Tibet's Jang Tsang Go climbed by Domen Kastelic, Olov Isaksson & Marcus Palm

Slovenia's Domen Kastelic and Sweden’s Olov Isaksson and Marcus Palm have made what they believe is the first ascent of Jang Tsang Go, a 6300m high peak in the West Nyenchen Tanglha mountain range in Tibet.

Acting on information provided by Isaksson who had climbed in the massif a few years ago, the trio met in China’s Chengdu metropolis at the start of September. From here they travelled to the Siguniang massif, circa 200km NW of Chengdu, to acclimatize prior to Tibet, but poor weather impeded them from climbing any higher than 5000m. They returned to Chengdu, flew to Lhasa where they made their final preparations, and then spent the next half-day traveling towards the Suge La pass and their first objective, peak Jang Tsang Go.

Base camp was established on a pleasant meadow close to a stream at roughly 5000m. The next two days were used to acclimatize further and observe the mountain, and so they hiked to the 5800m summit of a mountain on the opposite side of the valley that provided interesting views onto Jang Tsang Go. Poor conditions forced them to wait patiently in base camp, and just before having to leave the area they received the three-day weather window they had been waiting for.

The trio departed on the 18th of September for the NE Face and after four hours reached a point on the glacier where they pitched their tent and established their advanced base camp. A short, restless night followed and they woke to clouds and wind. They ascended a lower snowfield in the dark and reached the steepest section of the route at the first light. Spindrift hampered progress on the first pitches but then they made smooth progress, climbing for 12 hours. The line they chose offered them some steep mixed and ice pitches, scratching on the slabs, exposed ridge climbing and even some wading through deep snow. Close to the summit but unsure how long the the final stretch might take, they decided to bivy somewhere on the upper section of the East face, below a rocky overhang. The next morning they were in no rush and so they waiting for the sunshine to hit the face before continuing. After the first pitch they realized they were just below the top, and two pitches later they summited. Ritual photos were taken and then they descended down the North side of the mountain; initial abseils led to terrain which they scrambled down to reach the glacier and return to BC.

The next day they packed up base camp and then made their way to the Suge La pass, but due to bureaucratic visa problems they initially failed to reach the Tibetan valley they hoped to explore. They eventually established base camp close to the village Ji Ma Gang at 4600m but mountain they hoped to climb remained shrouded in clouds and, with only four days left, they started their return home.

The expedition wishes to thank: Norrona, Grivel, Kayland, Tendon, Roo’bar!

POST SCRIPTUM - 10/11/2016 at 18:20
On 3 November 2016 the dead bodies of Domen Kastelic (34) and Italian mountaineer Daniele Colombo (36) were found on Mont Blanc, buried by an avalanche. The two had set off from Rifugio Monzino on Saturday 29 October and were ascending towards the Eccles bivouac, which they did not reach. info: www.ilsecoloxix.it