Kangchenjunga Expedition 2008
On the border between India, Nepal and Sikkim lies the mountain Kangchenjunga.
It is at the altitude of 8586 meters the third highest mountain in the world.
The Sanskrit name means The Five Treasures of Snows as it contains of five peaks.
Kangchenjunga was for many years assumed to be the highest mountain in the world until they in 1849 got
the accurate height of Mount Everest. Kangchenjunga was first climbed in 1955 by the British
climbers Joe Brown and George Band following a route up the Yalung Face on the south side of the mountain.
The mountain has been climbed by around 200 people and on different routes, but until this date, no one has skied off the summit of Kangchenjunga.
In the middle of September Fredrik Ericsson and Jörgen Aamot will once again team up for a great adventure,
they will travel to the mountain Kangchenjunga in the eastern part of Nepal. After a long journey with airplanes,
jeeps and on foot they will end up on the Yalung glacier where they will set up base camp at around 5300 meters.
During three weeks Fredrik and Jörgen will prepare for the high altitude with acclimating climbs.
In the middle of October, when they are well acclimated, they will try to climb the 3000 vertical meters high
Yalung Face on Kangchenjunga in a four day push. They will carry all their equipment by themselves and climb
without supplementary oxygen. Well on the summit, 8586 meters above the sea, Fredrik and Jörgen will put on
their skis and try to ski all the way down to base camp. The first complete ski descent of Kangchenjunga,
the third highest peak in the world. Fredrik and Jörgen also have the possibility to become the first
Swede and Norwegian to summit Kangchenjunga.
You can follow Fredrik and Jörgen?s adventures on Kangchenjunga through regular updates on this site.
Kangchenjunga is the first mountain in Fredrik?s three year project to ski the ski the three highest mountains in the world: Kangchenjunga (8586m), K2 (8612m) and Mount Everest (8850m).
Kangchenjunga quick facts:
Lat/Long: 27.73820°N / 88.13440°E
Altitude: 8586 meters
First ascent: 1955
Total Ascents: 210 (2007)
Route: South-West Face
Camps
Base Camp: 5300 m
Camp 1: 6000 m
Camp 2: 6900 m
Camp 3: 7900 m
Kangchenjunga is the first mountain in Fredrik?s three year project to ski the ski the three highest mountains in the world: Kangchenjunga (8586m), K2 (8612m) and Mount Everest (8850m).
Useful links:
www.summitpost.org
www.8000ers.com
www.peakware.com
www.wikipedia.com
Recommended book:
Kangchenjunga - The Untrodden Peak by Charles Evans
It´s the book about the British expedition that made the first ascent in 1955.