Chobuje | 2015 W Face (up), SE side (down)

A Nepal expedition to Chobuje in 2015 via W Face (up), SE side (down), led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa. Summit reached on 28th October 2015. 1 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 8953
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID CHOB15301
Peak ID CHOB
Year 2015
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Face (up), SE side (down)
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Nepal
Leaders Mingma Gyalje Sherpa
Sponsor Everest Nepalese Solo Climbing
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Gongar->Rolwaling Valley
Basecamp Date 2015-10-27
Summit Date 2015-10-28
Summit Time 1715
Summit Days 1
Total Days 3
Termination Date 2015-10-30
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 6686
Traverse True
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 1
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
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 Had permit for Beding Go
Campsites BC(27/10,6500m),Biv1(28/10,6500m),Biv2(29/10,6400m),Smt(28/10)
Route Notes BC 27/10 5300m Bv1 28/10 6500m Bv2 29/10 6400m Smt 28/10 by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa at 5:15 pm. Took 2 60m ropes, 2 Cobra ice axes and no bivouac gear. On 28 Oct, started 4 am, climbed up a 200m long rocky ridge, then down-climbed 60m to reach the snow. Proper beginning of the face at 5:30 am, with first 100m little step (45 degrees), then straight up (continous 75 to 80 degrees all the way up). At 2 places created some small platforms to stay and relax, otherwise no place to put a tent. Ice covered by snow two layers, so had to climb "on a lateral way", never straight to avoid to destablilize this particular snow layers. Reached summit of the West Face at 5 pm, then main summit at 5:15 pm through a flat ridge (not corniced). First tried to descend by the South Ridge, but after a while trapped in complete white-out. So waited a little, but nothing happened. Tried to move down on the SE side, then tried shelter under a little ice serac at around 6500m reached around 6:30 pm. Spent one night there with no tent, food, gas, water nothing! Cold night waiting for the day. On 29 Oct weather still cloudy! Around 11:30 am, with little visibility could see 2 small mountains in front of him, but couldn't recognize it despite being his homeland. So at some ice serac just followed an azimuth and thus went 100m down. At the end of it, didn't see he was reaching soem snow ice overhanging border: his legs breaking it, he fell down some 10 feet. Quite shocked after that, he just traversed from there some 10 horizontal meters to avoid the overhang above him. 2nd night without equipment curled up to economize his energy, that night becoming windy compared with the previous one. During the night, in newly clear sky conditions could see everything (was looking his watch all night long), but about 4 am weather went covered again! Around 6 am, went a little visible, made phone calls to his friends for helicopter rescue, but no hope helicopter could pick him up in these cloudy conditions. Stayed there anyway feeling like "If I go down I just have to die." Luckily helicopter came around 7:30 am, [and took him] back to Na 5 minutes later. The day after on 31 Oct he flew back to Kathmandu by helicopter for some minor cares in CIWEC hospital (one blister on a finger foot) First ever technical solo ascent by a Nepali Sherpa. In his website, Mingma considers it however as his most dangerous climb and also his biggest mistake! Thought he could climb the face up and down within the same day. This project was otherwise part of a wider project built with 3 other Sherpas friends of Rolwaling, aiming to climb 3 mountains in 3 days (actually done: Langdak, Raungsiyar and Thakargo East), plus this solo ascent of Chobutse. Goal was to make hobby more popular amongst younger Nepalis and also make Rolwaling better known. Mingma thinks mountaineering so far was just being a professional activity for older Nepalis. Youngsters now begin to enjoy it more as a hobby, doing ice and rock climbing by themselves. Next: Nanga Parbat in summer 2016 for Mingma, as his mother forbids him to try it in winter.
Accidents
Achievement 1st ascent of West Face of Chobutse; 1st solo ascent by a Sherpa of a technical route
Agency Dreamers Destination Treks
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2462624
Year 2015
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w face (up), se side (down)

Members

1 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa M 1986 Nepal Leader Beding, Dolakha Managing director of Dreamers Destination Treks Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
CHOB15301 ALP Sherpa, Mingma Gyalje Full Value - 53:91-94 (Spr 2016) -
CHOB15301 AAJ Sherpa, Mingma Gyalje - - 90:339-340 (2016) -
CHOB15301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201213855/Chobutse-West-Face-Dorjee-Sherpa-Route - - -