UKC

British First Ascent in Nepal by Coles and Verspeak

© Becky Coles

British mountaineers Becky Coles and Simon Verspeak have just returned from Nepal, where they made the first ascent of an unnamed c. 6200m peak in the Far West of the country, climbing alpine style via the East Ridge to reach the summit on Friday 11th November.

Becky summitting Peak 6246m  © Becky Coles
Becky summitting Peak 6246m
© Becky Coles

They initially scoped out the North Ridge, but retreated due to poor snow and high winds, before looking at the East Ridge, which turned out to be less technical. Becky described the mountain as follows:

'The summit was a striking pyramid peak, quite distinct in the area, and marked on the map as Peak 6246m. We were given a photo of the peak by Mick Fowler who saw it on his way in to Gave Ding in 2015.'

photo
Approaching Peak 6246m with the North Ridge to the right and the East Ridge (climbed route) on the left.
© Becky Coles

From their research, the pair believed that the peak was unclimbed, and so were surprised and disappointed to find evidence of a camp at the edge of the moraine:

'Previous climbers had begun to fix ropes but these stopped at around 5200m on the glacier and we saw no further evidence of fixed ropes critically on the climbing sections on the ridge, therefore believing that the summit hadn’t yet been reached.'

Simon trekking in to the Lor Khola to establish a base camp. Peak 6246m dominates the valley.  © Becky Coles
Simon trekking in to the Lor Khola to establish a base camp. Peak 6246m dominates the valley.
© Becky Coles

The weather was very suitable in Nepal during the latter part of the Autumn, which the expedition benefitted from, although deep unconsolidated snow on the glacier made gaining the ridge hard work. The East Ridge was climbed at AD. Becky added:

'From the summit of Peak 6246m we could see both Gave Ding and the sacred mountain of Mt Kailash in Tibet.'

Simon taking a look at possible routes on Peak 6246m.  © Becky Coles
Simon taking a look at possible routes on Peak 6246m.
© Becky Coles

Watch a brief UKC interview with Becky at Kendal Mountain Festival below:

The expedition was supported by Lowe Alpine, Rab Equipment, Leki UK, Primus, Klymit, Beta Climbing Designs and Sterling Rope, and funded by the Mount Everest Foundation, Montane Alpine Club Climbing Fund and the Austrian Alpine Club (UK branch).


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27 Nov, 2016
Brilliant job Becky and Simon. What a great looking peak.
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