Kangchenjunga | 1988 N Ridge

A USA expedition to Kangchenjunga in 1988 via N Ridge, led by Carlos Buhler. Summit reached on 3rd May 1988. 8 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 65
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID KANG88101
Peak ID KANG
Year 1988
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 N Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Carlos Buhler
Sponsor 1988 American Kangchenjunga Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 25th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Austria, Spain
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1988-04-03
Summit Date 1988-05-03
Summit Time 0930
Summit Days 30
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8586
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 5
Summit Members 3
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 2
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 True
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(03/04,5000m),C1(08/04,5800m),C2(20/04,6400m),C3(01/05,7300m),C4(02/05,7600m),Smt(03/05)
Route Notes BC at Pangpema in normal site C1 at big level glacier (Doug Scott's C2) C3 on North Ridge C4 just below ridge on snow slope/plateau. A very challenging climb: Habeler said it the hardest climb he's ever done. Very long route by way of ridge near Col. Hit by big snowstorm night of 3rd which turned into epic descent. Habeler on top 9:30 am whereas other 2 at 2:00 pm after all having left C4 together at 4:00 am. Habeler very quick at altitude, got back to C4: Habeler about noon or 1:00 pm other 2 at 9:00 pm. Snowstorm started 10:00 am that day; it was obvious weather was changing. Scott 1979 route from N Ridge, Messner's route to ridge. Storm of 3 and 4 May dropped meter of snow and took out C2 and C3, hit Sherpas in C3, who took 12 hours to C1 (1-1/2 to 2 hour trip normally) without crampons. Summiters slept 3 May in C4, took camp down and put it up again at C3 site. On 5th summiters left everything knowing must get to C1 in severe avalanche conditions and end of their strength. Martin descended behind other 2. Final section on ridge was very tricky with windslab. Both Habeler and Zabaleta had bad pneumonia and high fevers when reached C1-BC on 6th May but no frostbite. Buhler's toes frozen on summit but will not lose any bone. Timing was lucky: if had gone to C3 on 3rd, would have been swept off: if had tried for top one day later would never have made summit and would not have been able to get off the mountains stranded as on K2 in 1986. Habeler - 22 May 1988: Note pneumonia. Habeler's problem probably spindrift snow in lungs; Zabaleta very bad sore throat. Habeler left Austria and Lufthansa flags at summit tied to an aluminum pole. Note: February 2012 Carlos Buhler says that oxygen was used at BC by Habeler and Zabaleta the next day after descending from the summit [to treat pnuemonia resulting from the climb]. Original notes by Hawley state that oxygen was used by Habeler and Zabaleta on descent at C1 because of pneumonia and again by Habeler at BC. 1988 International Kangchenjunga Expedition Report by Carlos Buhler Kangchenjunga's North Face rises two vertical miles in one sweep of overlapping cliffs, rock faces and hanging glaciers. It is a masterpiece of nature's architecture, designed to discourage climbers from attempting to reach the summit from this side. Although technically possible routes exist, every conceivable line at some point is exposed to serious rockfall, falling ice or avalanches. Our 15 day appraoch to BC went smoothly. As the approach to this area had been closed to all but climbing expeditions, the encroachment of Western civilization had been minimal and the villages were unchanged by modern tourism. We established BC on April 3 at Pangpema, a tranquil, pastoral field alongside the Kangchenjunga Glacier. Over the next three weeks, the weather permitted only three constructive trips beyond this 5000 meter camp. During short good weather spells, we placed C1 and and C2 at 5800m and 6400m. Towards the end of April, a ferocious storm confined us to BC for six days. Late on the 26th, the weather finally cleared. Peter, Martin and I, accompanied by Nima and Dawa, our two Sherpa companions, set out for C1 early the next morning. We wondered how long the good weather would last. On the 28th, we climed through the dangerous ice cliffs and continued to C2. With the help of the Basques, who came up a day behind us, we spent April 29 and 30 climbing and fixing 300m of 7mm rope on the steep ice and rock flanks leading to the north ridge. On May 1, we carried all our equipment for the next five days. We climbed and fixed the remaining 200m face and continued, unroped, up the exposed north ridge to sleep at 7150m. The next day, we fixed a final 100m through the rock step at 7300m and carried on to 7450m on the huge plateau below the summit pyramid. Nima and Dawa then descended to C2 the same afternoon. That night there were signs that the good weather was ending. The winds that had been coming steadily from the east began to blow again from the southwest. Nevertheless, at four am on May 3, we left for the summit in frigid darkness. We reached the rock walls of the vast summit cone as dawn was breaking. Though together at first, each of us now climbed alone in a private world of struggle. I went through a tremendous range of emotion. At times I found myself elated to be so near the summit of such a huge mountain. Then I became utterly discouraged at the situation in front of me. I was frightened by the steepness, by the intense cold drilling into me and, most of all, by the descent that would have to follow. There seemed to be so many places that I could make a fatal mistake. Waves of anxiety swept over me. I could only break away from them when I pushed on with the intense activity of climbing. I passed a tattered, frozen in rope that the 1980 Japanese expedition must have placed over the short rock steps. I recalled their placing 250m of line through the gully to safeguard their descent. I felt insecure and exposed. After the rock step I stopped and removed the 20m coil of 6 mm line I had been carrying. It seemed absurd to lug it further as Martin and Peter were both above me. I did the same with my open spare mitten. I wanted to leave behind every ounce I could. Only water, a small piece of sausage and my short ice axe remained in my rucksack. Peter called upon all his strength and set a fantastic pace. He reached the summit at 9:30 am. Martin and I were still four and half hours away. As we feared, at ten am snow began to fall and visibility dwindled. We crossed paths with Peter at 10:30 while the snow fell steadily. All three of us discussed options on the steep ramps of snow. "Ahora o nunca!" we decided. Now or never! It was unlikely that Martin and I would ever be this close again. We climbed the final, delicate 100m of the West Ridge in the growing storm. There was no view at all. The terrain was steep and unforgiving. We followed endless traverses around granite buttresses, up 50-degree snow slopes and into windy corners. The blowing nearly blinded us as it built up inside our goggles. At two pm, I climbed over a broken, blocky step to the summit, too cold to feel elation. I took ten quick photographs at different apertures as Martin came up the last several meters. After 30 seconds, we started down. A half-buried oxygen bottle a few meters from the top reminded me of what I needed most. We were desperate to get out of the wind that tore across from the south. As soon as we dropped below the ridge and onto the North Face, I asked Martin to stop and help warm my feet. Then we continued on. The descent from the summit to our tent at 7450m took us seven hours in the heavily falling snow. At nine pm we caught sight of the lit up dome of the tent through the swirling winds. In a few minutes we were pulling off our frozen boots between bouts of hacking coughs. Peter radioed to BC of our arrival and helped us prepare a hot drink. The relief we felt was indescribable, but it was not to last long. All night it kept on snowing. Nearly a meter of snow had fallen by the next morning when we resumed the descent. Laden with gear from the camp, we plowed across the broad, exhausting plateau. At six Am leaving everything but film and cameras, we began the treacherous and terrifying descent over the snow caked slabs of the north ridge. Traversing and down climbing, we wove our way through the unstable windslabs. Doubt and uncertainty dogged every step. We were at the mercy of the gods. We were asking too much. After an eternity, we reached the fixed ropes leading down the icy flanks towards C2. Below them, we had to fight our way across hundreds of meters of knee-deep snow before the next blow. The well stocked tents of C2 had also been swept away! Without recourse, we struggled down the dangerous slopes towards C1. On the glacier at 6000m we managed only short distances before collapsing in the snow to regain strength. This was the most gruelling test of endurance any of us had ever experienced. Lhakpa met us just above C1 with water and the news that Nima and Dawa had been seriously injured when their tent at C2 had been swept 300m down the face by two consecutive snow slides on the night of May 3. Though they had survived the fall, they spent twelve hours fighting their way down without equipment, both with broken ribs. Dawa had suffered so severe a concussion that he had no realization that he was on a mountain and believed he was in a lowland village. He had not eaten or drunk substanially in forty hours. They were still in C1, unable to gather the strength to return to BC. On May 6, nine days after setting off, a weak and battered crew staggered into the cheering voices and comforting hugs of friends in BC. The Basques had seen the storm coming on May 3 as they neared their final biv at 7450m and had descended to safety the same day. Although they made two further attempts, neither they nor the Indian expedition on the southwest side managed to reach the summit. Tragically, the deputy leader of the Indians died, supporting a bid for the top in late May. We came away from our success with humility coupled with deep satisfaction. In an endeavour where boldness and commitment are highly rewarded, we asked ourselves, to what extent could the hazards be ultimately controlled?
Accidents 2 Sherpas broke ribs when avalanche hit C2 on night of May 3; Buhler frostbite; Habeler and Zabaleta illness
Achievement 1st American ascent
Agency Mountain Travel
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2449813
Year 1988
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) n ridge

Members

8 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Carlos Paltenghe Rockhold Buhler M 1954 USA Leader Bellingham, Washington Lecturer Details Other expeditions
Howard Donner M 1953 USA Exp Doctor Round Mountain, California Emergency physician Details Other expeditions
Peter Habeler M 1942 Austria Climber Mayrhofen, Tirol, Austria Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Martin Zabaleta Larburu M 1949 Spain Climber Oakland, California Carpenter Details Other expeditions
Gloria (Chipper) Roth F 1949 USA Member Oakland, California Accupuncturist Details Other expeditions
Ang Nima Sherpa M - Nepal H-A Worker - - Details Other expeditions
Dawa Nuru Sherpa M - Nepal H-A Worker - - Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa M 1955 Nepal Sirdar Khunde, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
KANG88101 AAJ Buhler, Carlos Kangchenjunga's North Face - 63:23-30 (1989) -
KANG88101 HJ Buhler, Carlos 1988 International Kangchenjunga Expedition - 46:140-144 (1988-1989) -
KANG88101 MM - - - 122:11 (Jul 1988) -
KANG88101 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198902300/Kangchenjungas-North-Face - - -
KANG88101 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/46/22/expeditions-and-notes-46/ - - -