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Showing posts from December, 2024

An Alpine Season in Ladakh

An Alpine Season in Ladakh First Ascents of three 6000m peaks in the Khyam lungpa [1] Text and Photos: Anindya Mukherjee Khyam lungpa Background Sometimes, the most memorable adventures stem from the most unexpected turns. In August 2023, Christian Ranke and I, was aiming to traverse the twin summits of Kang Yatse IV, a feat that would build upon our previous success on Satopanth in 2016 [2] . Kang Yatse IV had already become familiar terrain for me—on 1st August 2021, I had been part of a team known as 2L1B (Two Ladakhi One Bengali), which made the first ‘documented’ ascent of the North summit of Kang Yatse IV (6130m). Along with Ladakhi climbers Sonam Yangjor and Stanzin Wangial Kaya, we climbed the mountain in alpine style, reaching the North Summit via the North Face-North Ridge route [3] . That ascent left me deeply connected to the region, and I was eager to return. However, this time, the mountains had different plans. After spending a week struggling up the northern slopes ...