Jannu | 1997 N Face (to 6000m)

A USA expedition to Jannu in 1997 via N Face (to 6000m), led by Damian Benegas. Summit reached on 12th October 1997. 9 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	2467
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
Host Country	1
Route 1	N Face (to 6000m)
Route 2	SE Ridge (to 6000m)
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	USA
Leaders	Damian Benegas
Sponsor	1997 Jannu North Face Expedition
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	Argentina, Australia
Approach	Ghunsa Khola->Khambachen and in Kumbhakarna Glacier
Basecamp Date	1997-09-20
Summit Date	1997-10-12
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	22
Total Days	0
Termination Date	-
Termination Reason	10
Termination Notes	Abandoned at 6000m due route difficulty and route disagreements
High Point (m)	6000
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	0
Fixed Rope (m)	300
Total Members	9
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	-
Campsites	BC(20/09,4550m),ABC(Oct,5100m),Oct(5480m),xxx(12/10,6000m)
Route Notes	BC at Kumbhakarna Glacier High point at north wall face. Early Oct slept one night in boulder camp, which was essentially a depot. Then still in early Oct, used C1 to sleep in instead. Got only 400m vertically up wall and then down because disagreement on how to climb face. Also could see wind blowing 100 mph daily on summit, so no point in attempting to reach it. 2 Benegas brothers went to 5700m in first effort on wall; were fixing rope to this point and down to C1. In C1 found all others in disagreement with them and brothers gave up climb and down to BC. Ogden & Sustad went up and fixed some more line to 6000m and then down. Really bad snow on wall and difficult to fix rope. Sustad and Ogden felt impossible to climb wall/face with only 2 climbers. Grajales and Wong went around to SE Ridge to see possible descent route and got to 6000m 12-13th Oct and then down. Then told members had abandoned north attempt; had gone up to 6000m from there C2 at about 5900m just below SE Ridge itself with Ang Babu Tshering Sherpa. Wong - 27 Oct 97 Wong and Grajales intended to go to summit via SE Ridge with Babu Tshering and were unpleasantly surprised to be instructed by walkie-talkie by Benegas to abandon climb. Only then learned team had no permit for SE Ridge and he told them to quit as they were there illegally. Spitzer - 27 Oct 97 Expedition was disaster because leader self-centered and unable to organize things properly.
Accidents	Nothing serious; members left because of disagreements
Achievement	-
Agency	Nomad Expeditions
Commercial Route	-
Standard Route	-
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	-
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2453181
Year	1997
Summit Success	False
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	n face (to 6000m)

Members

Field	Value
ID	14656
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	01
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Damian
Last Name	Benegas
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1968
Calculated Age	29
Citizenship	USA
Status	Leader
Residence	Berkeley, California
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	True
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	5700
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2437997
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	damian benegas
Year of Birth	1968
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	29
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	14657
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	02
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Guillermo (Willie)
Last Name	Benegas
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1968
Calculated Age	29
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Berkeley, California
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	5700
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2437997
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	guillermo (willie) benegas
Year of Birth	1968
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	29
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14658
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	03
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Todd
Last Name	Gilmore Jr.
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1942
Calculated Age	55
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Sunnyvale, California
Occupation	Satellite communications engineer
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2428339
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	todd gilmore jr.
Year of Birth	1942
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	55
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14659
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	04
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Fernando Nicolas
Last Name	Grajales Abad Jr.
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1979
Calculated Age	18
Citizenship	Argentina
Status	Climber
Residence	Mendoza, Argentina
Occupation	Student (just finished high school)
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	6000
Summit Date 1	1997-10-12
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	2
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2441999
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	fernando nicolas grajales abad jr.
Year of Birth	1979
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	18
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14660
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	05
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Cameron
Last Name	Lawson
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1969
Calculated Age	28
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Murray, Utah
Occupation	Photographer & clothing company owner
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2438300
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	cameron lawson
Year of Birth	1969
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	28
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14661
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	06
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Jared
Last Name	Ogden
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1971
Calculated Age	25
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Berkeley, California
Occupation	Professional alpinist
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	6000
Summit Date 1	1997-10-12
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2439125
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	jared ogden
Year of Birth	1971
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	26
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14662
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	07
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Travis A.
Last Name	Spitzer
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1971
Calculated Age	26
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Durango, Colorado
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2438960
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	travis a. spitzer
Year of Birth	1971
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	26
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14663
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	08
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Stephen F.
Last Name	Sustad
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1960
Calculated Age	37
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Oswestry, Shropshire, England
Occupation	Carpenter & climber
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	6000
Summit Date 1	1997-10-12
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2434926
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	stephen f. sustad
Year of Birth	1960
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	37
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	14664
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Member ID	09
Peak ID	JANU
Year	1997
Season	3
First Name	Vera
Last Name	Wong
Sex	F
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1971
Calculated Age	26
Citizenship	Australia
Status	Climber
Residence	Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia
Occupation	Ecologist
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	6000
Summit Date 1	1997-10-12
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	2
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2438889
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	vera wong
Year of Birth	1971
Year	1997
Age at Expedition	26
Role	Member

9 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Damian Benegas	M	1968	USA	Leader	Berkeley, California	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Guillermo (Willie) Benegas	M	1968	USA	Climber	Berkeley, California	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Todd Gilmore Jr.	M	1942	USA	Climber	Sunnyvale, California	Satellite communications engineer	Details Other expeditions
Fernando Nicolas Grajales Abad Jr.	M	1979	Argentina	Climber	Mendoza, Argentina	Student (just finished high school)	Details Other expeditions
Cameron Lawson	M	1969	USA	Climber	Murray, Utah	Photographer & clothing company owner	Details Other expeditions
Jared Ogden	M	1971	USA	Climber	Berkeley, California	Professional alpinist	Details Other expeditions
Travis A. Spitzer	M	1971	USA	Climber	Durango, Colorado	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Stephen F. Sustad	M	1960	USA	Climber	Oswestry, Shropshire, England	Carpenter & climber	Details Other expeditions
Vera Wong	F	1971	Australia	Climber	Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia	Ecologist	Details Other expeditions

References

Field	Value
ID	3233
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Reference ID	01
Year	1997
Type	2
Journal	AAJ
Author	Ogden, Jared
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1998
Language	-
Citation	72:313 (1998)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	5129
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Reference ID	02
Year	1997
Type	3
Journal	HIGH
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1998
Language	-
Citation	188:20 (Jul 1998)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	10840
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	JANU97301
Reference ID	03
Year	1997
Type	5
Journal	-
Author	-
Title	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199831302/Asia-Nepal-Jannu-North-Face-Attempt
Publisher	-
Publication Date	-
Language	-
Citation	-
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID	Journal	Author	Title	Publisher	Citation	Yak 94
JANU97301	AAJ	Ogden, Jared	-	-	72:313 (1998)	-
JANU97301	HIGH	-	-	-	188:20 (Jul 1998)	-
JANU97301	-	-	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199831302/Asia-Nepal-Jannu-North-Face-Attempt	-	-	-