INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 18Two renowned climbers explored a new climbing route on the northwest ridge of Beding Go peak in
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On Oct 13, 2024, Pasang Kidar Sherpa (Rolwaling, Nepal) and Danika Gilbert (Colorado, USA) established a new
alpine style route on the NW ridge of Beding Go (6125m) in the Guarishankar range.According to Pasang Kidar, from a high camp at 5100m, the
two followed a route through glaciated terrain to a ridge separating Tibet from Nepal
After 400m along this ridge over several false summits, they reached the final ridge traverse (130m long) with wild exposure on both sides;
1350m down to the Rongshar valley to the north, and 700m back down to the Gaurishankar khola valley to the west
The pair shared an expedition permit with a Japanese expedition team, whose fixing team included Mingma Cherri Sherpa
(Rolwaling, Nepal), Pemba Cherri Sherpa (Simigaun, Nepal) and Lhakpa Nurbu Sherpa (Kharikhola, Nepal)
The trio of expedition Sherpas had gone to 5500m the day before fixing ropes for the Japanese climbers.Pasang Kidar Sherpa and Danika
Gilbert followed their route, while maintaining alpine style climbing ethics
Above the Japanese teams' high point, climbing conditions became much more difficult, with faceted snow making the ridge climb challenging
and avalanche concerns were high
With one foot in Tibet and one foot in Nepal, the pair made their way up 600m of exposed ridge to reach the summit at 12:07 pm Nepal time
At the summit they found rope remains from the first ascent team via the rocky south face in 2015
The new route, "Friendship Ridge" is rated by the party at Grade V, AI 3+, TD and was entirely on snow and ice above the 5150m point
Access is from the village of Beding via an extremely steep approach
Porter assistance from Nangsal Tamang (Thalti, Nepal) to a basecamp at 4900m was critical to the success of the pair of climbers
From that base the duo established a high camp at 5100m from which they explored different glacial approach options
Final route choice is as is illustrated in the attached photos
Pasang Kidar Sherpa is an IFMGA guide and Managing Director of Khangri Trek, based in Kathmandu, Nepal
Danika Gilbert is a mountain guide based in Ridgway, Colorado
The pair work together to bring Afghan women and blind climbers to Nepal together, trekking and climbing
This climb was their dream climb together after an ascent Yalung Ri and another nearby peak fall 2024 with Mingma Cherri Sherpa and a group
of American and Afghan climbers
This new route, the NW ridge of Beding Go, will provide future expedition teams with a challenge a bit more difficult than Ama Dablam peak
in Nepal, or similar to Huandoy peak's North Face route in Peru
This route is perhaps more accessible to other groups than nearby Langdung peak (6357m), which Pasang Kidar was part of the first ascent
party in winter 2017, according to Pasang Kidar.Further route details for "Friendhip Ridge" will be available in a subsequent article for
the American Alpine Journal, or by contacting one of the climbers directly.
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com