerstone of the Lumding Khola group. The northeast flank is clearly visible from Namche Bazar and Tengpoche, and the northern slope is clearly visible from Thame.

Ascents:

The ascent of Kongde Ri was made from the south, from the Lumding Khola. This valley (3850m), previously unvisited by expeditions, was reached by four Sherpas and 41 porters from Rimishung (2700m, Sherpa name: Gumila, located above Dudh Kosi) after crossing a 4400m high ridge. The approximately 800m high dam was crossed east of enormous waterfalls. In the expanded upper valley basin, base camp was located at the lower end of a large moraine lake at 4700m. Climbing eastward over a 400m high moraine slope and a rocky plateau, one reaches a rocky ridge and gains one's first glimpse of the glaciated south side of Kongde Ri. Traversing down a narrow scree ledge, a small glacial lake was reached, and High Camp I (5100m) was established on its southern shore. High Camp II was located at an altitude of 5300m in a rocky cirque. Access to the upper glacial basin was from west to east via a wide, icefall-prone ledge above a 100m-high rock slab beneath the icefalls of the western summit. The crux of the climb was a 25m high, almost vertical ice spur. Glacial bowls and a steep gully provided access beneath the western flank of the ice-covered south-east ridge, which leads to the eastern summit. On May 27, 1972 all five expedition members reached the 6093m high eastern summit of Kongde Ri via this steep flank and the long blocky ridge.

On May 29, 1972, Franz Duerschmidt made the first solo ascent of the approximately 5800m high Kangkarmu, which rises south-southeast of Kongde Ri's eastern summit, via the southern flank (descent along the southwest ridge).