It was one of the many exciting alpinistic highlights of this fall season in the Himalayas. The two Austrians Lukas Waldner (24) and Benjamin Zörer (24) and the Italians Francois Cazzanelli (35) and Giuseppe Vidoni (31) succeeded in making the first ascent of Kimshung in Nepal in alpine style.
The 6,781-meter-high mountain, also known as Tsangbu Ri, is located in Langtang National Park, about 75 kilometers north of the capital Kathmandu as the crow flies.
On 20 October, the four mountaineers climbed from their advanced camp at 5,450 meters on the Kimshung Glacier to the summit in just ten hours and descended again on the same day. They named their route (1,300 meters, 60°, AI4, M5) “Destiny”: “for the many stories that converged beneath this mountain – including the meeting of the four climbers who return home not only with a proud ascent, but above all, with a great new friendship,” as the quartet wrote on Instagram.
Two rope teams joined forces
The mountaineers from Austria and Italy had only met at the foot of the mountain and decided to climb together. Cazzanelli had already attempted Kimshung twice without success. In 2015, his team had been stopped by the devastating earthquake in Nepal, which killed almost 9,000 people. In 2016, Francois had to abandon his attempt on Kimshung after being hit by a rock at an altitude of almost 6,000 meters.
After returning from Nepal, Tyrolean mountaineer Lukas Waldner answered my questions about the now successful expedition.
Lukas, how do you rank the first ascent of Kimshung in your personal career?
Continue reading “Lukas Waldner after the first ascent of Kimshung: “Cooperation is stronger than competition””
