원정 개요

Original plan was to climb Chulu Far East's SW Ridge, then traverse 4 km east to Narphu peak.

Team departed ABC on 22 May at 4 am, reached the summit of Chulu Far East on 22 May at 2:15 pm and stayed 10 minutes, then returned to ABC. 15-30 cm of fresh snow lying on hard grey ice made the climbing a bit harder than usual, not to mention the heavier packs we were carrying for the traverse. Man-sized crevasses on what looked like a simple route also added some interest. Weather was generally fine, with the afternoon clouding up fast.

Fixed rope:
About 100 metres on the second bulge on the SW Ridge of Chulu Far East

Hired:
Furba Sherpa, Kerung, 32 years, Makalu
Man Bahadur Tamang, Salleri, 53 yrs, 5 Everest smts

From David Lim:

The Caffe Bene Himalayan Traverse Expedition 2016 aimed to make a 4 km traverse on the peaks of the Kang La Himal in Spring 2016. The planned route would climb the regular SW Ridge of Chulu Far East to the summit, and then traverse eastwards, descending the rock steps of the Chulu Far East’s East Ridge, climbing two virgin peaks marked as 5812m and 5872m, before exiting the Narphu Peak's (first climbed in October 2014) south glacier, and then eventually to Kang La. These two largely snowy peaks have ridges to about 45-50 degrees and climbing difficulty estimated at PD+ or AD- depending on route taken to the top. The three main difficulties would be the descent off Chulu Far East's summit ridge; the connecting ridge between Peak 5872m and Narphu Peak, an the snow gully exit off the Narphu glacier between the rocky south ridge and the icefall. It was anticipated to take 2-3 days to complete the traverse. However, fresh snow the day and evening before that made the Chulu Far East climb somewhat more difficult (and with larger backpacks), and the fresh snow on questionable rock, made the team abandon the traverse attempt. The 4 km ridge and climbs on it remain an interesting project for the future.