원정 개요

BC at left (east) moraine of Saipal Glacier
C1 below West Ridge on glacier (Firnkopf Glacier)
C2 below West Ridge on glacier
C3 on West Ridge after having ascended Firnkopf Glacier's face.

Tried for 1 week to climb W Ridge. Snowstorm 18-20th Oct made team descended to BC and waited there for it. Had to make new route in deep snow. 25th Oct from C3 to Firnkopf (named by Austrians in 1954, means snow hat) at 6630m and turned back to C3. 26th to BC. Porters ordered for 27th and left BC 27th. Had lost some time on approach march: expected it to take 8 days but took 14 days. This route easiest to climb Saipal from south but would take 2 more weeks via W Col. In to Saipal's immediate route: no avalanche danger even after snowfall via this route to Firnkopf. Returned from BC via Kandha and Dhuli to Chainpur from where flew to KTM on scheduled flight. Fixed 50m rope between C1 and C2 on glacier and 50m more from C2 to C3 on glacier.

Remaking route was difficult because of many crevasses covered by powder snow.


Following is from a letter to E. Hawley from Franz Kroell:

In 1987 we went to Nepal with the permit for climbing Saipal from the south: 2nd of October we start in Kathmandu (by plane to Pokhara, with lorry to Phurbe). From Phurbe (5th October) by foot (end of the road) to Chainpur (possible by plane) and to the BC 17th of October). 18th - 20th of October we climbed on the SW Face of Saipal up to 6200m (steep; rotten rock).

Then we focused our interest to the opposite side, to the West Ridge from Westlicher Firnkopf (Western Firnkopf) to Ostlicher Firnkopf (Eastern Firnkopf). The height of these two mountains is correct in your map (Austrian Saipal Expedition about 1950; Rudolph Jonas, Vienna).

On 25th of October we climbed Westlicher Firnkopf (Fritz Mross, Germany; Ang Chopal, Nepal; Franz Kroell, Austria). We climbed from BC up an easy icefall, crossed this icefall and climbed up to the main ridge and followed exact the ridge to the very top of Westlicher Firnkopf. We stopped climbing on the summit and did not follow the ridge to Ostlicher Firnkopf and to Saipal.

The climb up to Westlicher Firnkopf is an easy climb (Grade I and II/UIAA ice and snow up to 65 degrees, short fixed sections with few meters of rope crossing the glacier.

Far more difficult is the walk in to BC, especially the last three days. Its extremely difficult to find a trail for the porters; bears and mountain sheep are living near BC.

There are some existing routes to climb Mt. Saipal:
West Face of Saipal (Spanish)
West Ridge (over Westlicher and Ostlicher Firnkopf)
NE Ridge
(Maybe SE Ridge, East Face??)

We climbed Saipal in the autumn of 1990 by the NE Ridge, flying to Simikot and walking in by Chala and the Kherang Khola to BC.