Jannu | 1989 N Face (direct)

A Yugoslavia expedition to Jannu in 1989 via N Face (direct), led by Tomo Cesen. Summit reached on 28th April 1989. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 821
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID JANU89101
Peak ID JANU
Year 1989
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 N Face (direct)
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Yugoslavia
Leaders Tomo Cesen
Sponsor Yugoslav Jannu Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 19th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed True
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1989-04-22
Summit Date 1989-04-28
Summit Time 1530
Summit Days 6
Total Days 8
Termination Date 1989-04-30
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 7711
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
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 Climbed on Merra (for acclimatization)
Campsites BC(22/04,4700m),Smt(28/04)
Route Notes BC at Jannu Glacier west-northwest of peak. Did same acclimatization climbing on Merra Peak and to see 1st part of route, which is dangerous icefall not so difficult. Started 27th at mid-day with Kokalj to 5000m which is beginning of Jannu Glacier: together 1-1/2 hours walking and from there Kokalj did filming of Cesen's climb. Cesen began climb of face at 4:30-5:00 pm and then "I climbed all the way during the afternoon and during the night." In morning hours when sun is on lower part of face about 6700m is continuous fall of stones and ice pieces so climbed at night. Had some moonlight from very early morning. Saw very steep places here (70 degrees) with difficult rock. Then at about 6700m very steep ice and difficult rocks with very thin ice. Upper part crazy: Kokalj never climbed such difficulty in mountains and steep at altitude - cannot see far ahead in steep gully. "Crazy" part starts above 6800m. Rested occasionally for 15 minutes only. If not enough ice it would not be possible to climb this route - good rock (granite). Reached top in entire climb in good weather and no wind problem (south side had bad cloud and wind that day). But in afternoon a storm came up with storm and pretty strong wind. Descended Japanese route and made biv in upper seracs at about 6800-6900m. Was dark when reached biv point at 9:00-10:00 pm. 4 hours storm cleared during night. Started descent about 2:00 am 29th and reached BC at 12:00-1:00 pm of 29th when was very tired (took 4-5 hours to cover descent of 2 hours usually). "I am satisfied." "I like to climb solo - it's quicker and there are fewer problems." Cesen may try solo ascent of Lhotse South Face next year or later. Messner: "only quite safe line, a beautiful line" - the best of this season. Spring 2000: 1999 Slovenian Dhaulagiri I expedition and Slovenian Lhotse expedition of Spr 2000 said Cesen's claim to Jannu summit is doubted since his Lhotse South Face claim totally discredited. Australian-New Zealand Jannu leader and other member 5th June said: They don't believe Cesen's claim because he had not enough acclimatization and time he gives for his ascent is not enough. In his report to AAJ, Cesen skims over many important details, especially very steep rock from 6900-7500m, which is very difficult technically. Jannu - Spring 1989 by Tomo Cesen For almost a year before setting out, my mind had been totally preoccupied with thoughts of Jannu. After all, its North Face is one of the most difficult in the world. We established BC on 22nd April, at 4600m at the edge of the Khumbakarna glacier. The following day after breakfast, Jani and I approached the foot of the face. Its upper part was always clearly visible from BC, but the lower part presented a puzzle which I wanted to solve as soon as possible. The start of my route didn't look too encouraging. The face started with an icefall which, from our side of the glacier, looked like a mound of ice cubes threatening to collapse at any moment. I was, however more interested in the upper part of the face, where the eye was drawn to ice gullies and smooth, overhanging granite walls, interspersed with giant roofs - a fantastic sight. It soon became clear to me that I would need to change my initial strategy for tackling this upper part of the face but I knew before I left that it would be practically impossible to plan an exact route. The threat from falling seracs or from avalanches was not too great but the whistling of ice blocks and rocks provided convincing proof that the face was extremely dangerous. Most of this ammunition funnelled into couloir at the bottom of the middle part of the face. I needed little convincing to climb this section at night. At dawn on the 27th April I was not over enthusiastic about the weather. It was cloudy. However, I still had half a day to prepare my equipment. We were having lunch when the sun rays eventually pierced the clouds. Its interesting how quickly one's mood can change. Around midday I left with Jani, who wanted to accompany me to the start of the glacier. The weather was fantastic and my mood matched it, but I was aware that the waiting would be hard for Jani, perhaps more difficult in some ways that what I was setting out on. Alone on the glacier I felt a sense of exhilaration. This was good sign that I was already in control. I hung the pitons and a spare blade for the ice axe on my harness, put crampons on my feet and took the ice axes in my hands. I took some rope and of course a helmet but my rucksack contained only spare clothing, gloves, glasses, food and drink, sleeping bag and a biv sac; not much gear. I mused that to climb the North Face of Jannu in this way would be, if nothing else, a challenge. After some 200m of initial warming up I came to the first ten-metre section of vertical ice. Four hours later the easier, lower part of the face was behind me so I took a ten minute rest. The valley below was already in darkness, but up here the light was still good despite the late hour. Thankfully the steady barrage of falling rock and ice began to ease off. Climbing this section of the face during the day would have been suicidal, but with the night came safety. The next 200 metres or so were very difficult; cramponing up a 70 to 75-degree couloir, sometimes on rock, sometimes on ice. At that point it slowly began to dawn on me what might be waiting above. The new day came as I reached the end of the ice field. From here I had to move right to the next ice field which was separated from a final one by the first really problematic part of the route. Very steep ice and smooth granite slabs followed one after the other. I used the seracs at the beginning of the middle ice field to orientate myself on the face. There would be no possibility of protection as there were no cracks at all in the rock. I was glad to finally reach steep ice gully which led to the less steep ice field below some huge seracs, where I could take my next short rest. A short rock step separated me from the final part of the face. Ice, rock, ice again followed by more granite slabs. The exit from this particular section was something special. A gently sloping slab barred the way to the last ice field and the vertical exit from the face. Without crampons and gloves, and some 6000 metres lower this would have been quite easy, but here it was another matter. I couldn't remove my crampons and besides, double plastic boots are not best suited to friction climbing. For a while I leaned unhappily with my hands on the slab and my crampons dug into the thin ice below. In order to gain better support for the tip of my crampons I carefully chipped at some smal crystals of ice with my axe. Everything went very slowly. I can hardly describe the feeling of relief at the top of the slab when my ice axe at last hit ice. Definitely not a pitch for the faint-hearted. For a while I stared upwards and took in an unbelievable view. Now at 7000m, I fully realised what lay in store for me. This was the time to draw on those psychological reserves that I had trained for. There was no way back. Above lay a vertical gully lined with thin ice, sometimes interspersed with a few metres of bare rock. The rock appeared good, although I didn't relish the prospect of climbing it in crampons. The world around me receded. I became lost in total concentration: body and mind focussed; strength and balance pushed to the limit. Now facing me was a series of near vertical granite slabs, each 30 to 40 metres high and covered with a 10 centimetre veneer of ice. In the thin air I couldn't climb these slabs without rest, and best described as hanging on my ice axe - was not pleasant. There were at least ten of these giant ice covered steps on this part of the face. The problem was that there were some easier options but they were not visible from below. This meant that I could only guess at the best route upwards. I was forced to use pitons on four occasions, but in the wide cracks I just had to climb free in crampons. There was either not enough space to remove them, or it would have been too dangerous. Fortunately the cracks sometimes allowed me to jam in a boot, relax the tension in my arms and take a short rest. At the end of the rock there was always ice: hard black, green sometimes crumbling, but always very steep. At one point I had to pendulum a narrow ice gully had lost itself in blank granite slabs, with vertical rock above, left and right. I noticed a tiny crack above me and climbed slowly and carefully almost to the tip of this fragile ice tongue, taking care not to break it. I hammered in a piton, threaded the rope, descended a litte and started to swing, thus managing to reach the continuation of the gully to the left. I was slowly approaching the summit ridge, despite extremely difficult sections which dogged my steps right to the last moment. Suddenly the end came as I almost stumbled onto the soft snow of the ridge. Although the summit of Jannu was very close, and the ridge leading to it presented no difficulties, I felt drained and told myself and told myself I had enough of this kind of torture. The weather, meanwhile, was deteriorating and it was 3:30 pm before I reached the top. To the south was a grey sea of cloud. The weather usually worsens in the afternoons so I needed to descend as far as quickly as possible. A proper storm was gathering as I roped down onto the upper ice field of the Japanese route. I did not want to sit out in the middle of the a 55-60 degree ice field, but the heavy snowfall and strong cold winds soon forced me to seek temporary safety in a crevasse among the seracs. That endless biv was one of chattering teeth and quivering muscles: of constant checking my watch and hoping that the weather pattern of the last few days would prevail. Howling winds swept snowflakes in all directions: fog, darkness. In the middle of the night the storm finally began to abate so I decided to continue down immediately. From the crevasse I descended among the seracs for about 100m. It was the wrong way. To continue meant tackling a 15m vertical ice wall. I could not face retracing my steps, so I had no choice but to chisel an ice mushroom on the lip of the serac and abseil. In daylight I might have sought a better route but in the darkness I took the most direct line. Among the lower seracs I zig-zagged left and right in order to stay among them for as long as possible, and on the final section to the plateau I used the rope a few more times. The ice fall in the jumbled mess of the Khumbakarna Glacier was a mere formality. I chose a much easier route than for my ascent, albeit a more dangerous one, but I told myself that if the seracs hadn't collapsed for a whole week, they'd last another hour or two. Then it was over. There was no more danger. The way ahead was easier. My concentration lapsed. My walk across the glacier resembled the walk of a drunk returning home from a night out. Half way from BC Jani met me, smiling broadly. It had taken me 5 hours to reach BC from the foot of the face, where normally it would have taken just two. I was exhausted. After three days of great effort and with only a little food, my stomach was not ready for solids, so that afternoon we had a liquid feast and some of us suffered as a result - but that another story. Some people considered that the North Face Jannu could not be climbed in the way I chose, what I was more confident than most that I would succeed. However, Jannu is only a part of what I believe in. Tomaz Humar - 7 Nov 2006 Tomaz Humar's comments about Tomo Cesen's claimed ascent via the South Face: "It is possible Tomo did make the summit.... I don't say he did, but I don't say he didn't." When people can't do something themselves, they say no one can. Humar has seen the South Face, and he thinks Cesen could have gone all the way to the top alone. He was a very strong climber. Lhotse's South Face is not so difficult as Jannu's North Face, which Cesen also said he soloed. Humar also has seen Jannu's North Face and thinks it is possible that he summited. Tomaz also believes that the Jannu face is more difficult because of the greater danger of falling rock on the face. At the end of the rock there was always ice: hard black, green sometimes crumbling, but always very steep. At one point I had to pendulum a narrow ice gully had lost itself in blank granite slabs, with vertical rock above me and climed slowly and carefully almost to the tip of this fragile ice tongue, taking care not to break it. I hammered in a piton, threaded the rope, descended a little and started to swing, thus managing to reach the continuation of the ice gully to the left. I was slowly approaching the summit ridge, despite extremely difficult sections which dogged my steps right to the last moment. Suddenly the end came as I almosst stumbled onto the soft snow of the ridge. Although the summit of Jannu was very close, and the ridge leading to it presented no technical difficulties. I felt drained and told myself I'd had enough of this kind of torture. The weather, meanwhile, was deteriorating and it was 3:30 p.m before I reached the top. To the south was a grey sea of cloud. The weather usually worsens in the afternoons so I needed to descend as far and as quickly as possible. A proper storm was gathering as I roped down onto the upper icefield of the Japanese Route. I did not want to sit out in the middle of a 55-60 degree icefield, but the heavy snowfall and strong cold winds soon forced me to seek temporary safety in a crevasse among the seracs. That endless bivouac was one of chattering teeth and quivering muscles; of constantly checking my watch and hoping that the weather pattern of the last few days would prevail. Howling winds swept snowflakes in all directions: fog, darkness. I felt it had all gone on far too long. In the middle of the night the storm finally began to abate so I decide to continue down immediately. From the crevasse I descended among the seracs for about 100 metres. It was the wrong way. To continue meant tackling a 15 metre vertical ice wall. I could not face retracing my steps, so I had no choice but to chisel an ice mushroom on the lip of the serac and abseil. In daylight I might have sought a better route but in the darkness I took the most direct line. Among the lower seracs I zig-zagged left and right in order to stay among them for as long as possible, and on the final section to the plateau I used the rope a few more times. The ice fall in the jumbled mess of the Khumbakarna glacier was a mere formality. I chose a much easier route than for my ascent, albeit a more dangerous one, but I told myself that if the seracs hadn't collapsed for a whole week, they'd last another hour or two. Then it was over. There was no more danger. The way ahead was easier. My concentration lapsed. My walk across the glacier resembled the walk of drunk returning home from a night out. Halfway from Base Camp Jami met me smiling broadly. It had taken me 5 hours to reach BC from the foot of the face, where normally it would have taken just two. I was exhausted. After three days of great effort and with only a little food, my stomach was not ready for solids, so that afternoon we had a liquid feast and some of us suffered as a result - but that is another story. Some people considered that the North Face of Jannu could not be climbed in the way I chose, but I was more confident than most.
Accidents None
Achievement 1st solo ascent
Agency Wilderness Experience
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2450084
Year 1989
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) n face (direct)

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Tomislav (Tomo) Cesen M 1959 Yugoslavia Climber Kranj, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Sports journalist Details Other expeditions
Janko (Jani) Kokalj M - Yugoslavia Climber Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Physician Details Other expeditions

References

7 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
JANU89101 AAJ Cesen, Tomo Khumbukarna - My Way - 64:7-13 (1990) -
JANU89101 HJ Cesen, Tomo Jannu - My Way - 46:13-18 (1988-1989) -
JANU89101 - Cesen, Tomo SAM Didakta, Radovlijca, Slovenia - C102
JANU89101 MM - - - 128:14-15 (Jul 1989) -
JANU89101 MM Cesen, Tomo Jannu-Lhotse Solo - 134:20-25 (Jul 1990) -
JANU89101 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199000700/KhumbhakarnaMy-Way - - -
JANU89101 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/46/3/jannu-my-way/ - - -