Himlung Himal | 2008 W Ridge

A USA expedition to Himlung Himal in 2008 via W Ridge, led by Kern Buckner. Summit reached on 28th October 2008. 4 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6249
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID HIML08306
Peak ID HIML
Year 2008
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Kern Buckner
Sponsor Oregon Himlung 2008
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 24th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Meta->Phu
Basecamp Date 2008-10-15
Summit Date 2008-10-28
Summit Time 1400
Summit Days 13
Total Days 18
Termination Date 2008-11-02
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 7126
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 4
Summit Members 3
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(15/10,4500m),C1(21/10,5300m),C2(25/10,6098m),C3(26/10,6298m),Smt(28/10)
Route Notes On 25 Oct summit team climbed from BC to C2 in about 5 hours. On 26 Oct they moved on to C3 in 3 hours. Rested there on 27 Oct. On 28 Oct they left C3 at 5 am. Snow conditions good, but very cold. Climb straightforward; firm snow, no rope required. Great views of Manaslu from summit. They descended to C3. Buckner and Byrne arrived at 7:45 pm, Corless at 5:45 pm. Campbell reached 5200m (just below C1) on 17 Oct. He did not make it all the way to C1 as he was feeling very exhausted. He descended to BC, same day. He rested the next day. On 18 Oct he felt very sick and was coughing blood. He took Dexamethasone and Nipfedin. On 19 Oct he tried to walk out but was incapable of doing so. Group called helicopter to pick him up the next day. Group watched him all night to make sure he was Ok. Evacuation on 20 Oct to Kathmandu. Went to CIWEC for check up. A week later he went to Besisahar and trekked the Annapurna circuit without problems. They walked to Jomsom together and took a jeep from there. From Kern Buckner - 11 Aug 2009 Nepal, Western Manaslu Region, Himlung Himal (7126m) Himlung Himal (7126m), West Ridge. In October Keith Campbell, David Byrne, Preston Corless and I set out to climb Himlung Himal by way of the West Ridge. The remote area around Himlung was recently opened up from being a restricted area and has started to see more ascents, with our team being the first American team to summit Himlung. We took 9 days to walk to BC (4663m), arriving on Oct 15. Moving up the mountain Keith developed HAPE and, after attempting self rescue, was flown via helicopter from BC to Kathmandu where he recovered. The three of us went on to establish camps at 5334m and 6096m prior to making a push up the long ridge for the summit by passing C1 and spending one night at C2 and then establishing C3 (6218m) on Oct 26. We summited on Oct 28th. During the fall season the mountain was in good shape and produced cold (below -17C) and windy weather up high. The lower ice fall around C1 had little activity and was very accessible and the upper ice fall, below C2, was mostly filled in with snow. Kern Buckner; AAC Member, Portland OR
Accidents Pulmonary edema by Campbell
Achievement -
Agency Iceland Trekking (Tendi)
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2457181
Year 2008
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w ridge

Members

4 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Orville Kern Buckner M 1969 USA Leader Beaverton, Oregon Engineer Details Other expeditions
David Nelson Byrne Jr. M 1966 USA Climber Portland, Oregon Architect Details Other expeditions
Keith A. Campbell M 1958 USA Climber Lake Oswego, Oregon Construction worker Details Other expeditions
Preston L. Corless M 1972 USA Climber Portland, Oregon Finance manager Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.