원정 개요

Al Read - July 22, 2005 (by email)

The first ascent of Ganchempo was in late October/early November 1971 by Terry and Cherie Bech. Jennifer Read and I were with them but I got pulmonary edema at about 17,000 feet and descended back to Langshisa with Jennifer. Jennifer and I then trekked back to Kathmandu. A week later Jennifer and I flew back with Emil Wick to pick up Terry and Cherie in Langtang.

The four of us had trained all summer (monsoon) by hiking up Nagarjung in the Queens Forest with loads of bricks in our packs. Cherie always was at the top first - a very driven woman!

We had intended to fly into Langtang to begin the expedition but there had been a heavy snowfall and Wick had to land in Tangmujet instead. This caused a delay in getting to Langshisa and so we moved too fast to altitude - at least for me.

As you know, the peak was not on any Nepalese climbing permitted "list" so the mountain was not legal in any way. At the time I was as Foreign Service Officer posted to the American Embassy in Kathmandu so it was extremely inappropriate for me to attempt the peak at all --- but we were young then.

The route was the SE Ridge or rather the east side of the South Face. The approach was from Langshisa up the west moraine of the glacier descending from Dorje Lhapka. I think it was the Langshisa Glacier but I do not have a map in front of me.