FOLLOW SIMONE MORO AND TAMARA LUNGER AS THEY ATTEMPT THE HIGHEST
They will attempt the highest traverse on the planet without oxygen or high altitude Sherpas. The project is to complete a traverse where the two alpinists will be forced to climb above 8300m most of the time, with very low oxygen levels. They will set off from Kangachen plateau and climb on the ridge of four of the highest Nepalese peaks to reach Kangchenjunga South (8476m). Studying the best route will spell the difference between success or failure.
UPDATES
22nd of May, Simone and Tamara reached 7000m, but Simone was unwell
They will rest for a couple days with the attention of attempting the traverse again
24th of May, Simone and Tamara have left BC towards C3.
25th of May, Simone and Tamara head towards C4.
25th of May, this morning Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger left C3 (about 6600m) towards C4. Their tracker stopped working 6953m; however, they continued until they reached 7200m. Due to his illness in the last few days, Simone Moro felt weak and could no longer stand so they made the safe decision to return back to basecamp.
The team is now safely at basecamp and have decided not to attempt the traverse again this trip.
Simone - "After achieving seven ascents, and Tamara achieving eight, including attempts and acclimatisation ascents, today was the perfect day to reach the summit. However, this meant being at camp 4 already yesterday with a much longer window of good weather – this window though never occurred. In spite of this we never gave up on the idea of reaching the summit and making the traverse. We will treasure what we learned this time on the mountain, a bit like what happened on Nanga. It is an ambitious objective, but nothing is impossible."
Tamara - "Many things happened during this expedition, even bad things. But as a team we've come out even stronger, we have always supported each other during the difficult moments. The mountain is beautiful, it is like a paradise, especially from 4 upwards – the route to paradise is long though! We have definitely learned a lot from being here and I might, one day in the future, feel like coming back again."
THE TEAM
The mountains are his playground and his success as an expedition climber has sculpted his legendary reputation.
When she was a 14-year old girl, she announced that one day she would climb an 8,000m mountain. She remained true to her word.
LATEST EXPEDITION REPORT
Credits: Rob Meli
DID YOU KNOW?
The DEATH ZONE is the name used by mountain climbers for high altitude where there is not enough oxygen for humans to breathe. This is usually above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet).
THE TEAM WILL CLIMB ALPINE STYLE which means they will need to carry all their gear from basecamp for approximately 7 days, without any deposit and external help along the way.
ATTEMPT WILL BE WITHOUT ANY SUPPLEMENTARY OXYGEN.
All previous partial traverses used oxygen.
KANGCHENJUNGA IS THE THIRD HIGHEST MOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD AND LIES IN BOTH NEPAL AND INDIA
STAY TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES ABOUT THIS EPIC MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE