A mountaineering ascent of 5,652m Ganja La Peak in the Langtang valley, Nepal. No permit required. Movie includes maps, trail diagrams & beta. Climb probably rated Alpine PD with 30 degree ridge. Nov 2018.
A very nice video. Like others, I liked in particular the map animation and the video insert. Beside that, I appreciated the calm and very informative style of the video. Well done!
Fun movie to watch - two days ago we attempted Ganja La Chuli and were unable to summit due to conditions. An unseasonably long monsoon season and early snow in October coupled with high winds created large cornices, unstable knife edge ridges, and wind slabs. Sure wish we had your conditions!
Hello Richard , I am planning to attempt few small peaks in the Langtang valley in the last week of December. Could you provide me with some insights about the weather conditions out there that i could expect in and around the last week of December?
Hello Rajendra, I carried the minimum amount of weight possible, but made sure it was sufficient to keep me warm: small but reliable tent, warm down sleeping bag rated to -20C and sleeping mat/pad. I didn't take a stove, thinking correctly that I could find water from glacial run-off. For food I took cake, chocolate and Pringles that I bought at Kyanjin gompa. Please also make sure you have warm clothes - good boots, thermals, wind-proof jacket and a down jacket. Hope that helps, good luck and climb safe, Richard.
Really enjoyed your videos thanks Richard. I'm planning a big trip to Nepal next year linking summits from Mera Peak through to Tent Peak in the annapurna range. I'm trying to decide how best to approach this as cl;earlt it will be much more enjoyable without lumping all the gear round the whole way. I was intrigued by you soloing Lobuche and Island Peak and by starting at a sociable hour rather than an Alpine start. I do a lot of soloing in the winter in the UK and also of easy climbs and prefer the freedom this offers, and I'm also pretty fit. I'm potentially looking at Mera Peak, Amphu Labsta, Island Peak, Pokalder, Lobuche, Pachermo, Naya Kanga, Larkya Peak and Tent Peak. A friend will be joining me. What might we get away with in terms of kit to reduce the load? Which of these would we need a rope on. Did you use the fixed ropes in descent? I have a pair of lightweight boots - www.scarpa.co.uk/mountain/ribelle-tech-20-hd/ - but I'm guessing I'd be better with double boots, but this means extra weight and carrying them most of the time. Any thoughts gratefully received. Thanks.
Hi John, good to hear from you and glad my videos have provided some useful info. Sounds like a great trip you’re planning, wish I could join you! :) Alas, I now have a 3-year old, but also stuck in Australia with COVID restrictions. I think the biggest challenge will be permits, given that any peak above 5,800m requires a permit along with a local guide/team to accompany you - my tactic has been to climb solo after a bigger expedition had concluded. The local logistics company for the bigger expedition kindly organised the permit for me (at a small cost) knowing I’d be climbing solo but with their name on the permit. It did seem an unusual situation, based on comments from the national park rangers when organising the garbage deposit paperwork in the mountains - the actual money has to be retrieved later by the local logistics company in KTM from the govt. So you'll need an extra day or two at the start and end of your trip to organise these things. Weight/gear is the next challenge - by selecting objectives near to villages, it means you can buy food on the way, and only have to carry 2-3 days worth at-a-time. Most objectives are close to villages so it works well. I typically haven’t taken a stove, choosing to save weight/bulk, gambling on finding trickles of water which I always have. I don’t eat much at altitude so snacks suffice, but a hot drink would be nice. And yes, I’ve climbed during daylight hours, aware that I’m trading the risk of snow/ice conditions for the weight benefit of less warm clothes/boots. I have warm feet, and haven’t needed double boots at 6,000m when climbing during daylight hours. I think I’ve always taken trekking shoes as well as boots, the only luxury of added weight, but far nicer on the several days of trekking. I carried a rope for Parchermo, which we used for 1 abseil into the Rowaling valley near Noisy Knob. Mera Peak is very easy angled under the final summit pyramid. Amphu Labsta is quite steep on the northern side and we abseiled twice on fixed ropes. The headwall on Island Peak is quite steep and a rope nice. I didn't need a rope on Pokalde (rock scrambling) or Lobuche East (35 degree snow, everyone reaches the false summit). Parchermo was 40 degree snow but not exposed. I haven't climbed your other 3 objectives. Hope that's been useful, good luck with your trip, Rich.
Hi John, and a couple of permit-free ideas below. Since our son Ryan was born 3 years ago I’ve been looking for shorter-duration options in the Himalaya, and these are the best I've found so far: - Langtang Valley (Kyanjing Ri, Tsergo Ri, Yala Peak. Ganjala Peak, Baden Powell Peak is royalty free, plus, interesting and remote trekking into the upper Langtang valley). It works really well with the large and very comfortable Kyanjing Gompa village close to all of those peaks. - in the Annapurna area, 2 separate in-out treks: Mardi Himal, and, Tarpu Chuli / Tent Peak. - not in Nepal, various options in India, especially Ladakh with easier logistics where you can hire a taxi and get dropped-off near the base of a mountain. I still need to finish a video of my Mentok range traverse in Ladakh from 2019. Hope they’re useful options for your consideration, Rich.
@@richard_pattison Thanks so much for this Richard. I wasn't aware that it was obligatory to have a guide. So from what you say, the authorities don't give you a permit unless you have a guide? Or could I use a trekking company to obtain the permits on our behalf for a fee and we just do the peaks on our own? Did you take a rope for amphu labsta and mera? I'm guessing that its a big trail so unless there's been recent snowfall, crevasses should be obvious. Going in daylight hours makes a lot of sense to me if you move efficiently. Have you done the baden powell peak? whats it like? I've not seen any info on this. We're not planning our trip until 2022 when covid should have died down. its a different kind of adventuire with a 3 year old. I took my son backpacking when he was really young and we did the Munros together before he was 11. I'm sure that you'll have some great trips together.
@@johndavidfleetwood Hi John, I climbed Mera Peak and Amphu Labtsa as part of my Baruntse expedition (turned out to be a large team of 12 clients, 5 climbing Sherpa, a cook team and a lot of porters). The ropes were already fixed on the summit pyramid of Mera, and Amphu Labtsa, but our team had 100’s of metres spare in case. I said goodbye to the team in Chukkung and then climbed solo on Island Peak (headwall was already fixed) and Pokalde, then walked-out to Jira via the Cho La and Renjo La passes. Like you say, my tactic was climbing in daylight and late season (Nov) meaning a distinct trail on the snow and seemingly all crevasses obvious (of course some may still have been hidden?). I haven’t climbed Baden Powell Peak in the Langtang, it’s on my objective list, looks like it can be climbed in 2 days from Kyanjing Gompa once acclimatised. Jamie from Project Himalaya offers a great overview of the Nepal trekking peaks and permits here: project-himalaya.com/info-trekking-peaks.html. Hope that’s useful, Rich.
@@richard_pattison Thanks Rich. I really appreciate you taking the trouble to reply. I'm having problems trying to find the right support for this trip. It seems that the agencies have quite a fixed view and are difficult to budge from that. I approached a family run company that seems to think a porter and a sirdar is necessary when I said we were happy to carry our own stuff but wanted help with logistics and carrying rope and climbing gear. Baden Powell Peak looks a nice obective. I much prefer the uncommercialised peaks. With that in mind I'm thinking of giving Island Peak a miss. I'm also not sure about Parchamo. It looks a bit of a strenuous plod above the pass. Also it seems prone to wind. Did you walk up from the Rohwaling valley or the Khumbu? Which direction would be preferable? It would help if we didn't need a rope for the pass. You said you abbed down near Noisy Knob. Was this before the trail went to the left rather than the right of the glacier or is the way everyone goes? How easy is it to do it without using a rope? Is the glacier dry or easy enough not to need a rope? Sorry for all these questions. You've been really helpful.
Hi, thanks for watching. Yes, I climbed solo, no permit required because the mountain is under 5,800m. There were crevasses on the glacier but all exposed because I was late in the season and conditions very dry/icy. The climb is probably rated Alpine PD with a 30 degree summit ridge. It's been 20 years since I climbed in Scotland, but yeah, definitely at the lower end of Scottish grading. Rich.
Hi, I climbed Denali in 2001. I do have video footage from an old tape recorder that I've converted to digital - that's 1 of about 50 movies still on my to-do list to edit & tidy-up then publish, but my to-do list seems to keep growing rather than reducing!
