원정 개요

French Ghhanyala Hies Ski Expedition 2007, led by Yan Andre - 5 Nov 2007

This team believe they were the second expedition intending to climb Ghhanyala Hies. The first, they said, was a team of two American brothers, one named Rob DesLauriers, about ten years ago that did not reach the mountain [two Americans were Rob DesLauriers and Pete Patterson].

This group of skiers took a bus from Kathmandu via Chitwan, east across the Terai, north via Ilam to Taplejung village. They then trekked down to the Tamur River, followed the river north via Ghunsa to Lhonak, where they arrived on 10 October and onto the Lhonak Glacier. Their BC was established on 13 October on the glacier at 4978m.

They went northeast on the Chijima Glacier to 5500m, where they made C1 on the 17th. From this camp they made a reconnaissance on the glacier leading west to a peak 6170m high called Chijima or Tsisima [not the 6196m peak also known as Tsisima], and on the 21st four of the members summited it via its NW Face; De Potestad turned back at 5900m; he was not a climber, more of a trekker, and he went back to C1. Andre, Dan, Husted and Wallace went to the top and skied from the top down the 45-50 degrees summit slope on good powdered snow in perfect weather almost all the way to C1.

On the 23rd at 4:00 am, all members went to Ghhanyala Hies (6779m). Mingmar Tamang accompanied them, and De Potestad and Mingmar stopped at 5850m to wait for the others and to take pictures. The other members skied ("skinned") westwards on the flat glacier at its foot for three hours to a 50-55 degree couloir, which was very icy. They stopped skiing at 5850m and climbed to 6150m to the top of the couloir. The face led to the West Ridge, but they did not go to the ridge. They traversed to the left for access to the SW Face of the ridge. But now conditions were too icy to ski down, and it was very difficult to climb up and down with their heavy loads including their skis. At 10:30 am they turned down and skied to C1 in two and half hours and spent that night in C1.

They abandoned their climb because of the icy conditions and went back to BC on the 25th. They left BC the next day to return to Kathmandu.

Andre's left big toe got frostbitten during the ascent on Ghhanyala Hies, but will heal.

Hired:
Mingmar Tamang, 23/9/64 (8/6/2021), Pirangding, Kerung-1, Solu, Cho Oyu 5/10/02