I read on Wikki that they were contemplating putting a ladder on Island Peak because of objective dangers (crevasse)?

Now doesnt this seem a little OTT? Island Peak is nowhere near tricky enough to warrant doing this as I'm sure there would be numerous other ways to get up the face without too many more problems?

(Caviat - I climbed it less than 12 months ago and as far as Im concerned technically it was a piece of cake - tough because of altitude and also because it was my 25th day on the rd as well)

Well i climbed it in early june and there were lots of crevasses all over the glacier and it certainly added alot of time to our summit day(we left high camp at 3am and arrived back in chukung between 6 and 7pm that evening. we did have atrocious snow conditions too though-waist deep after crampon point all the way up the head wall to the summit ridge.
We were the only team to summit in weeks but i still wouldn`t agree with putting up ladders and to be honest i wouldn`t see the point. what next-elevator on everest cos its hard.
Somehow i doubt its true anyway,prob bullshit.

I think this is the way it'll go on some peaks. All to make it easier for the mountain tourist groups. For example I wonder what the normal route on Everest's north side will look like in say 25 years from now. I wouldn't be surprised at all if there's a Via Ferrata of some kind.

teahupo26 wrote:Well i climbed it in early june and there were lots of crevasses all over the glacier and it certainly added alot of time to our summit day(we left high camp at 3am and arrived back in chukung between 6 and 7pm that evening. we did have atrocious snow conditions too though-waist deep after crampon point all the way up the head wall to the summit ridge.
We were the only team to summit in weeks but i still wouldn`t agree with putting up ladders and to be honest i wouldn`t see the point. what next-elevator on everest cos its hard.
Somehow i doubt its true anyway,prob bullshit.

I managed to do base camp & return in about 10 hours from memory, but then again our conditions were perfect - June isnt the ideal time but if you like a challenge . I think what irks me is that I have climbed in the UK and Europe for 4 or so years as I thought that was the natural place to start before contemplating anything big (ish), mainly because I wanted to be 100% confident on my technical ability before real altitude came into play. Its a shame these mountains get advertised as "no prior climbing experience necessary" - that sh*ts me a bit!

AndrewSmyth wrote:Its a shame these mountains get advertised as "no prior climbing experience necessary" - that sh*ts me a bit!

Yeh but Andrew there's a gazillion other peaks right near by. So, if you clearly have the ability and fitness to do something else, why go to something like Island Peak, then worry about how it's advertised, or the other people on it?

D

Damien,

I agree in concept but I also am slightly risk averse and therefore didnt want to bite off more than I could chew. I thought doing Mera and Island via the pass in 30 days was about right for my first trip into Nepal. I also struggle to get away for 4-6 week trips more than once every 3 years so didnt want to fail for reasons that should have been within my control (ie: not weather).

As per a previous thread, I'm dead keen on having a crack at mountains that fit into the mould of Kyajo Ri, but my guess is this is pretty close to my 'proven' technical limit of Scottish G2-3 or French winter Grade PD+ or AD-, and throw in the extra few thousand metres and well thats when you start delving into the unknown.

My feeling is that mountains like Island Peak should be left as is and if changing conditions mean that it becomes technically more difficult, then so be it.

PS: if any 2010 plans start becoming clearer for trips to the less popular tekking peaks let me know

Andrew..greetings form Chamonix

Our trip to Kyajo Ri in November is looking solid. I shall let you know how it goes.

Radson

Look forward to the news and photo's from Nepal later in the year - sounds fantastic.

How is Cham - typical mix of alcohol fuled late nights, early morning cable cars, and extremely fickle climbing conditions?

Mate...perfect weather and conditions. We achieved everything we set out to do..so all in all great fun.