Skip to main content

Expedition to climb Zemu Gap from south: our first attempt fails in November 2011


In November 2011, a small team from Adventure Mania made an attempt to ascend Zemu Gap from south (tongshiong glacier).

approaching guicha la



Starting from Yoksum they crossed Guicha la and descended down the talung glacier via Yongiotak. Making a base near the junction of talung chu and tongshiong chu they managed to climb the rock wall and camped next to tongshiong's vast and complicated icefall.

our tent after the 5 days of snow storm in the tongshiong ice fall

abseiling in near blinding white out

Simvu and Tongshiong glacier as seen from our base camp

Our base camp after 5 days of snow. Pandim in the backdrop, Talung face visible



Their further progress was foiled due to 5 days of non stop snow storm. They however managed to repeat the 1936 Tilman route down the Rukel and Rongyoung chu gorge. From Yoksum to Mangan it took them 12 days in total( From Tongshiong base it took them 5 days). The members were Lhakpa Sherpa, Thendup Sherpa, Arjun Saha, Arindam Sarkar, Dukpa Tsering Sherpa, Pemba Sherpa and Anindya Mukherjee. This is the fourth party to have succesfully done this traverse (1890-Claude White, 1920-Raeburn, 1936-Tilman). Anindya and Thendup also achieved a rare privilage to have done this traverse from both directions (March 2011-Mangan to Yoksum:Expedition Mayel Lyang 2011). Adventure Mania is going back to Tongshiong glacier in December 2011.

Popular posts from this blog

Re-imagining The Future Of The Indian Adventurer- TedX Jadavpur University 2019

On 28th March, 2019, I was invited to speak at a TedX event organized by the Jadavpur University. The title of my talk was- ' Re-imagining the Future of the Indian Adventurer'. Here it is:  Here is the text of my talk along with the illustrations that I used that day.  Re-imagining The Future Of The Indian Adventurer   Image: Anindya Mukherjee Perhaps today my objective, above anything else, is to share a perspective. As we re-imagine the future in our own different ways, my personal motivation to do so, was simply to learn more and to explore- both what lies out there, and what I can find within myself. To satiate that urge I resorted to adventure, and I found that it answered in unexpected, mysterious, yet beautiful ways. Over the past 20 years I learnt that a life of adventure, like a few other noble pursuits, demands a long and devoted apprenticeship, physical, as well as philosophical.   I also learnt that adventure makes yo...
Read more

Nelion SE Face 2020- a Report

Introduction My first visit to the continent of Africa happened in 2005 and the sole purpose of that trip was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. No sooner had I finished the ascent to the roof of Africa, than I was invited by a complete stranger to visit his newly erected chapel in a remote village outside Arusha. ‘If you want to see the Real Africa you must come to my village,’ he said, and I followed him just like a hypnotized human being. My love affair with Africa started that day and I kept going back to Africa ever since. In 2012, I set out on my bicycle from Nanyuki, Kenya to Walvis Bay, Namibia; covering 5000 kms, across 5 countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Namibia) in 69 days. This trip changed my approach towards life, and my love and understanding of Africa became deeper. To me, since then, the real Africa has been its people. Moreover, it is in this trip, I saw Mt. Kenya for the very first time.  On top of Kilimajnaro in 2005 In 2016, Martin Boner (...
1 comment
Read more

Zemu Gap from south: the first documented ascent

view of Kangchenjunga south summit and Talung peaks from Tongshyong glacier. Pic. Anindya Mukherjee Text & Photographs: Anindya Mukherjee Introduction The history of exploration around Kangchenjunga [1] , especially around its south, south east and east flanks; has always fascinated me. The classic journeys and adventures of pioneers [2] like W.W. Graham, John Claude White, Douglas Freshfield, Dr. A.M. Kellas, Harold Raeburn, N.A.Tombazi, Lord John Hunt and Paul Bauer ignited my imagination. The height of inspiration of course came from reading my hero Mr. H.W. Tilman’s account in the Himalayan Journal (vol. IX) on his attempt on Zemu Gap from south in 1936. The primary challenge of climbing Zemu Gap from south has always been its remote & complicated approach. Many failed just to reach the foot of this col. To add to that its apparently impregnable defenses took Zemu Gap to a next level of exploratory climbing. In 1925, Greek photographer N.A.Tombazi is sai...
Read more