원정 개요

BC 26/04 4850m
ABC 27/04 4950m (French camp)
C1 29/04 5480m
C2 02/05 5980m
C3 04/05 6280m
C4 06/05 6850m
C5 07/05 7050m

Returned to BC on the 10th of May.

May 7: 6 French and 3 Nepalis camped at C5 (7050m), 100m below the Himlung Himal summit. Paulo Grobel and Bertrand Vayssettes also summited on that day.

Summit day on HMLE: 8th of May at 11 am with 2 members and 2 hired (Isabelle Guillaume, Paulo Grobel, Jangbu Sherpa, Rajan Bhote). Himlung East summit team climbed via W Ridge. Intended to continue to traverse onto the ridge farther north from HMLE (border between Nepal and China), but didn't try. On return they climbed ESE ridge of Himlung to the summit. First traverse between both peaks.

Others summiting HIML via normal route:
4th of May: Jean Francois Males, Karma Sherpa
7th of May: Bertrand Vayssettes, Paulo Grobel
8th of May: Bertrand Vayssettes (again), Regis Bardet, Christian Hurgon,
Michael Collin, Temba Tsiring Sherpa

High Points for other members: On 6th of May, Christophe Adam, Denis Levaillant, Zangbu Sherpa reached a small summit near Himlung Pass at 6600m.


Note from Paulo Grobel - 6 August 2017

After many expeditions to Himlung Himal by various itineraries, I felt confident to try a big journey at altitude, traversing this accessible 7000er via a previously untrodden ridge, carrying more than four days of food. Our plan was to climb the normal route up the NW Ridge of Himlung Himal (7126m), without fixed ropes of course, put a high camp just below the summit, then climb over the top with food and all our gear and continue to the unclimbed Himlung East (6932m). The latter is a recently opened (2014) peak on the frontier with Tibet, on the ridge that leads north toward Ratna Chuli. We would then continue down this north ridge, over several tops including Phu Kang (6694m; opened in 2002, this peak is still unclimbed, though the goal of a 2008 Swiss expedition that found no accessible route to the summit), and onward to the vicinity of Peak 6566m, where we would descend the ridge west, and eventually reach the valley north of Himlung Himal, so completing a "horseshoe."

It was a strange climb. We established five camps on the NW Ridge of Himlung Himal, the last on a flat shoulder at 7050m, northwest of and not far from the main top. It was higher than our eventual goal, Himlung East. We arrived at this camp at 11 am on May 7: the previous day two members of our group, Jean Francois Males and Karma Sherpa, had reached the main summit. However, the weather on the 7th was not good. Bertrand Vayssettes and I climbed to the main summit to scope the way ahead. We had spent a lot of time acclimatizing so we could live safely at 7000m and our schedule was now tight. More importantly, the weather felt too unstable to commit to the full traverse. Reluctantly, we took the decision to make Himlung East our goal.

On the 8th Isabelle Guillaume with Jangbu Sherpa, and Rajan Bhote and I left camp and skirted the summit by the northern slopes to reach the east ridge, which we descended, narrow at first, to a col and then ascended the west ridge of Himlung East to its summit. On the return we climbed up the east ridge of Himlung Himal and over the summit, so making the first ascent of this ridge. That same day five other members of the group reached the top of Himlung Himal. By the time we had returned to camp the weather was poor again, but fortunately next morning the cloud level rose and we were able to make our descent. Traversing a summit is such a great game, this ridge is fantastic, and the continuation north is still there to be done.