AdventureSport

The Unconquered Prize: Exploring the Climbing History of Jannu East

Ossie Khan

04th July 2024 2 min read

Every spring for over a century, the American Alpine Club announces the American expeditions they will support with a Cutting Edge Grant. This grant backs pure alpine-style projects on challenging, remote mountains. This year, five peaks will see action: Shivling, Yashkuk Sar, Jannu East, Ultar Sar, and Chiling II. This series delves into the climbing history of each peak. We’ve already explored Shivling and Yashkuk Sar. Today, we turn our attention to the unclimbed Jannu East.

 

Jannu, also known as Khumbhakarna or Phoktanglungma, stands in eastern Nepal, 9.5 km west of the 8,586m Kangchenjunga, near the Indian border. The Jannu Glacier spans the mountain’s north side, while the Yalung Glacier on the south and east, and the Yamatari Glacier on the west, approach deep into its core.

 

Jannu’s main peak is 7,711m, while Jannu East stands at 7,468m. All climbing routes on this colossal massif are extremely difficult. Jannu East remains one of the most coveted and unclimbed prizes in Nepal.

 

Confusion often arises between the east face of Jannu and Jannu East. The east face remains unclimbed to the summit, though Russian climbers Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov opened the face in 2019, reaching the south ridge at 7,412m before retreating. Meanwhile, Jannu East has thwarted several attempts and remains unclimbed by any route.

 

In autumn 1957, Guido Magnone led a reconnaissance expedition to Jannu with Jean Bouvier, Pierre Leroux, and five sherpas led by Gyalzen Sherpa. Magnone reported, “We have now seen all the faces of Jannu and have examined all its ridges. It…seems to present a continuous series of difficulties from its base to its summit.”

 

In spring 1959, Jean Franco led a 12-member French team, including some previous expedition members, in an attempt to climb Jannu by the south ridge using supplementary oxygen. They gave up at 7,400m due to dangerous conditions.

 

The French finally succeeded in spring 1962. Lionel Terray led a team including Andre Bertrand, Jean Bouvier, Guy De Haynin, Rene Desmaison, Paul Keller, Maurice Lenoir, Pierre Leroux, Robert Paragot, Yves Pollet-Villard, Jean Ravier, Rene Vernadet, Gyalzen Sherpa, and Wangdi Sherpa. They climbed the south ridge without supplementary oxygen. On April 27, Desmaison, Keller, Paragot, and Gyalzen summited. The next day, Bertrand, Bouvier, Leroux, Pollet-Villard, Ravier, Wangdi Sherpa, and Terray reached the top.

 

Jannu East remains a significant challenge for future climbers, continuing to draw the interest and ambition of the world’s elite mountaineers.

 

 

Source: https://explorersweb.com/climbing-history-of-the-peaks-of-the-2024-cutting-edge-grants-part-3-jannu-east/

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