Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Fall Himalayan Season Heating Up


Now that the monsoon season is drawing to a close and the Fall climbing season in the Himalaya is closing in, we're starting to see some expeditions come to light. MountEverest.net is reporting that Fall in the Himalaya is business as usual in that we have a top female climber, and a strong Russian team leading the way.

Nives Meroi and husband Romano Benet are returning to Nepal with the intent of climbing Kangchenjunga. As of now, it looks like they'll have the mountain to themselves, as not other expeditions to Kangchenjunga have been announced yet. This would be Nives and Romano's 11th 8000m peak, with their latest conquest being a summit of Everest without 02 in the Spring.

The Russian presence in the Himalaya this Fall will be smaller than what we saw recently on K2, but no less ambitious. Valeri Babanov is joining forces with Sergey Kofanov to climb the North Face of Jannu a 7710m peak that has only been climbed once before. The North Face will be a more technical climb with a mix of rock and ice on a partially overhanging wall.

And lest I forget, we also know that Alan Arnette is also returning to the Himalaya to make a run at Shisha Pangma as he continues his Road Back to Everest. We'll be following his dispatches very closely and wishing him the best of luck on that climb as well.

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