Auer (l.) and Bluemel on top of Gimmigela East

“It was one of those expeditions where it all fit together perfectly,” says Hansjoerg Auer. The 31-year-old Austrian and his countryman Alex Bluemel succeeded the first ascent of the North Face of the 7005-meter-high Gimmigela East, in Alpine style, means without ropes and high camps, without Sherpa support and without bottled oxygen. The sub-peak of Gimmigela Chuli (7350 m) is located in the far east of Nepal, on the border with India, quite hidden in the area around the eight-thousander Kangchenjunga, the third-highest mountain on earth.

Exposed bivouac place

North Face of Gimmigela East

For five days, Auer and Blümel trekked along the Tamar River and then across the high plateaus of the Ghunsa Valley before pitching up their Base Camp at the foot of Gimmigela East. For acclimatization, they spent three nights at an altitude of 5,900 meters on the South Ridge of the trekking peak Dromo Ri. On 8 November Hansjoerg and Alex set off to climb the 1200-meter-high North Face. “Due to a wet monsoon with high precipitation we found the face in perfect conditions,” Auer writes on his website. The two climbers spent a first bivouac in the ice wall, which was up to 85 degrees, and a second on the summit ridge. This second night was a serious challenge “due to the small ledge extremely exposed to the strong winds,” says Auer. On 10 November, at 7.30 a.m, the two Austrians reached the summit. “A cold, windy but clear morning allowed us to see far into Sikkim’s great mountain range and to the unexplored east face of Kangchenjunga.”

“King’s Line”

In the wall

According to Auer, it was the first expedition ever to the North Face of Gimmigela East and only the third ascent after two Japanese expeditions in 1993 and 1994 ascending from the Indian south side of the mountain. Hansjoerg’s summary of the expedition is entirely positive: “A great project, an even greater friendship and a very efficient first ascent of a ‘King Line’ on a 7000m peak in one of the most remote places in the Himalayas.“ In fall 2015, Auer and Bluemel had – along with their countryman Gerry Fielg – first climbed the South Face of the 6,839-meter-high Nilgiri South in western Nepal. In the summit area Fiegl had shown symptoms of high altitude sickness, on the descent Gerry had fallen to death. “It was one of the saddest moments of my career,” Hansjoerg told me when we met last October just before he left for Gimmigela East. “I believe I cannot forget it for the rest of my life.”

At the summit: Fiegl, Bluemel, Auer (from l. to r.)

For sure, it was an amazing highlight of alpinism, but a shadow falls across. At the end of October – as reported – the Austrians Hansjoerg Auer, Alexander Bluemel and Gerhard Fiegl first climbed the South Face of the 6,839-meter-high Nilgiri South in the Annapurna massif in Nepal. Five previous expeditions, top climbers from Japan, Czech Republic and Slovakia, had failed to climb the wall. However, the success of the Austrian trio turned into a tragedy: While descending, Gerry, manifestly suffering from high altitude sickness, fell to his death several hundred meters deep, three days after his 27th birthday – while his friends were looking on in horror. A few days later, the search for Fiegl was abandoned.

Hansjoerg Auer sustained frostbite on six toes. Meanwhile the feeling in his toes has returned and he can climb again, the 31-year-old tells me. Next spring, he wants to set off along with his compatriot David Lama to a “cool, very difficult destination”. He doesn’t yet reveal, where it will be. I’ve talked to Hansjoerg about what happened in late October.

Hansjörg, you succeeded in making the amazing first ascent of the South Face of Nilgiri South. But on the descent your teammate Gerry Fiegl fell to his death. Does this tragic end make everything else fade into the backround?

At the moment of course yes, because only a positive outcome makes a mountain trip a good one. And Gerry’s death was the worst thing that could happen. Alex and I are trying to recall especially the ascent, when Gerry was still well. The line through the wall and the climbing was really outstanding.

On South Face at about 5,900 meters

Let’s first talk about this ascent. How were the conditions in the wall and which difficulties you had to overcome?

From the distance, the South Face looks as if it is free from ice, but inside there is a lot of so-called “black ice”. We have chosen our route in the right part of the wall, which is actually a shady West Face in the South Face. Therefore, there was a lot of ice and it was a very steep climb – much harder than for instance on Khunyang Chhish East. [In 2013, Hansjoerg succeeded in first climbing the 7,400-meter-high mountain in the Karakorum, along with his brother Matthias and the Swiss Simon Anthamatten.] The first day was tough. We didn’t find a suitable place for bivouacking below 6,500 meters, so we crept into our bivouac sacks not until 5 p.m. On the second day, we climbed an about 6,780-meter-high spire, which was higher than we had suspected. Then we had to cross a very exposed, steep ridge, partly abseiling. After another bivouac we reached the top of Nilgiri South, after a relatively short, technically not too difficult climb.
The descent via the Southwest Ridge was more difficult than we had expected. It’s always difficult when you have to break the golden rule on high mountains to descend on the same route you climbed up before. But on Nilgiri South it was not possible because the ascent was too difficult. In addition, in the lower parts of the wall the risk of rock fall was so high that we didn’t want to expose ourselves to this danger a second time.

You had to bivouac three times during the ascent. Were you on your last legs when you reached the summit?

Alex and I felt good. On the first day, we were all on our limits, but the other two days of ascent did not take such a long time. But in the end everything revolved around Gerry. We tried to find a way so that it was possible for him in his state of health.

On Nilgiri Spire (6780 m)

On the summit, Gerry was suddenly in very poor health. Were you then already aware that he was probably suffering from high altitude sickness?

In the morning of the summit day we noticed for the first time that something was wrong with him. At first we thought he was just exhausted. There were only about 200 meters in altitude left. We hoped that the euphoria of the summit success would help him and that we could then descend as quickly as possible on the other side. Gerry was an excellent mountaineer and climber, but that was no longer the powerful Gerry, as we knew him. We had to bivouac again at 6,500 meters.

You then tried to organize a rescue by helicopter. What was the problem?

On the summit day, the wind speed was 45 kilometers per hour, the day after 70 km/h. In addition, it was very, very cold. Under these conditions, a rescue on such an exposed ridge was simply impossible.

After the bivouac you continued the descent. How did the accident happen?

At night it was really bad. We tried our best to help Gerry, we realized that it would become very close. The next morning Gerry felt okay and we continued our descent on the steep, icy ridge. We could not just abseil but had to climb down the ridge. At a supposedly easy point he fell into depth. In retrospect, it’s almost astonishing that Gerry in his poor health managed to climb down from nearly 7,000 to about 6,000 meters. I think that was due his great performance and ambition.

Route of ascent (r.) and descent (l.)

Why wasn’t Gerry roped up?

We were climbing in Alpine style, which also means reducing equipment. Then you’re used to go without rope in easier terrain, so that you get ahead faster. If you rope up in a group of three, you have to secure everything. On the Southwest Ridge of Nilgiri South you can’t walk with a short rope as you do in the Alps.

Did you immediately know that Gerry could not have survived the fall?

Yes. But in the beginning you don’t want to believe it. You sit down and don’t know what to do. You cry, walk another hundred meters, sit down again and cry once more. You probably will not understand it for the rest of your life but you try to accept it. The risk is part of our sport.

Do you believe that the disaster will change your own risk-taking?

I don’ think so. In recent years I have intensively dealt with the theme of danger. You just have to, if you climb even free solo as I do, for instance this year on Heiligkreuzkofel. [On this mountain in the Dolomites Hansjoerg climbed the difficult route “Mephisto” for the first time solo and without rope.] Of course, I can’t simply carry on with the agenda. Gerry was a good friend, I miss him. But I hope it will get better with time. My passion for climbing is just so strong that I’ll go on expedition again.

Route of the Austrian climbers on Nilgiri South

Anyone who has ever climbed a very high mountain knows about the dangers during the descent. Not the dangers of the mountain itself, but of your own body. Suddenly all adrenaline is used up, you feel the pain that you have pushed away during the ascent, you are exhausted, only want to get down quickly and run into danger of losing your concentration. It’s not for nothing that many accidents happen on descent – like on the 6,839-meter-high Nilgiri South in Nepal, where the Austrian Gerhard Fiegl fell several hundred meters into depth on Monday of last week and has been missing since then. As reported, the search for the 27-year-old was meanwhile abandoned.
According to the other two team members, Hansjoerg Auer and Alexander Bluemel, the trio earlier had “successfully reached the summit after climbing through the more than 1,500 meter high South Face”. It was the first climb via the difficult wall where several other expeditions had failed in the past few decades. At the summit they noticed that their friend Gerry was “very exhausted”, Hansjoerg and Alex say. Was it symptoms of High Altitude Sickness? Fiegl’s rapid drop in performance might indicate this. At that altitude, oxygen is pressed into the longs with around 40 percent less pressure than at sea level.

Unplanned bivouac

At the summit: Fiegl, Bluemek and Auer (r.to l.)

“At the summit, we were still lying in each others arms and rejoiced over the successful first climb of the South Face”, says Auer. “But within a short time the situation turned extremely tense due to Gerry’s condition.” A few hundred meters below the summit, the three climbers decided to bivouac. Down in Base Camp, the photographer Elias Holzknecht tried to organize a rescue operation. However, strong winds made helicopter flights impossible. The next morning, Gerry’s condition seemed to have improved slightly, the trio continued their descent. Later, at around 2 p.m. local time, Fiegl lost his balance on the Southwest Ridge and fell around 800 meters into depth while his friends were looking on in horror.

Helicopter search two days later

Hansjoerg and Alex climbed down to Base Camp. Heavy snowfall hampered the search that was started immediately, only two days after the accident a helicopter was able to take off. The search for Gerry was unsuccessful. On 1 November the other expedition members returned to Austria. “At the moment when a longtime friend falls to death before your eyes, everything else becomes unimportant”, says Hansjoerg Auer. “Our joint expedition could not have taken a worse end.” As well as Auer, Alexander Bluemel is “very sad about the loss of our friend. But nobody can take me away the memory of the intense time I experienced with Gerry.”

One of the best

Last Thursday, Auer, Fiegl and Bluemel had set off to first climb the South Wall of Nilgiri South. According to a first statement of Auer they were successful and reached the summit on Sunday. The accident happened during the descent, Fiegl obviously slipped. Further details are not yet known. Gerhard called “Gerry” Fiegl is among the best young climbers in Austria. In March, he opened – along with his friend Hansjoerg Auer – a new difficult mixed route in his home Oetztal. In 2014, Gerry and the South Tyrolean Simon Gietl climbed to the summit of the legendary granite mountain Fitz Roy in Patagonia within only 21.5 hours (look at the video).

Fiegl also often climbed along with Alex Bluemel, for instance in 2013, when they did some amazing climbs in Alaska.

PS: Yesterday I deliberately refrained from disclosing the identity of the fallen climber. Austrian media were less restraint and now Gerry’s name is also mentioned in other countries. My thoughts are with the Austrian climber, his family and friends.

Nilgiri South

Sad news from the Austrian expedition to the South Face of the 6839-meter-high Nilgiri South in the Annapurna massif in Nepal: A spokesman of the Austrian Foreign Office confirmed to me that one of the three climbers who had started their first summit attempt last Thursday was missing. According to him, the climber slipped during the descent and fell about 800 meters deep while his two team mates were looking on in horror. The two climbers descended to Base Camp. Fog and snowfall hampered the helicopter rescue operation. The search was going on, the spokesman said. He gave no details about the climber who fell into the depth adding that they were in touch with his relatives.

The well-know Austrian climber Hansjoerg Auer and his compatriots Alexander Bluemel and Gerhard Fiegl, both mountain guides from Tyrol, had tried to first climb the South Face of Nilgiri South. The Foreign Office spokesman said, he did not know whether the three climbers were on their descent from the top or turned back before reaching the summit.
The mountain was first climbed on 10 October 1978 by a Japanese expedition that was led by Kazao Mitsui, the climbers ascended from North via the East Ridge to the top. In 2003, Japanese climbers succeeded in opening a new route via the West Col and the North Face. Since the 1980s there have been several attempts by Japanese, Czech and Slowenian climbers to reach the summit of Nilgiri South via the South Face but all failed. The most successful was the try of the Slowenian team led by Tadej Golob who climbed up to an altitude of 6,600 meters until they were forced back by strong winds, fog and snowfall.

Update: A representative of the Nepalese Tourism Ministry told AFP that the missed climber was 27 years old. Hansjoerg Auer is four years older. Although the name of the victim is already circulating on the Internet, I will publish it only if it is confirmed.

Nilgiri South

The push is on. The Austrian Team that tries to first climb the South Face of the 6839-meter-high Nilgiri South in the Annapurna massif in Nepal has set off for their first summit attempt. I was told this by a speaker of Hansjoerg Auer in Austria. On Wednesday Hansjoerg had tweeted that their acclimatization was coming to an end and that their first attempt was about to start. Auer is climbing along with his compatriots Alexander Bluemel and Gerhard Fiegl.

Successes by Japanese climbers

Nilgiri South was first climbed on 10 October 1978 by a Japanese expedition that was led by Kazao Mitsui, the climbers ascended from North via the East Ridge to the top. In 2003, Japanese climbers succeeded in opening a new route via the West Col and the North Face. Since the 1980s there have been several attempts by Japanese, Czech and Slowenian climbers to reach the summit of Nilgiri South via the South Face but all failed. The most successful was the try of the Slowenian team led by Tadej Golob who climbed up to an altitude of 6,600 meters until they were forced back by strong winds, fog and snowfall.

First ascent of Kunyang Chhish East

Hansjoerg Auer (in 2013)

The 31-year-old Hansjoerg Auer has made headlines with his free solo climbs like the difficult Fish route through the South Face of Marmolada in the Dolomites. In 2013, Hansjoerg – along with this brother Matthias and the Swiss Simon Anthamatten – first climbed Kunyang Chhish East (7,400 m) in Pakistan via the 2,700-meter-high Southwest Face. This first ascent was nominated for the Piolet d’Or 2014 but later not awarded.  Then Hansjoerg blamed the jury of having dealt “superficially with our adventure”.