Exploring the South Lachama Khola

by Derek Buckle

It is over twenty years since I last climbed in Nepal so the opportunity to do so again in 2019 was an exciting option, particularly since we planned to visit one of the less frequented regions to the far west of the country, which would be completely new to all of the team. After some discussion we finally homed in on the southern branch of the Lachama Khola in the Changla Himal where a number of potential unclimbed peaks had been identified.

With all formalities settled, in late September Drew Cook, Lorna Earl, Mike Fletcher, Nick King, Steve Humphries and I flew via Kathmandu to the remote hilltop town of Simikot where our adventure really began. At almost 3000m, Simikot is an ideal place to acclimatise, but we did not linger long – just sufficiently to eat lunch and meet up with our support team before starting the 45km, five-day trek to our base camp at 4348m at the bifurcation of the north and south Lachama valleys. The small apparent height difference between Simikot and BC belied the effort involved as over 1500m of height loss was incurred and late monsoon rains had made the steep, bouldery track slippery and hazardous. The ascent was not helped by the vast numbers of domestic animals being brought down from the high pastures for the winter, causing frequent long delays while they passed.

With BC established we set about identifying a more suitable advance base camp from which to explore the upper reaches of the south Lachama Khola and properly assess the climbing opportunities. Seated in comfort at home we had selected two possible objectives, PK 5822, which had been suggested to us by Julian Freeman-Attwood, and another peak of similar height at the head of a glacial spur further up the valley. It was from our ABC at 4585m that we then set about our exploration proper. The first forays focused on the attractive peak furthest from camp and we spent several days trying to find an optimal route to this through the complex moraine above ABC. It was during these forays that we gradually became aware that this secondary objective was in fact the true PK 5822 and that the peak initially believed to be this was in reality PK 5703, and designated by us at the time as false PK 5822.

Nevertheless, this did not detract from the attractiveness of either peak and initially we had high hopes of climbing both. These aspirations were short-lived, however, when first we realised that access to true PK 5822 was guarded both by the lengthy, complex moraine and a problematic icefall that we would need to surmount if we were to locate a higher camp on the plateau from which to mount an assault. Refocusing our efforts on false PK 5822 (PK 5703) we later established a high camp at 5120m just below the Lurupaya Pass from which we had hoped to attempt the peak. Once again this was not to be. Frequent snow storms had severely complicated the face by which we planned to gain access and the team consensus was that an attempt was not justified. Not wishing to leave the valley without any ascents under our belt, several of the team did eventually struggle up to the ridge leading westwards from the pass in the hope of climbing one or more of its prominent outcrops before a final 20m impasse at 5320m prevented us from attaining the highest point.

It is unfortunate that the team was dogged by persistent poor weather, particularly during the early part of this expedition. This laid down substantial quantities of fresh, unconsolidated snow on top of horrendous moraines and boulder-fields, making both exploration and climbing a serious challenge. Nevertheless, it was a privilege to visit this remote region of Nepal with its opportunity to meet and interact with local villagers. Being a remote area we also had several sightings of eagles, lammergeiers and herds of wild mountain sheep. We are grateful to the Mount Everest Foundation, The Montane Alpine Club Climbing Fund and the Austrian Alpine Club (UK) for their support in making it happen.

PK 5703 (false PK 5822) massif from Lurupaya Pass at 5201m

High camp below the Lurupaya Pass at 5120m

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