Kangchenjunga International Expedition 2003

Latest News: Gary, Paul, Frits and the others of their team have decided to abort their attempts to climb Kanch this season.

The Kangchenjunga International Expedition 2003 is a non-commercial and non-guided expedition. They will not use climbing Sherpas or porters above base camp. They will not use  bottled oxygen. All members will participate and share in load carrying and establishing camps. All members will assist in establishing and fixing the route. The Expedition is lead by veteran expedition leader Gary Pfisterer. Former Everest Summiters, Roland Hunter, Tony Tonsing, Frits Vrijlandt, and Paul Walters have joined and well as Michael Parker from Australia.

The Expedition will attempt the original route of the British first ascent on the South Face.  The main technical difficulties will consist of moderate angle snow slopes from Base Camp (5300m) to Camp I on top of the "Hump" at 6000m, a higher angle ice wall between Camp II and Camp III and some steep ground just below Camp III, just below the "Great Shelf. We will fix rope in these difficult areas.

Itinerary 

Day 1              Arrive Kathmandu – March 23rd

Day 2-3          Free time in Kathmandu while visas are obtained or pitch in to help sort food, gear, and get last minute supplies.

Day 3-4          Overnight bus to Taplejung

Day 5-15        Trek to Base Camp.

Day 15-61      Climb Kangchenjunga (April 5th – May 31st). 

Day 61-66      Trek to Taplejung and return to Kathmandu on June 6th.

This is an approximate itinerary. There are any number of things that could result in changes to the program.  Travel in these regions requires flexibility and patience.  We are likely to summit before the climbing permit runs out on May 31st, in which case we will return to Kathmandu earlier.