Baruntse | 2019 SE Ridge

A USA expedition to Baruntse in 2019 via SE Ridge, led by Marek Wencel. 5 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 10387
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID BARU19303
Peak ID BARU
Year 2019
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 SE Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Marek Wencel
Sponsor Crew Trek International Baruntse Expedition 2019
Success 1 False
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Lukla->Khare->Baruntse BC
Basecamp Date 2019-10-17
Summit Date -
Summit Time -
Summit Days 0
Total Days 11
Termination Date 2019-10-28
Termination Reason 5
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6100m due to deep snow and bad weather forecast
High Point (m) 6500
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 1
Fixed Rope (m) 200
Total Members 3
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 2
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(17/10,5700m),C1(24/10,6100m),xxx
Route Notes Once team reached C1 at West Col at 6100m the weather turn for the worst and after 2 nights at C1, they returned to BC. Since the long term forecast was quite grim, they transitioned to Island Peak BC and climbed Island Peak instead. Team fixed 200m up to West Col from BC. Crew Treks FB Report: Marek Wencel is with Domi Sherpa and 4 others. November 1, 2019 Mera Peak and Baruntse Expedition Trip Report-you can't always get what you want! As the monsoon season was lingering over Nepal for an extra month stay, we rolled into Kathmandu with high hopes this monsoon thing does not involve us. After two days in the shit show of Kathmandu's Thamel District, we were desperately trying to get to the mountains. While waiting for two days at airports in Kathmandu and Ramechhap, we could not waste any more days - we pulled our ace of spades; Domi get us a chopper out of here! As the countless of tourists waited for their flights out of town, got on "one and only" heli that took off that day. Our pilot, Alister from Calgary somehow found a hole in the clouds and offloaded our group at Pangon, a village two days walk from Lukla; thus, saving us two days of hiking and putting us back on schedule. The next few days we walked in rain, fog and mist. Often slipped on steep trails, attacked by leaches and soaked to the bone. Once we got to Kote, the weather started to improve and we finally got to see Mera Peak in its full glory. The next few days consisted of acclimatization hikes and slow movement towards Khare, last major settlement at 17,000ft. As we got higher, the weather and snow conditions gotten better and better, no wind, no snowfall and everyone healthy! Our move to High Camp at 19,000ft went without a hitch and we settled for sleepless night before our summit bid. While all the groups were getting ready, High Camp was as busy as ever; kitchen workers dishing out meals, climbers running for the toilet, occasional pukes next to the tents and Sherpas tending to their teams. Domi Sherpa left with Jarek Sochacki at 2 am and Tom Tom, Brian Bowie and I roped up and got going at 2:45 am. 4 hr and 30 min of steady climbing got us to the summit. At 6200m (20350ft) Jarek and Domi had to turn around. Once back at the High Camp, we ate quick lunch, packed up and continued down to Mera La Pass at 5400m (17,700ft). At this point, Jarek Sochacki continued his journey back to Khare and then on Lukla, we on the other side continued long walk to Kongma Dingma and Baruntse BC, some 3 days walk down Hinku Valley. The weather continued to impress, and we hiked in the company of no one! The remoteness of Hinku Valley was profound; no people, no guest houses, no yaks-only incredible scenery! Upon our arrival at Baruntse BC, we quickly settled in and rested for one full day (the last 6 days were, go, go, go!). Our rest day was used for Puja (blessing of the expedition)Lama walked one full day from Kare to perform this ritual. The next day, we made a deposit run to 6000m/20,000ft just below fixed lines leading to the West Col at 6200m/20,350ft. Few days later, under already changing weather, we climbed to C1 at 6200m/20,350ft and settled in for the night. Little did we know, a two day storm engulfed the region with new 1/2m of snow, strong winds and ZERO visibility. The slopes between C1 and C2 been loaded with additional windblown fresh snow making progress impossible. Our Sherpa Team of Domi Sherpa and Salaka Mingma Crpa would not even dare to make it back to C1 at 6500m/21,300ft to retrieve deposited fixed lines, gas, food and pickets. We quickly realized-those slopes will take at least 7-9 days to stabilize and we'll need strong winds to help! Now, running out of time on Baruntse, we went for back up plan, Island Peak 6179m/20,300ft. Located one full and long days walk from Baruntse, one ONLY needs to cross the infamous Amphu Lhapcha Pass at 5800m/19,000ft. Again, the weather gotten worse and we labored up and down the pass under light snow. We followed some old fixed lines, steel cables and metal rods dotting Class 3 and Class 4 exposed terrain. Porters had hell of a time moving up and down on this terrain. I'm glad everyone stayed safe and we got to Chhukung under headlamps. After a day's rest, Brian Bowie and Tom Tom moved with Salaka Mingma Crpa Sherpa to Island Peak BC and Domi Sherpa and I hitched a heli back to Lukla-the next hours plus we dealt with Nepal Ministry of Tourism to get back our $2K garbage deposit-success! The next morning, as we waited for our flight back to Ramechhap we got message from Salaka Mingma Crpa - success; Brian Bowie and Tom Tom summited Island Peak! Even tough we did not get to summit our main objective Baruntse, considering the weather conditions we did great! Congratulations to Tom Jordan and Brian Bowie on your summits of Mera Peak and Island Peak. More summits await you! Jarek Sochacki: congratulations on your 6200m; next time will be better! Ralf Langer, sorry you got injured and could not join us in the mountains; do not despair; join another Crew Treks climb! Thank you Domi Sherpa, Salaka Mingma Sherpa and porters for your hard work and ingenuity to get things going! Until next time!
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Eco Tourism Adventure
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 4089
Year 2019
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) se ridge

Members

5 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Marek Jan Wencel M 1967 USA/Poland Leader Seattle, Washington Flight attendant Details Other expeditions
Brian Lee Bowie M 1966 USA Climber Auburn, Washington - Details Other expeditions
Thomas Hunter Jordan M 1969 USA Climber - - Details Other expeditions
Domi Sherpa M 1980 Nepal H-A Worker Garma-8, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Mingma Sherpa M - Nepal H-A Worker - - Details Other expeditions

References

2 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
BARU19303 - - https://www.facebook.com/pg/CrewTreks/posts/ - - -
BARU19303 - - https://www.facebook.com/domi.sherpa?fref=profile_friend_list&hc_location=friends_tab - - -