First Ascents Not To Be Sneezed At...

by Drew Cook

Rafal let out a loud sneeze and, before anyone could say "Bless You!", the slab avalanche was triggered. We decided to move in the opposite direction and through a culmination of postholing and rope entanglement and crampon tripping, we managed to manoeuvre ourselves across the glacier and away from immediate danger.

We took time to reflect upon our position and to take stock of the uncooperative weather and snow conditions. Five of us had flown from the UK out to Leh via Delhi to travel overland to the road-head of the Sumur Valley, where we had then ventured into the Eastern Karakoram. Derek and I already had a successful expedition of the Rassa Glacier under our belts from 2016 where two 6000m+ peaks succumbed to our guile and wiliness, and we were keen to return to the Rassa Glacier. In 2014 a team led by Divyesh Muni had completed a south-north traverse of the glacier which encouraged us to try accessing the glacier by reversing the route of their descent of the East Rassa Col. We hoped that this would open up virgin peaks and allow us to come to grips with previously unclimbed 6000m peaks.

Drew Cook and Rafal Malczyk on the summit of Tsagtuk South (6071m) after making the first ascent
Photos: Derek Buckle

However, logistics were proving non-cooperative and conditions not conducive to climbing. The initial approach to the Sumur Valley began pleasantly enough at the Samstanling Monastery, but the broken and disused trail soon steepened and a strenuous climb to the ancient hill fort made us labour against the altitude. After gaining the entrance to the valley the gradient eased, but the terrain worsened as it undulated across unconsolidated ground high above the raging torrent of the Sumur river below us. The three days it took us to establish Base Camp (5160m) alongside the Sumur Lakes was as a result of the demanding terrain and the challenges it presented to our local porters, many of whom were forced to drop their loads prior to reaching camp. It took a further two days for our team to find and consolidate our gear and organise the locals and only then could we appreciate the idyllic spot we were in and venture out to recce the numerous glacial tongues and complex moraines that the Rassa has to offer.

Once fully acclimatised, and with the help of our three high altitude porters we established a High Camp (5500m) with the aim of investigating the glacial arm that led to and gave potential access to the Upper Rassa Glacier. Camped on the ice, we gazed up at the impressive North Ridge of the unclimbed Nya Kangri (6520m) opposite. With more interest we noticed a more approachable peak in front of Nya Kangn, better suited for us to cut our teeth on. Our initial attempt of this peak introduced us to the poor snow conditions and the ensuing postholing and the high threat of avalanche enforced a retreat back to our High Camp. To add to our disappointment Jamie had to leave due to a family bereavement.

Rafal Malczyk, Howard Pollitt and Drew Cook at Camp 3 with SamurKangri (L) and Nya Kangri behind

Undeterred, we shifted our High Camp higher up the glacier to 5743m, to put us in position to attempt a peak at the head of the glacier that we had identified on the map. Early the following morning in bitter temperatures Derek ,Rafal, Howard and I set off on a five-hour postholing endeavour to reach a rocky peak at approximately 6032m. Although the postholing was arduous, the south face remained easy angled and, as we ‘summited', it became obvious that our satellite imagery mapping had altered the perspective somewhat: our first 6000m peak was simply the convergence point of three ridges rather than an actual mountain. The anti-climax earned our' peak' the name of 'Deception Point' and only the excitement of Rafal's sneezing initiating unplanned snow movements had the desired effect of raising our pulses.

We returned to Base Camp to boost our morale on non-dehydrated foodstuffs and to reassess the weather patterns and slope aspects in respect of further avalanche. A secondary glacial arm flanked by unclimbed peals with more favourably angled faces drew us up into its higher reaches to make a second High Camp at 5680m and it was from here we pushed forward up the south face of the twin-headed peak at the head of this glacier. We climbed first to the slightly lower rocky summit of the south peak (6071m) before traversing to its northern snowy sister at 6078m. Success at last and, after much photo taking and GPS reading we named it 'Tsagtuk Kangri' (Ladakhi for Twin Snow Peak) at Alpine PD.

Sumur Kangri (5991m) WNW Ridge showing the line of the first ascnt

Howard had to leave early but hungry for more 6000m success, Derek, Rafal and I returned to our initial objective and made a second attempt after a week had given snow conditions time to improve. We were in luck and, on an incredibly windy and brutally cold blue-sky day, the three of us roped up and made the first ascent beneath the north face of Nya Kangri of 'Sumur Kangn' (Snow Peak of the Sumur) at 5991m graded Alpine AD.

After a few days exploration of the avalanche-prone north face of the col, we returned to Base Camp and were met by more orderly and prepared porters where we safely descended back to the valley and the luxuries of hot showers and cold beers.

In Summary:
Derek Buckle, Drew Cook, Rafal Malczyk, Howard Pollitt and Jamie Goodhart safely and successfully summited and made first ascents of:

• Deception Point (6068m) SE Face, Alpine F, on 18 Sep 2017;
• Tsagtuk Kangri (6071m South/6078m North) SE Face, Alpine PD, on 25 Sep 2017;
• Sumur Kangri (5991m) WNW Ridge, Alpine AD, on 29 Sep 2017.

Return to the top of this page, or to the complete Index, or to this section's Index.