Pokharkang | 2002 S Face-E Ridge (new route)
A UK expedition to Pokharkang in 2002 via S Face-E Ridge (new route), led by Stephen Town. Summit reached on 17th November 2002. 11 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 4203 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | POKR02301 |
| Peak ID | POKR |
| Year | 2002 |
| Season | 3 |
| Host Country | 1 |
| Route 1 | S Face-E Ridge (new route) |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | UK |
| Leaders | Stephen Town |
| Sponsor | British Damodar Himal Expedition 2002 to Pokharkang |
| 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 | Denmark |
| Approach | Beshisahar->Marshyangdi Riv->Koto->Naur Khola->Phugaon |
| Basecamp Date | 2002-11-11 |
| Summit Date | 2002-11-17 |
| Summit Time | 1400 |
| Summit Days | 6 |
| Total Days | 8 |
| Termination Date | 2002-11-19 |
| Termination Reason | 1 |
| Termination Notes | - |
| High Point (m) | 6372 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 2 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 150 |
| Total Members | 10 |
| Summit Members | 2 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 3 |
| Summit Hired | 1 |
| 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(11/11,4600m),C1(12/11,5300m),C2(15/11,5810m),Smt(17/11) |
| Route Notes | BC west of Phu Khola below East Face of Pokharkang C1 on moraine below southeast flank C2 at South Face on snow. Night of 12/13 Nov 6 inches of snowfall so down to BC. Meanwhile Town and Baldock left BC 12 Nov, Town not physically able to climb others' style and Baldock about same reason. C2 slept in 15 Nov. Above this serious climbing: steep snow and ice requiring 2 ice axes to surmount - fixed about 150m rope here. Climbed South Face to East Summit (6250m) where was at top of ankle-deep soft snow. East Summit on summit plateau where snow was waist deep. East Summit reached by Wynne-Jones, Scott, Thurston, Gronlund, Fairley, Kaji Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Dawa Jangbu Sherpa. Wynne-Jones, Scott and Kaji went on to main summit. All down to C2 that night, BC 18th. Route much more difficult than N Face. Isherwood: from East Summit, down 100m and up to top via East Ridge. |
| Accidents | Isherwood bad chest infection |
| Achievement | 1st ascent of main summit |
| Agency | Himalaya Expeditions |
| Commercial Route | - |
| Standard Route | - |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2455993 |
| Year | 2002 |
| Summit Success | True |
| O2 Summary | None |
| Route (lowercase) | s face-e ridge (new route) |
Members
11 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David N. Baldock | M | 1936 | UK | Climber | Rickmansworth, Hertford, England | Retired computer engineer | Details Other expeditions |
| John Maxwell Fairley | M | 1943 | UK | Climber | Gerrards Cross, Buckingham, England | Engineer | Details Other expeditions |
| Toto Gronlund | F | 1957 | Denmark | Climber | Poole, Dorset, England | National Health Service | Details Other expeditions |
| Richard John (Dick) Isherwood | M | 1943 | UK | Climber | Port Townsend, Washington | Retired biochemist | Details Other expeditions |
| Richard Martin Scott | M | 1941 | UK | Climber | London, England | Engineer | Details Other expeditions |
| Peter Spillet | M | 1961 | UK | Climber | Skipton, N Yorkshire, England | Engineer | Details Other expeditions |
| Sara Spillet | F | 1961 | UK | Climber | Skipton, N Yorkshire, England | Environmental protection government official | Details Other expeditions |
| William George Thurston | M | 1946 | UK | Climber | Surbiton, Surrey, England | Human resources consultant | Details Other expeditions |
| Stephen (Steve) Town | M | 1946 | UK | Leader | London, England | Retired civil servant | Details Other expeditions |
| David O. (Dave) Wynne-Jones | M | 1952 | UK | Climber | Glossop, Derbyshire, England | Retired teacher | Details Other expeditions |
| Kaji (Pasang Kaji, Pasang Kami) Sherpa | M | 1963 | Nepal | H-A Worker | Loding Tamakhani, Solukhumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
6 recorded references.
| Expedition ID | Journal | Author | Title | Publisher | Citation | Yak 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POKR02301 | AAJ | Wynne-Jones, Dave | - | - | 77:386-387 (2003) | - |
| POKR02301 | HIGH | - | - | - | 252:61-62 (Nov 2003) | - |
| POKR02301 | HIGH | Wynne-Jones, David | Climbing One of Nepal's New Peaks | - | 261:32-35 (Aug 2004) | - |
| POKR02301 | AJ | Wynne-Jones, Dave | Pokharkan South Face, Nepal | - | 109:24-28 (2004) | - |
| POKR02301 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200338602/Asia-Nepal-Damodar-Himal-Pokharkan-First-Ascent-of-the-South-Face | - | - | - |
| POKR02301 | - | - | https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_2004_files/AJ%202004%2024-28%20Wynne-Jones%20Pokharkan.pdf | - | - | - |