SAMAYA x ED HANNAM

 

 

Ed Hannam, Marco Del Vecchio, Benji Brennan and Alex Tang are mountaineers treading mountains never before explored, setting out to discover remote areas of the Chinese Himalayas. In December 2023, they attempted to reach the summit of Tchiburongi, almost 6000 meters above sea level. Ed tells us about the difficult terrain on this neglected mountain.

 

"The challenge that drives us is to climb a long distance on the northern slopes of the Himalayas in winter, on the Chinese side, in complete autonomy. Sometimes we use horses, but we don't hire porters. This first trip was exploratory in nature, to better understand the terrain and see what the snow and glaciers look like.

 

Because of the political climate, nobody goes there. We're the only winter team in the northern Himalayas, and even the Chinese teams don't venture there. Being alone in an unknown place is a strange feeling. We enjoy it very much, we're driven by a thirst for discovery and we're ready to push our limits in this inhospitable terrain. When we arrived, the degradation of the glaciers was obvious. It was a chilling sight, but it didn't dampen our desire for the summit.

 

We have identified two main routes to the summit of Tchiburongi, at around 6,000 meters. This peak lies in the Minya Konga massif, unknown to most climbers who prefer to go to Nepal or Pakistan. As China has been closed for a long time, nobody really knows what's there. The only way to find out is to go there and discover it gradually. It's a place that's evolving very rapidly: the accessibility of the roads, the possibility of using horses, it's all very recent.

 

The special feature of this zone is that we can carry out our first acclimatization in the heart of the cities, which are already very high in altitude. We can drive up to 5,000 meters and enjoy espresso bars at this altitude. Acclimatization is much more efficient, enabling us to climb better, faster and, ultimately, potentially more difficult routes.

 

At this time of year, the days are very short. We spend almost 14 hours a day in the dark, so we needed time to adapt and work out the logistics on the ground before setting off in pursuit of our goal.

 

Our first attempt took us to two peaks, Melcyr and Lamoshe, the first for acclimatization and the second at higher altitude. But once there, conditions proved to be very tough. We couldn't make any headway on the glacier, as the melting ice had gradually given way to the once-covered rocks, piled one on top of the other, forming vast holes. With our heavy, bulky packs, progress proved too difficult and too dangerous. We turned back to try another route, but ended up in even trickier conditions.

 

Once our bodies and spirits had rested, we set off on our second attempt, on a different route, to a route we could see not far from the north ridge. We set off, but soon ran out of time. We were moving slowly and with difficulty, more so than we had imagined. Time was flying and it was extremely cold! On this northern slope, we never saw the sun. With just the two of us, we couldn't carry everything we needed to spend more time on this crossing. We were forced to turn back.

 

We repeated the attempts, but our methods still lacked perfection. However, the climbing we were able to do was incredible, on the very cold, very steep slopes of this north-facing slope.

 

We're leaving the massif behind us and our objective unfinished. We return in March, with the experience we've already gained. The terrain will undoubtedly have changed, but our determination will remain unchanged. Once again, we'll be relying on our Samaya equipment. The lightness of our tents allows us to save grams, which we can convert into food or extra fuel. The total load is not lighter, but the weight distribution is much better. In this kind of expedition, this equipment makes a big difference.

 

Ultimately, I think these places are the future of mountaineering. Right now, everyone is going to Nepal and Pakistan and doing more or less the same thing. In ten years' time, other people will be joining us in this isolated corner."