Gurja Himal | 1969 NW Face-W Ridge
A Japan expedition to Gurja Himal in 1969 via NW Face-W Ridge, led by Yoshimi Yakushi. Summit reached on 1st November 1969. 10 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 2498 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | GURJ69301 |
| Peak ID | GURJ |
| Year | 1969 |
| Season | 3 |
| Host Country | 1 |
| Route 1 | NW Face-W Ridge |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | Japan |
| Leaders | Yoshimi Yakushi |
| Sponsor | Kitanippon Press & Kitanippon Broadcasting Company |
| 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 | - |
| Approach | Pokhara->Beni->Darbang->Budzunge Bara La->Kaphe Khola |
| Basecamp Date | 1969-10-04 |
| Summit Date | 1969-11-01 |
| Summit Time | 1445 |
| Summit Days | 28 |
| Total Days | 35 |
| Termination Date | 1969-11-08 |
| Termination Reason | 1 |
| Termination Notes | - |
| High Point (m) | 7193 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 5 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 8 |
| Summit Members | 1 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 8 |
| Summit Hired | 1 |
| 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 Ghustang North (GHUN-693-01) |
| Campsites | BC(04/10,4100m),C1(09/10,4750m),C2A(14/10,5000m),C2B(18/10,5300m),C3.ABC(22/10,5750m),C4(24/10,5900m),C5(29/10,6450m),Smt(01/11) |
| Route Notes | Ito & Yakushi - 20 Nov 69 All members now in KTM. C5 6450m - most difficult climbing between C1 (4750m) and C2 (5300m). C3 at 5750m. Searching route up Kaphe Glacier west of Gurja Himal and then rock face at 5000m, 750m high (C3 at top). Fixed rope 1400m on rock face. Took one week up face; deep snow above C3 to near top, but not so difficult climbing. Generously good weather. Left base camp 8 Nov. 4 members go to Namche. Yakushi leaves for Japan 10 Dec and Ito for Japan about 25 Nov. Gurja a peak suitable for small (5-6 members) expedition. Very attractive for such expedition. This expedition really 6 climbers. Gurja very interesting skiing - nice runs above rock face and also neighbouring peaks. South Face of Gurja very difficult, but maybe very interesting: all rock climbing (maybe all way from base to summit fixed rope and hand tents). North Face very easy. To Pokhara (15 Sept) Shimioda, Sakai, 4 Sherpas To Pokhara (16 Sept) Ito. Liaison officer To Pokhara (20 Sept) Leader, 4 other members, 4 Sherpas Sirdar: Tenzing Girme RNAC (fax lists) Sakai, Saeki and Inoue Flew scheduled flight to Pokhara Sept 15. Charter cancelled no flight to Pokhara Sept 14. Shimoda, Yakushi and 2 Sherpas booked for 14th but flight cancelled. Ito & Yakushi - 12 Sept 69 Leader leaves 14 Sept Ito 15 Sept others 16 Sept Pokhara-Kusana-Beni-Dharbang-Gurja Khani. Base in upper stream of Ghustang Khola end of Sept. Approach peak from west-northwest. Summit attempts around Oct 25. Return same route. |
| Accidents | - |
| Achievement | - |
| Agency | - |
| Commercial Route | - |
| Standard Route | - |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2442856 |
| Year | 1969 |
| Summit Success | True |
| O2 Summary | None |
| Route (lowercase) | nw face-w ridge |
Members
10 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshimi Yakushi | M | 1936 | Japan | Leader | Kyoto, Japan | Teacher | Details Other expeditions |
| Nobutaka Ito | M | - | Japan | Deputy Leader | Toyama, Japan | Horticulturist | Details Other expeditions |
| Masaaki Nukui | M | - | Japan | Climber | Toyama, Japan | Automobile engineer | Details Other expeditions |
| Seiichi Kanayama | M | - | Japan | Climber | Kyoto, Japan | Post graduate student of geology | Details Other expeditions |
| Hiroyuki Sakai | M | - | Japan | Climber | Toyama, Japan | School teacher | Details Other expeditions |
| Tomokuni Saeki | M | - | Japan | Climber | Toyama, Japan | Owner of a mountain hotel | Details Other expeditions |
| Akira Inoue | M | 1932 | Japan | Climber | Toyama, Japan | Press correspondent the Kitanippon Press, Toyama's local daily | Details Other expeditions |
| Kenichi Shimoda | M | 1931 | Japan | Climber | Toyama, Japan | Cameraman for TV pictures from the Kitanippon Broadcasting Co. | Details Other expeditions |
| Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa | M | 1940 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Namche Bazar, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Girmi Tenzing Sherpa | M | 1923 | Nepal | Sirdar | Namche Bazar, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
9 recorded references.
| Expedition ID | Journal | Author | Title | Publisher | Citation | Yak 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GURJ69301 | AAJ | Yoshizawa, Ichiro | - | - | 44:181-182 (1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | JAC | Yakushi, Yoshimi | The First Ascent of Gurja Himal, 1969 | - | 65:1-6 (1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | HJ | Yakushi, Yoshimi | Gurja Himal: First Ascent, 1969 | - | 30:95-100 (1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | AJ | Yakushi, Yoshimi | The First Ascent of Gurja Himal | - | 75:17-24 (1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | - | Yakushi, Yoshimi | Gurja Himal, 1969 | Toyama Himalaya Expedition, Kyoto | - | jY06 |
| GURJ69301 | MM | - | - | - | 8:7 (Mar 1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | JAC | Yakushi, Yoshimi | The First Ascent of Gurja Himal, 1969 | - | 65:57-67 (1970) | - |
| GURJ69301 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197018102/Asia-Nepal-Gurja-Himal | - | - | - |
| GURJ69301 | - | - | https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1970_files/AJ%201970%2017-24%20Yakushi%20Gurja.pdf | - | - | - |