Nangpai Gosum I | 2017 S Face (Japanese rte)

A Germany expedition to Nangpai Gosum I in 2017 via S Face (Japanese rte), led by Jost Kobusch. Summit reached on 3rd October 2017. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 9736
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID NAG117301
Peak ID NAG1
Year 2017
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face (Japanese rte)
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Germany
Leaders Jost Kobusch
Sponsor Kobusch Nangpai Gosum I Expedition Autumn 2017
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 1st
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Trek to Gokyo->Renjo La->Lunde
Basecamp Date 2017-09-05
Summit Date 2017-10-03
Summit Time 1025
Summit Days 28
Total Days 30
Termination Date 2017-10-05
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 7321
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 2
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 -
Campsites -
Route Notes Note: The Ministry issued the permit for Nangpai Gosum II, but the team climbed Nangpa Gosum I. The Ministry designations for NAG1 and NAG2 are in error. BC 05/09 5080m ABC 08/09+30/09 5600m (below a steep granite wall) C1 01/10 6400m C2 02/10 6840m Smt 03/10 by Kobusch at 10:25 am. [Base camp Sherpa staff] established BC by the river and they choose the spot probably due to a cairn that was there, however, Kobusch thinks that the real BC is about 2 kilometers further up at about 5100m near the moraine and river to the left. On his first trip to ABC, Kobusch spent about three nights up there. He had carried some ropes and equipment there. He carried about 280m of rope. On 25 Sept Kobusch tried to climb the “French route”. He put a camp at 6100m on 24 Sept, as he was able to pitch a tent on a little platform. The day after he traversed straight up to the right towards the beginning of the difficulties. After a first 30m pitch, during a second 60m pitch he had to cope with a short 3m WI4+/5 ice section (crux of his attempt). Followed a 150m traverse to the left (60°, with blue ice in the middle, all the way exposed to rock falls); from there he climbed about 40m up, left to a typical chimney. As he was reaching to about 6300m, he stopped below an overhanging section. The route was definitely too dry and the weather too warm, the ice being very thin, brittle and melting. As he deemed the route too dangerous (much exposed to rock and ice fall from C1) and the risk to be not acceptable at this stage, he decided to turn back at 2 pm. After his first belay try had collapsed (only hold by 1 piton!), he manage to add a second piton, abseiling then down-traversing the 150m traverse secured by the abseil rope. Then installed an “octopus like” belay on 4 anchors including 2 pitons, 1 micro stopper, and still connected to the first belay (1 ice screw he had placed there on the way up, full depth, had already completely melted! Took it back with him – in these conditions, he in fact didn't sacrifice any of the ice screws he had placed!). Next 3rd abseil also in “octopus like” style, on 4 anchors including 1 piton and 3 stoppers (all put in the same crack!). Last 4th abseil at the “French belay”, made by 2 friends and 1 piton that he connected himself. All belays were connected in fact from the first belay. Left from there again 100m of rope. Stayed the night in C1 then returned to BC on the day after. On the French route, had fixed about 300m of rope for ascent and descent. He had initially planned to fix 500m for the whole route (2 sets of 220m nylon rope without soul, plus 1 set of 60m “sailing rope” of slightly better quality), then to free climb the easier parts with a 60m Ultra light Petzl “Red line” model in the bag. Route prone to objective dangers, with lots of ice fall down then rock falls up (on descent, as he had reached the 150m traverse beginning, he saw that the rope fixed there on the way up had been cut by some rock fall…). C1 was prone to a kind of snow repetations perpetual accumulation. Lower part of the face always touched by avalanches. More objective dangers than Annapurna I normal route. Schardt accompanied Kobusch to ABC once to document the climb. He never intended to go any higher on the mountain. He did not carry anything for Kobusch. Kobusch started his summit push on the Japanese/Nepali route (26 of Oct 2006) from ABC on 30 Sept. He would use a variation in the lowest part, coming much more from the left than the Japanese did, this by a long traverse. He left ABC at about 3 am, the weather was quite cloudy and the route quite difficult to find; however, he was able to remember the route from the picture he had looked at beforehand. In the lower part he had to traverse towards the right across the face. The face was about 60° in average, up to 70°. The conditions were quite difficult here as the face was lined with marks from avalanches. The lines were mixed blue ice incrusted sometimes with rock, alternating with piles of sugary snow. He had to kick in his feet very hard. He reached C1 at about 4 pm that day. From C1 to C2 the conditions were good and he climbed up a big white flat snowy gully to C2 (50-55° steep). That climb took him about four hours. On summit day (2 Oct) he got up at 10 pm and left his camp at midnight. He climbed up the face first on snowy conditions (50° slopes). From there begun the 100m crux section, where he globally had to cross a steep ridge towards the left. After he had done so, at 2 stages, he had to cope with 5/6m vertical in “sugar on rock” condition. Conditions for the whole section were mixed (no real blue ice), with some sugary snow sections (“sugar on rock”), more or less stable and steep, making the climb demanding, all on the feet and subtle balances. Last section afterwards was 50° snow slopes in good condition. When in windy conditions he reached the top of the Japanese route (SW subpeak of Nangpai Gosum I at 7235m, which isn't very easy to distinguish according to Kobusch), he traversed NE on the ridge, slightly down then up to a higher bump, from where he dropped down again for about 100m into a ditch. He then had to climb up again for about 180m in difficult snow conditions (powder snow about knee to waist deep) to reach the summit at 10:25 am (climb rate on that day: 661m/10, 416=63mh). The distance from the exit of the Japanese route to the top is about 800m in length. The summit itself is a knife-edge point. He spent about 45 minutes on the summit to do some filming, in some winds gusts up to 60km/h. At some stage he suddenly understood that Cho Oyu was lying just nearby! He left some prayer flags on the summit with a bamboo. On descent there was a whiteout on the plateau due to high winds, his tracks were gone and he almost got lost to reach back the exit of the Japanese route. The down-climb of the crux was scary, down-climbing it solo as he hadn't taken any rope. He reached C2 at 6 pm. On 4 Oct at 10 am and descended all the way to BC, where he arrived at about 5 pm. When he reached BC, he met the Korean climber Kim who was on his attempt to climb the mountain. Kobusch climbed light and without a rope (he wore a harness and had one screwgate carabiner), being eventually faster than expected (1 day faster). Despite clearly less technical than the French route, he considers the route to remain serious anyway, as he had to use his two ice axes during the whole way. It might be a route suitable for extreme skiers anyway! Team left BC on 5 Oct, arrived in Ktmdu 7 Oct from Lukla by plane. Oxygen: Not taken, not used.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Satori Adventures
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2463692
Year 2017
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face (japanese rte)

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Jost Kobusch M 1992 Germany Leader Borgholzhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Student Details Other expeditions
Raphael Rene Schardt M 1990 Germany Support Mitwitz, Bavaria, Germany Media designer Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
NAG117301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201214508/Nangpai-Gosum-I-Southwest-Face-via-South-Summit - - -
NAG117301 - - http://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/nangpai-gosum-ii-first-ascended-by-jost-kobusch.html - - -
NAG117301 - - https://www.jostkobusch.com/de/expeditionen/74-nangpai-gosum-ii-7296-m-solo - - -
NAG117301 AAJ Kobusch, Jost Solo on Nangpai Gosum, First Ascent - 92:334-335 (2018) -