Ganchenpo | 1971 S Face

A USA expedition to Ganchenpo in 1971 via S Face, led by Terry Bech. 4 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4821
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID GANC71302
Peak ID GANC
Year 1971
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Terry Bech
Sponsor -
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 1st
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Australia
Approach Langshisa Glacier
Basecamp Date -
Summit Date -
Summit Time -
Summit Days 0
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 6378
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 4
Summit Members 2
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 -
Campsites BC(5200m),Smt(Oct/Nov)
Route Notes Al Read - July 22, 2005 (by email) The first ascent of Ganchempo was in late October/early November 1971 by Terry and Cherie Bech. Jennifer Read and I were with them but I got pulmonary edema at about 17,000 feet and descended back to Langshisa with Jennifer. Jennifer and I then trekked back to Kathmandu. A week later Jennifer and I flew back with Emil Wick to pick up Terry and Cherie in Langtang. The four of us had trained all summer (monsoon) by hiking up Nagarjung in the Queens Forest with loads of bricks in our packs. Cherie always was at the top first - a very driven woman! We had intended to fly into Langtang to begin the expedition but there had been a heavy snowfall and Wick had to land in Tangmujet instead. This caused a delay in getting to Langshisa and so we moved too fast to altitude - at least for me. As you know, the peak was not on any Nepalese climbing permitted "list" so the mountain was not legal in any way. At the time I was as Foreign Service Officer posted to the American Embassy in Kathmandu so it was extremely inappropriate for me to attempt the peak at all --- but we were young then. The route was the SE Ridge or rather the east side of the South Face. The approach was from Langshisa up the west moraine of the glacier descending from Dorje Lhapka. I think it was the Langshisa Glacier but I do not have a map in front of me.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2286
Year 1971
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face

Members

4 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Terrance (Terry) Bech M - USA Leader Kathmandu Executive secretary of US Educational Foundation in Nepal Details Other expeditions
William Albert (Al) Read M 1936 USA Climber Kathmandu Foreign service officer (US Embassy) Details Other expeditions
Cherie Louise Bech F 1945 Australia Climber Kathmandu Nurse Details Other expeditions
Jennifer Read F - USA Climber - - Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.