 Kangtega - The Snow Saddle - is another beautiful mountain which rises majestically to a
saddle shaped summit from the Khumbu and Hinku Valley and sits next to
another prominent mountain Thamserku to the north. Our approach to this
mountain is from the south side over the Tsetrawala pass and then
through the Hinku glacier. We take about a week to reach the Kangtega
base camp situated at the bottom of the Kangtega Ice-Fall which
resembles with the infamous Khumbu Ice Fall of Mt. Everest. Setting up
our base camp at 5,182m/17,000ft.
Though an obvious route up the mountain would be to follow the Ice
Fall, we opt for the rock face leading to a ridge around
6,070m/19,909ft and rappel down for about 70 meters to reach at the top
of the ice fall to avoid possible ice fall hazards. Camp I is placed
here at an altitude of 6,000m/19,680ft. On ward we overcome some narrow
crevasses and climb some interesting snow slope to reach camp two at
6,400m/20,992ft. on the south ridge of the mountain. Before the sun
totally goes down, impressive mountain views can be viewed with a blue
sky turning to golden and to crimson. Next day, an early morning push
through 45 ~ 50 degree snow slopes soon leads to knife edged short
summit ridge. The summit offers great mountain views and the valley
surrounding.
Overview
| Elevation (feet): | 22250 |
|---|
| Elevation (meters): | 6782 |
|---|
| Range: | Hinku Himal |
|---|
| Country: | Nepal |
|---|
| Continent: | Asia |
|---|
| Latitude: | 27.7833 |
|---|
| Longitude: | 86.8167 |
|---|
| Difficulty: | Technical Rock &/or Ice |
|---|
| Best months for climbing: | April, May, October, November |
|---|
| Year first climbed: | 1963 |
|---|
| Convenient Center: | Tangna |
|---|
| Nearest major airport: | Lukla |
|---|
|
