Pumori | 1977 SW Ridge

A Canada expedition to Pumori in 1977 via SW Ridge, led by Ian George Rowe. Summit reached on 7th October 1977. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 2185
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID PUMO77301
Peak ID PUMO
Year 1977
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 SW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Canada
Leaders Ian George Rowe
Sponsor Canadian Expedition to Pumori
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 7th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries UK
Approach Khumbu Valley
Basecamp Date 1977-09-12
Summit Date 1977-10-07
Summit Time 0915
Summit Days 25
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 7138
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 6
Summit Members 4
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 BC(12/09,5300m),C1(16/09,5800m),C2(27/09,6500m),C3.Biv(6800m),Smt(07/10)
Route Notes Shank, Sutton & Homer - 11 Oct 77 No change of routes. One bad snowfall at BC 2 ft 5th Oct but on ridge no problem because wind blew snow off and they were above storm. C1 - Shank and Sutton made route and site of C1. Homer sick then. Gallagher and Shank from C2 to top because thought not enough room in C3 for 4. Auger and Rowe from cave; Gallagher and Shank left C2 3:45 and caught up with others at summit. Others already there 15-20 minutes. Windy below top but on top almost calm and sky clear. Could see mountains tops; took pictures of each other with Alpine Club of Canada flag but left nothing there. Decent to C2 easy. Stayed at C2 that night but then down to BC. Clearing was real chore. C1->C2 took time because basically 4 men climbing and lot of sugary snow. Others 2 at Namche waiting for wive to arrive and trek in Solukhumbu in 2 parties. 3 back to Canada in next couple days and Shank to Kabul perhaps after 1 week. 6 ideal number for Pumori because always have to expect [dropouts?] Sutton had bad knees and not acclimatized but with expedition went to 20,000 ft. Homer to Namche for 5 days to recover from non-acclimatization; up to 20,000 also. C3 really biv on way to top. Gallagher lost 15-20 lbs No frostbite, no accidents Tim Auger also arrive KTM today. Cheney - 9 Oct 77 Gallagher's wife Francie left KTM 1 or 2 Oct and may meet in BC or below and then to fly to KTM soon after. Rowe's wife Sue, her father and Mrs Graham Tiso left KTM 5 Oct to Namche arrive there about 15th and then to BC if expedition not down - walking out to KTM or expedition 7-10 days in Khumbu and fly out. Ian Rowe - 19 Aug 77 South and SW Ridge on Pumori are same. Present expedition will climb via SW Ridge, but NE Face right for appealing for traverse. No Sherpas above BC; sirdar and cook at BC. Leave Wed and then on foot (including 80 porters); arrive BC 18 days later. C1 on col blow ridge ridge and C2 between col and summit - about 21,500 ft. Summit about 4 weeks after BC. Hope all to summit. No oxygen for climbing or sleeping. Object is to acquire Himalayas experience, but not training for Everest; not vested to Everest. Canadian Pumori Himalayan Expedition 1977, BC from Leader The Canadian Pumori Himalayan Expedition climbed their objective by the South Ridge, reaching the summit (23,446 ft) on the 7th October. The climb started from BC on 13 Sept. Technical difficulties were immediate and sustained throughout at an overall technical grade five. Monsoon snows added to the difficulties which consisted of high angle climbing on granite faces and ridges. In places snow had to be cleared from the rock to a depth of 3 or 4 ft. The route has been climbed by French and Japanese parties in recent years. The Canadian ascent is the first in the post-monsoon season and is also the first to have been carried out completely without Sherpa high altitude porters. The team consisted of names. The ascent itself was largely carried out by T. Auger, L. Gallagher, C. Shank and I. Rowe owing to the incapacity though illness of G. Homer and S. Sutton. Three camps were established during the ascent, C1 was set up at 19,100, Camp 2 at 21,350 and Camp 3 a snow cave at 22,300 ft. Ropes were fixed between each camp. The final summit approach was made by all few active members simultaneously and the top was reached at 09:15 on the 7th October. The descent from the mountain was carried out on the 8th and the 9th Sept from C2 with each members carrying heavy loads down the fixed ropes to Camp 1 where extra assistance from the other members proved most welcome. Letter form Ian Rowe, Pheriche - 10 Sept 1977 Things are going very well and everybody is acclimatizing appropriately. The process had been helped by enforced delay at Ghat, above Lukla, due to an apparently exceptional flash flood in the Dudh Kosi. The flood is supposed to be a result of avalanche or landslide at higher elevation. We have nothing definite. At any rate 5 bridges below Namche, and some on the Imja Khola above Namche, are down. We crossed to Ghat by rope bridge on the 5th Sept, and made Namche using the West side only, arriving on the 7th Sept.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2446841
Year 1977
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) sw ridge

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Timothy Frank (Tim) Auger M 1946 Canada Climber Canmore, Alberta Park warden Details Other expeditions
Lloyd William (Kiwi) Gallagher M 1939 Canada Deputy Leader Canmore, Alberta Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
George Homer M 1943 UK Climber Golden, British Columbia Cabinetmaker Details Other expeditions
Ian George Rowe M 1944 UK Leader Golden, British Columbia Engineer (Assistant Project Manager) Details Other expeditions
Christopher C. (Chris) Shank M 1945 Canada Climber Calgary, Alberta Biologist Details Other expeditions
John Stephen (Steve) Sutton M 1953 Canada Climber Vancouver, British Columbia Carpenter Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
PUMO77301 AAJ Rowe, Ian - - 52:591 (1978) -
PUMO77301 MM - - - 58:12 (Nov 1977) -
PUMO77301 CAJ Rowe, Ian & Shank, Chris Mt. Pumori - 61:4-8 (1978) -
PUMO77301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197859102/Asia-Nepal-Pumori - - -