Page 21 - 1996 AMA Autumn

Naya Kanga Irom Tserko Peak
The reduction in altitude as we descended into the Langtang valley and the gradual ascent to our base camp at the village of Kyangjing Gompa aided the teams acclima­ tisation. This left everyone enthusiastic for the next phase of the expedition.
The first mountain attempted was Yala Peak. This gave the less experienced mem­ bers the opportunity to practice their snow and ice skills, before attempting the more technical route of Naya Kanga. After breakfast at Kyangjing Gompa, we spent the next eight hours ascending to a group of yak huts known as Yala Base Camp. On our arrival we settled ourselves into the huts, made brews, checked kit, and set about preparing the evening meal. At 0400 hrs the following morning, we set off for the summit, only to find that progress was painfully slow. The snow cover was a thin weak crust that collapsed under foot, sink­ ing us waist deep into granulated snow. After two hours of exhausted effort we called off the attempt and made our way back down to Kyangjing Gompa.
The snow that had affected the region eight days previously had certainly made condi­ tions difficult, and it was thought that sim­ ilar snow conditions would be encountered on Naya Kanga making an attempt just as unsuccessful. We decided upon other objec­ tives and the next few days were spent ascending an unnamed peak at 4773m and Tserko peak at 5000m. Exploration of the upper Langtang valley was also carried out, all of which restored group moral and gave the expedition members a feeling of achievement.
On 23 November we left Kyangjing Gompa, having recruited local porters for our two day walk-out to the road head at Syabrue Bensi in the Trisuli valley. On completion of a ten hour spine racking bus ride back to Kathmandu, we were left with a couple of days in which to explore the flesh pot, before returning home.
D isappointm ent over not achieving our original aims of climbing Yala Peak and Naya Kanga were soon put into perspective when the realization of recent tragedies became apparent. The prolonged period of bad w eather had caused the tragic avalanches in the Everest region, and it wasn’t until our return to Kathmandu that we became fully aware of the situation.
NG 2-29
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Competition Winner
The Manta HVS 6a Belthan Door, Northumberland.
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