MOUNTAINEERING NEWS ITEM

Babanov, Kofanov Climb Jannu West Ridge

WEDNESDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2007

Valeri Babanov, 43, and Sergey Kofanov, 29, carried out an outstanding ascent of the unclimbed 7710-meter west ridge of Jannu in pure alpine style.

The two Russians have established base camp at 4700 on September 9 and chose a line up the west ridge as their ascent route. This line has been attempted unsuccessfully by two French expeditions in 1995 and 1998. They completed their acclimatization phase on October 10 by summiting nearby Pik Merra (6334m).

After almost a week’s rest, both set off for Jannu on October 14, reaching the first camp at 5500m. They continued to a saddle at 6300m despite snow fall and high winds and reached the west shoulder at 7400m on October 19 where they put up a tent.

They left their camp at 10 the next day and taking only their gas and tent to climb light, they climbed to 7600m, where they spent a cold night in the tent without their sleeping bags. They set off for the summit at 6 am the next day, which they reached three hours later. According to latest reports, the two are in their tents on the west shoulder.

Babanov, who described the North Face as a “miracle, but not horrible”, is one of the few mountaineers in the world to have received the Piolet d’Or for his ascents. He had a solo ascent in Meru Peak (6310m) in 2001 and also joined the ascent in Nuptse East (7804m) in 2003.

For more information on this news story, please visit www.planetmountain.com.

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