Lunag Ri | 2012 W Face of Lunag I

A USA expedition to Lunag Ri in 2012 via W Face of Lunag I, led by David Gottlieb. Summit reached on 6th November 2012. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 7945
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LUNR12302
Peak ID LUNR
Year 2012
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Face of Lunag I
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders David Gottlieb
Sponsor Lunag I 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 -
Approach Charikot->Beding->Tashi Laptsa->Namche->Thami->BC
Basecamp Date 2012-10-25
Summit Date 2012-11-06
Summit Time -
Summit Days 12
Total Days 18
Termination Date 2012-11-12
Termination Reason 10
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6450m due to route difficulty and lack of climbing partner
High Point (m) 6450
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 1
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
Summit Members 0
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 Jobo Rinjang (JOBO-123-01)
Campsites BC(25/10,5150m),ABC(26/10,5425m),xxx(06/11,6450m)
Route Notes The two-member American teams attempted peaks in the Lunag range on the north and south sides of the Lunag Glacier south-southwest of the Nangpa La. Since the Lunag peaks are not listed by the Tourism Ministry as open for climbing, the teams obtained permits for nearby Jobo Rinjang, north-northwest of the Nangpa La, a peak which is open. This team of David Gottleib and Chad Kellogg aimed for the summit of the peak they designated as Lunag I, standing alone north of Lunag Glacier. They made their BC at 5030m on the moraine on the south side of the Lunag Glacier on 25 October. Gottlieb became seriously ill with an upper respiratory infection, which forced him to leave the climb on the 4th. He went down to Namche Bazar on the 6th or 7th. Meanwhile, Kellogg had occupied their ABC for a climb of Lunag I's West Face, on the Lunag Glacier at 5425m on 1 November. On the 4th he went up the Nangpa Glacier, which joins the Lunag Glacier at right angles along the east side of Lunag I, to reconnoitre a possible escape route off the Nangpa La side of the Lunag group in case it would not be possible to descend their intended ascent route on the West Face of Lunag I. He went as far as 5200m towards a second high-camp site, then back to BC the same day. On the 5th, Kellogg returned to ABC and climbed two pitches (400 feet) on the left side of Lunag I's West Face, which was 75 degrees steep, to 5500m and back to ABC. The next day he climbed the same two pitches up to 6450m. But now the face was "raining" non-stop falling rocks which he believed were caused by an earthquake and which did not injure him, but tore open his backpack. He took shelter under a serac at 6450m and decided it was too dangerous to continue. To compound his problems, a wind was "screaming" in from Tibet. He got back to ABC. He said he had gotten "a good sense of the route," but he was "not interested" in a solo attempt and would wait until next year to complete the climb with Gottlieb. He had tried to climb the route he and Gottlieb had planned for Lunag I this autumn, but conditions were not favorable. He was back in BC on the 7th; he and their cook returned to ABC to clear their gear which they brought down to BC on the 8th; and he rested on the 9th. Kellogg now decided to repeat the route on nearby Jobo Rinjang which Gottlieb and Joe Puryear had pioneered in spring 2009. So on the 10th, he set up ABC for Jobo Rinjang (Pt 6777m on the Schneider Khumbu map) at 5100m on the Lunag Glacier south of this peak. He left his ABC on the 11th at 4:00 am, was on the top at noon and back in ABC at 5:30 pm the same day. He had climbed the South Face of Jobo Rinjang, which sloped at 45-75 degrees (steeper at higher altitudes). On the 12th, Kellogg dismantled ABC and took it down to BC, loaded all their gear on yaks, and descended to Namche Bazar to meet Gottlieb again. His climbs in the Lunag group were over for this year. Now they trekked in two days to Lukla; Kellogg flew to Kathmandu on the 15th, while Gottlieb continued on foot down to Jiri for a bus to Kathmandu. From Chad Kellogg's blog: The morning of November 6th was cold. I woke up early and packed four days of food, fuel, clothing and equipment to try and solo a new route to the top of Lunag Ri. When fully loaded with gear and all I felt the weight of the 60 lbs. Determined, I headed off slowly and made the way back to the base of the ropes I had fixed the evening before. I removed the bottom anchor and began to climb and jumar up the lines. I dropped one line and climbed the remaining rope to the high point. The sun began to sweep up the face and the whir of rockfall began. I coiled the single line and strapped it to the top and sides of my pack. Upward progress was made 20 moves at a time. The rhythm of swing, kick, kick repeated itself over and over until a rest was frequently needed. As I moved into the hourglass at the top of the lower ramp the situation felt dangerous. I got hit in the helmet twice, but the Half Dome helmet deflected the impacts without injury. Going up seemed safer than going down. I turned the corner and took shelter under an overhang of rock. I wanted to cross the drainage gulley to the left side and get out on the face below a serac to avoid most of the rockfall. The issue was the number of high velocity objects hurling themselves down the gully, as many as 15-20 a minute. I waited, then waited some more. There must be a break when I can cross soon I thought. I looked way up the face to see what was falling and from where. The sun was melting the ice on the face and the high winds were blowing objects loose which were then creating a cascading effect. Ok NOW! I climbed as quickly as I could to the edge of the gully. Bam, a big rock hit the snow two feet to my left and ricocheted into my arm. Go, go go! I dropped into the winding luge course and tried to climb out. What? My right leg was pinned. Taking precious seconds I discovered that my v-threader hook on my harness had caught my pant-leg at calf level and I could not move. In desperation I pulled the hook through the pants and climbed as fast as I could up the slope and away from the shooting gallery. Panting heavily I tried to catch my breath again at 19,000 ft after the dash upwards. I now climbed up under a serac. The odds of a release were small, but my eyes kept darting upwards looking for potential weaknesses and keeping a wary eye out for other incoming projectiles. Slowly inching up the ice I felt small and exposed. Whunph! I could hear the high velocity of the rocks whizzing through the air, tuning in closely to hear how close they were. I was using every piece of terrain for cover. Now I had perfected the best position for defense. Ice tools in front of my face, face top the snow with my helmet cocked back just a bit to cover the base of my skull, toplid pf the pack covering my neck, pack covering my torso and arms and legs tucked in beneath my body. Ironically I felt like a tortoise. The days grew warmer and I was nervously sweating. I traversed to the right and made good progress to the right side of the serac and around that object, but closer to the base of the wall. I was making progress, but the weight of the pack was taking a toll. By 3 pm I made my way up to beneath two ice clumps. I dug a small cave beneath the ice and put in an ice anchor on the 65 degree slope. Ok, I will leave my pack here and take the rope up to the ridge crest to have a look onto the other side. This area was around 20,500 ft. I climbed up a few hundred feet and was bombed directly. Scared I decided that continuing on was a bad idea. I down climbed back to my pack and the protection of the small ice wall and thought things over. Dang it! The winds were blowing hard from Tibet and depositing snow and ice chunks onto the upper ramp. The winds on the face I am trying to get to must be blowing 60-75 mph. The wall above is dropping so many rocks and blocks of ice that climbing is unsafe during the day. I am solo and this is not adding up. This all added up to my retreat down as soon as the sun goes down and things freeze back into place. I put in another screw and hung the reactor stove from the wall and brewed up some water. I had not taken a pee once today. Dehydration is not your friend anytime, but at altitude it can speed up the likelihood of frostbite and illness. I went to work to remedy the situation while relatively protected. I watched the shadows creep up the face and towards the summit as the sun set behind the ridge. I stood up for a minute to pack things away and got blasted in the chest and left hand by two rocks at the same time. Arghhh. Luckily I was wearing a pair of OR leather insulated gloves and my hand was not broken, but my jacket had gotten ripped to shreds. I cowered and collected myself together. I just want to get down in one piece. I had waited for days at the base of the wall and had never seen or heard this type of action before. Why today? What had changed? Having ingested three liters of water in the past two hours I felt more hydrated. The face was now in the shade and things seemed to have quieted down. I threaded the rope for the first rappel and began the descent. I pulled the rope and let it hang from the back of my harness on the haul loop. I down climbed the ascent route. The areas of ice steeper than 70 degrees were worked out carefully in reverse. Hours went by as my headlamp stared at my feet and into the darkness below. The occasional clatter of falling rocks and ice reminding me that it was still a long way back to ABC. I ran across the gully to the protection of the overhang and listened. Ok. Make a v-thread and rap the next rotten ice section. Check! I made my way back down through the hourglass onto the lower ramp. The calves and Achilles tendons were beginning to protest. Come on keep it together for a couple more hours, I tellepathed to the muscles. I climbed back through the easy mixed sections careful not to dull my picks on the thin ice. Then I picked up the faint blue color of my Mammut rope below. I was only five hundered feet above the avalanche cone. Yes. Encouraged, I down climbed a thin ice runnel and set a rock anchor. A nice stopper placement and a knife blade equalized were bomber. I rappelled 200 feet to a solid section of ice and put in a v-thread anchor. The final rappel! Both ropes pulled clean and I coiled them beneath a large rock roof. As quickly as I could I made my way down and away from any potential rockfall. Tired, I rolled into camp at 11 pm, dropped my pack and set up ABC again. Despite only being 16 hours, the climb had taken a toll, mostly on my mind. I brewed up more water and ate a freeze dried meal before passing out.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Climb High Himalaya
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2459105
Year 2012
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w face of lunag i

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
David Alfred Gottlieb M 1967 USA Leader Carlton, Washington Park ranger Details Other expeditions
Chad Lewis Kellogg M 1971 USA Climber Brier, Washington General contractor Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
LUNR12302 - - http://alpineextreme.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-10-25T12:30:00%2B05:45&max-results=7&start=14&by-date=false - - -
LUNR12302 - - http://www.chadkellogg.com/dispatches.html - - -
LUNR12302 AAJ - - - 87:331-333 (2013) -
LUNR12302 - - http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/lunag-ri-update-kellogg-considers.html - - -