Gaugiri | 2003

A Spain expedition to Gaugiri in 2003, led by Josep Aced. 4 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4481
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID GAUG03301
Peak ID GAUG
Year 2003
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 -
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Spain
Leaders Josep Aced
Sponsor Mustang Expedition to Gaugiri
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 France
Approach Jomson by air->Kagbeni->Tsarang->Yara->Gumathati
Basecamp Date 2003-09-05
Summit Date -
Summit Time -
Summit Days 0
Total Days 4
Termination Date 2003-09-09
Termination Reason 12
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 0
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 4
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 1
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 Climbed an unnamed (6417m?) peak southwest of Gaugiri via N Face-NE Ridge (same as Australians?)
Campsites BC(05/09,4950m),Unnamed Smt(08/09,6417m)
Route Notes BC at 4950m near lake. 6 Sept Benet Zapater and Sargji Sherpa climbed to 5800m on North Face to see NE Ridge route, turned back without going onto ridge because there was snow on ridge and they were not equipped for snow (no ice axes or crampons) and return to BC. 7th rested in BC. 8th all 4 members went to top together, arriving there at 2:00 pm. Route not technically difficult but there are crevasses. At top of ridge is plateau and to reach highest point, it is necessary to continue south for 300m to gain summit 12m higher. "I think we climbed Gaugiri" because locals had pointed out the mountain they climbed as being Gaugiri, but it was not the same mountain Americans climbed in '01 via SW Ridge. It is not possible to reach SW Ridge. Japanese map (by Ohnishi) has many mistakes: Damodar Khola actually is an E-W river, not N-S, and lakes are in wrong place. Aced's GPS said their summit was 6720m high, not the 6110m given by Tourism Ministry. March 2005 Note: Due to typographical error, the above GPS reading should have been 6270m. Peter Ackroyd - 20 May 2005 Regarding the Spanish expedition to Gaugiri we discussed this with Elizabeth in September 2003 and told her that we are sure they were not on Gaugiri and in fact were at the wrong base camp, the altitude was totally incorrect, 600m higher than the real Gaugiri and to determine that it was Gaugiri based on the “locals pointing it out” is risky. There are errors on the maps, though Ohnishi’s are more accurate, as the trail to Damodar Kunda (lakes) is incorrectly shown and the lakes are shown as being right below Gaugiri, whereas in fact they are a day south. I sent a detailed report of the errors on the maps to the ministry in 2002 and they said they would make corrections but I don’t know if they ever did. I sent an email from Kathmandu to the leader of the expedition after our meeting with Elizabeth but never got a response. I only have a printed copy of the email so can’t send it to you but this is what I said: “We are not sure exactly which peak you climbed but the altitude and location do not relate to the Gaugiri peak we climbed last year. It would help if you had the latitude and longitude of your peak. According to the “Classification of the Himalayas” published in 1985 in the American Alpine Journal and the latest 1:50000 survey maps issued by the Nepali and Finnish governments in 2000, Gaugiri is located at 29-02-45 N and 84-11-16 E and is 6110m. This is what we followed to climb Gaugiri in 2002 and we verified the location and our altimeters were within 30m (we built a cairn on the summit). There is one problem with the maps that we reported to the government survey department. All the maps show a trail leading north to lakes at 5400m below Gaugiri and indicate these lakes to be the pilgrimage site. As you know the trail leads WSW to the true pilgrimage lakes at approx. 28-58-70 N/ 84-10-00 E. It is one full days hike North up the river gorge (Damodar Khola) from these lakes to the smaller lakes at the base of Gaugiri.” I went on to ask them to send more details. In the report in the Himalayan Database they say they had a GPS so it should have been easy to give an accurate location. He is incorrect to say that the Damodar Khola does not run north as it does in fact turn north to Gaugiri. The Namta Khola and Dechya Khola run East/West. I also think they may not have had the Finn maps to refer to. There has been at least one other expedition to Gaugiri by, I think, a Japanese group and they found the right peak. I think the Spanish must have been on the range south of the Damodar Lakes and possibly on Bhrikuti but the only peak I can find at close to the altitude they report is Khumjungar Himal (6759m) which is a possibility. Most of the other peaks in the area are around 6300m. It is impossible to know without lat/long data. Peter Ackroyd - March 2006 In a note Anna Brooks received from Pep Aced, he confirmed that he had a reading of 6270m for the peak they climbed. They did not have a GPS and the altitude they gave for the Damodar Kunda lakes base camp was low by 150 to 200m. If I am correct, McConnell and Brooks and the Spanish may have climbed the 6417 peak.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Asian Holidays
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2318
Year 2003
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) -

Members

4 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Josep Aced Masjoan M 1948 Spain Leader Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain Physician Details Other expeditions
Serge Philippe Benet Mas M 1951 France Climber Carretera d'Escas la Massama, Andorra Sports shop manager Details Other expeditions
Adria Font Alcaniz M 1945 Spain Climber Matadepera, Barcelona, Spain Electronics technician Details Other expeditions
Francesc Zapater Coma M 1952 Spain Climber Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain Electrical and hydrological technician Details Other expeditions

References

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
GAUG03301 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 78:393 (2004) -
GAUG03301 HIGH - - - 265:63 (Dec 2004) -
GAUG03301 CLIM - - - 17:75-76 (Jul 2006) -
GAUG03301 AAJ Griffin, Lindsay - - 80:406-408 (2006) -
GAUG03301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200439301/Asia-Nepal-Danodar-Himal-Gaugiri-Second-and-Third-Ascents-by-a-New-Route - - -