Trek and Climb with RAJA

View from our ABC in 2016. Unnamed and unclimbed 5000m peaks in the background.  Background In October-November 2014 [i] , led by Alan Tees, the past President of Mountaineering Ireland, our party was the first team to complete the traverse of the Zumthul Phuk Chu gorge as envisioned by John Claude White in 1891. In the end, the 2014 expedition came back home with first ascents of Brother Tees Col (5250m) and One Hand Peak (5100m). The real discovery of the 2014 expedition was however, the massive potential of climbing hitherto unclimbed peaks and passes in a virtually unknown territory hidden in close quarters of the mighty Kangchenjunga. A brief report of the 2014 expedition can be found here:  Zumthul Phuk Expedition 2014   Expedition Summary 2016 In October-November 2016, led by Jack Bergin, a team of eight climbers and two support members entered Zumthul Phuk glacier once again. They established their Base Camp in the same place as in 2014 and...

An alpine style attempt on Peak Lenin 7134m Text and Photos: Athol Jake Preston and Anindya Mukherjee Summary: In August 2016, two friends, Athol Jake Preston (Australia) and Anindya Mukherjee (India) decided to rope up and climb the 7134m high Pik/Peak Lenin [1] by its north-west ridge (Razdelnaya route) in the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia in carry-camp and climb style, unsupported by porters or guides. They had to turn back from their summit camp (6148m) due to a heavy snow storm. Peak Lenin from Base Camp Achik Tash  “All big mountains are potentially dangerous; like fast cars they must be treated with respect. Yet if one uses common sense they can be traversed and enjoyed with impunity. The two popular ranges ...the Caucasus and the Pamir, are high and subject to violent storms. Also being marooned in a vast land mass they can be grippingly cold.”-Hamish Macinnes   “In 1974 the objectives were ambitious-nothing less than an alpine-style cli...

Two Peaks, Two Passes in Two Weeks Fluted Peak 6139. A 1994 photo by Arun Samant. Image Courtesy: The Himalayan Journal Summary: In July 2017, a team of experienced mountaineers and expedition guides of Adventure Mania invites aspiring climbers to participate and climb with them in the Losar valley where over 14 peaks are over 5900m. In this trip however, we plan to climb two major mountains, namely Larimo (5995m) and Fluted Peak (6139m) and also climb two passes in the process: Gyundi Pass (5700m) and Losar Pass (5715m). The itinerary is built in a way so that the climber can acclimatise well and enjoy the expedition thoroughly and yet the trip ends within a comfortable time frame of just 2 weeks ex Manali.  The Mountains : Fluted Peak 6139m and Larimo 5995m Location : North West Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, Losar Valley, Catchments of the Suvita Nala Difficulty : The climbs are from Basic snow & ice to mixed rock and ice climb. Fairly interesting a...