Nepal journey, Part II: An unacceptable risk, we turn back

Editor’s note: This is part II of Hungry Horse News photographer Seth Anderson’s journey this spring in Nepal.

We continued after exploring the Ngozumba Glacier, working back down the valley through the quiet villages of Macchermo and Mong La back down to Namche. It was here in Namche that we assembled our porter team and made final preparations to head to base camp from the lower village of Monjo the next day.

With our seven-man porter team acquired to carry our camp and climbing gear into base camp, we departed the riverside Monjo village up into the Kyashar Glacier Valley, where no Westerners had basecamped out of in 10-plus years. We worked up and through thick bamboo and rhododendron forests higher and higher, weaving across the steep and cliffy hillsides until Kusum and its neighboring peaks, Thamserku, Kangtega, and Kyashar, came into view. After dispatching the nearly 5,000 feet of gain into the valley we were situated on a flat spot below the glacier that we would call home for the next 15 days. All the anticipation and effort spent acclimatizing put us in a great position to attempt to summit Kusum, but as always, you are at the mercy of the wild out there, and the perfect weather we enjoyed throughout the trek now drastically began changing as we took a recon hike to view the potential route lines. Snow and consistent precipitation covered the peaks in a fresh blanket that would continue throughout the entire time in base camp, making conditions even more challenging. 

Yet we continued with the plan and cached gear below the start of the northwest ridge, prepping ourselves for an attempt to scale the thought-to-be glaciated and icy aspect of the peak. With heavy bags in tote for a five-day attempt on the peak, we worked through thick snow and scratchy rock slabs, belaying multiple pitches through steeper sections to set up a camp just below 18,000 feet. The altitude and hard effort had me worked as we sat and brewed at camp. 

Completely depleted, I felt my energy levels scraping the bottom of the barrel. Thankfully, a filling Bighorn freeze-dried mountain meal brought me back to life as we watched the sunset from one of the most spectacular bivvy sights I’d ever enjoyed.

Awaking and immediately roping up, we worked up to the col through another pitch of tools and crampons, scratching against compact rock. From the ridge crest, we worked our way through steep blocks to get our first view of what we hoped would be a glaciated and icy face up past a menacing serac. 

Reaching 18,000 feet, it was apparent our potential line was completely out ­ — the glacier and ice that blanketed the ridge we spotted from old photos was completely absent, leaving more unprotected compact rock in its place. 

The only hope was a line directly below the most dangerous part of the serac, and after pondering our options, we decided to bail as the amount of risk needed to attempt the desperate route was more than we could accept. This ended our first attempt on Kusum as we rappelled back down to camp and replenished ourselves with more protein-packed Bighorn Meals as the snow continued to fall against the yellow walls of our tent. 

After a few days of scouting, rest, and reloading our bags we headed for the mountain’s other jutting ridgeline, the northeast ridge.

Again we loaded for five days of climbing and humped the big packs across the Kyashar Glacier Valley in hopes of overcoming the difficult conditions we faced. 

We worked up a loose snow-covered boulder field and grunted up thousands of feet of steep terrain to work up a glacial moraine that would bring us to the col between Kyashar and Kusum’s east ridge. Avalanches, ice fall, and a constant bombardment of rockfall from Kyashar, along with our intended ascent route being void of the glacier and ice discussed by parties previously, halted our efforts as we sat and pondered our options. 

The staggering amount of glacial and ice recession on the face brought a somber cloud over the team as we knew the conditions were far out of our control, and there was nothing we could do about it. 

As we sat high above the cloud layer near 16,000 feet, we felt the dream of summiting Kusum slipping away. 

A long discussion prompted a decision to bail that was incredibly difficult to accept, yet one look at the beautiful glacier basin we sat in healed all the dejection we felt. 

Weaving back down the mountainside and into the clouds and snow was a difficult pill to swallow; yet just being in this magnificent place and putting ourselves in the best position possible over in Nepal reminded us that it’s the entire adventure, not standing on the summit that we crave, as we are small beings in a much bigger world than ourselves.

The perspective gained from these attempts only solidified our team and inspired us to continue on the path we have chosen, chasing these larger-than-life dreams that bring us closer to ourselves and the great wilderness we chase. 

Reaching base camp, our team was happy to have us home and prepared huge portions of Nepali food and celebrated our safe arrival. 

To us, it’s all about coming home safe, coming home friends, and sharing a grand adventure together in the most beautiful mountains in the world, all of which we achieved, and we couldn’t have been happier. 

We don’t view this as a trip as a failure in any sort of sense, we will learn, come back stronger and more prepared in the future, chasing these grand dreams that keep us moving forward.