Ngadi Chuli or Peak 29 or Gurkha Massif: Mountain of Nepal
Ngadi Chuli (also known as Peak 29, Dakura, Dakum, or Dunapurna) is a high peak in the Mansiri Himal (or Manaslu Himal), also known as the Gurkha Massif, in Nepal. It is flanked by Manaslu to the north and Himalchuli to the south.
Despite its top 20 height, Ngadi Chuli, mountain has only been climbed once or twice. The probable first ascent occurred in 1970. Hiroshi Watanabe and Sherpa Lhaksa Tsering, members of a Japanese expedition, climbed the east ridge and face. They left their camp V, at about 7500 metres, for a summit attack. Very near the top they were out of sight for about two hours. After reappearing, they suffered a fatal fall down an ice wall. A later Japanese expedition recovered their bodies, but all film had been exposed and no conclusive evidence could be found that they had reached the summit. In order to achieve a confirmed ascent of the mountain, the Japanese organized three more expeditions, but these all failed.
The first confirmed ascent, and as of 2005 the last attempt on the mountain, was in 1979 by the Polish climbers Ryszard Gajewski and Maciej Pawlikowski via the West buttress.
Timeline
- 1961 First reconnaissance by Japanese climbers.
- 1969 Third Japanese attempt reached 7350 m.
- 1970 Probable first ascent, via the east ridge and face.
- 1978 Three climbers die in an avalanche during the seventh Japanese attempt.
- 1979 First confirmed ascent, by a Polish expedition.
