On ascent via the West Ridge

It does not have to be the Lhotse South Face. For strong and ambitious climbers, who neither belong to the “extremes” nor the professionals, the Himalayas also offer other attractive destinations to experience great adventure. Three of my buddies from the first ascent of Kokodak Dome in 2014 proved that in Nepal this fall.  On 19 October, Jürgen Schütz, André Günzel and Manuel Möller, together with the Nepalese Dawa Gyalje Sherpa and Pasang Gomba Sherpa, succeeded the first ascent of the West Ridge of Chulu West. The 6,419 meter high mountain is located in the area around the eight-thousander Annapurna. Chulu West, first climbed in 1952 by a Japanese expedition, is a popular “trekking mountain” without major technical difficulties – but this only applies to the normal route via the Northeast Ridge.

Many crevasses

The new West Ridge Route on Chulu West

“There was no passage that was just easy,” André writes to me about the almost 1,000-meter-high West Ridge. “The steepest passages should be around 55 degrees. And the real ridge spots are narrow (not much wider than two feet) and quite steep,” adds Jürgen, who had the idea for this first ascent. “In the middle section the ridge opens to a flank with many crevasses. After two huge crevasses, which we scirted on the left, we reached via a small plateau the knife-edge of the South Ridge.”

Having turned around at the end of the West Ridge

Jürgen on the knife-edge

During a first exploration ascent, the mountaineers had previously deposited equipment at an altitude of 5,480 meters. In the second run, they climbed in a single push up to the end of the West Ridge. “That day we were en route for eleven hours. Actually we had planned to continue via the South Ridge to the summit,” writes Jürgen. “We had to give up this part, as we would have had to fix ropes over a distance of 300 meters on the South Ridge, which was corniced on both sides. This would have taken us more time than we had.”

Without high camp to the summit

The three Germans and the two Sherpas decided to descend to the base camp via the newly opened route and to take the equipment from the depot with them. Two days later, the five climbers made up for the summit success. Without any high camp they ascended via the normal route to the highest point and descended to the base camp within a total of 14 hours.

“Committed amateurs”

Jürgen Schütz, Manuel Möller, André Günzel, Dawa Gyalje Sherpa (from l. to r.)

“Since we are not professionals, I am even more pleased that it is still possible to find as a committed amateur a place in these fascinating mountains where you can develop your own ideas and put the plan into action with friends,” says Jürgen Schütz, who earns his money in his “normal” life as a laboratory chemist. For management consultant Manuel Möller, the expedition to the West Ridge of Chulu West was a real adventure: “Somehow it’s still the best to try something new in the mountains. Less commercial hype, more mountain.” Professional soldier André Günzel puts it this way: “With friends to a beautiful mountain, on a wonderful, new and challenging route! It couldn’t be better.”

Nobukazu Kuriki

Nobukazu Kuriki has changed Everest sides. The 34-year-old Japanese today reported on Facebook from Gorak Shep, the 5207-meter-high last inhabited settlement below Everest on the Nepalese south side. Apparently, Kuriki has managed the necessary formalities with the Nepali authorities. Previously, Nobukazu had pitched his tent on the Tibetan north side: on the Central Rongbuk Glacier below Everest North Face. The reason for his change of location, says Kuriki, was that he had changed his previous plan for the ascent. Originally, the Japanese had wanted to climb the North Face, solo and without bottled oxygen, via the so-called “Supercouloir Route”, a system of gullies that stretches almost through the entire wall.

Too much blue ice

Kuriki’s scheduled route

In the lower part of the wall, however, there is currently a lot of blue ice, writes Kuriki on Facebook. Because he lost nine of his ten fingers due to frostbite in his Everest attempt in fall 2012, it is too dangerous for him to climb there, says Nobukazu. That’s why he now wants to ascend from the south side to the West Ridge, from there crossing into the North Face and climbing via the Hornbein Couloir to the summit. “Actually, this route is the one I tried in fall 2012,” writes Kuriki. “I feel like I’m still there at that time.” He plans to leave Gorak Shep on Friday, hoping to reach the summit on 23 May, next Tuesday. Then, according to the weather forecast, the wind from the west will have calmed down, says Kuriki. It is his already seventh attempt on Everest. Six times he had tried in vain to reach the summit, five times from the Nepali, once – last year – from the Tibetan side.

More than 2000 m of height in six hours

Kilian Jornet on Everest

Kilian Jornet, who, like Kuriki, had also failed on the north side in fall 2016, is currently acclimatizing on the Tibetan normal route for his speed attempt without bottled oxygen. On Monday, the Spaniard told on Facebook, that he had climbed within six hours from the Advanced Base Camp at 6,300 meters to an altitude of 8,400 meters. “Good vibrations,” the 29-year-old stated. Kilian had prepared himself for his Everest project with an ascent of the eight-thousander Cho Oyu – in heavy snowfall and very bad visibility: “Honestly, I am not sure that this was the summit as I could only see my feet, but I was at some point around.”