News Flash: The following news flash is a preliminary report posted as a service to our readers. Alpinist has not confirmed the veracity of its contents but will post a story in detail when more information becomes available.–Ed.
Joseph Puryear and David Gottlieb reached the summit of Takargo (aka Dragkar-Go, 6771m) on March 12, making the first ascent of this major peak just east of Chobutse in Nepal’s Rolwaling Himal.
In early March, the team established base camp on the Tradkarding Glacier below Takargo’s west face. They continued to 5200m, where they set up a high camp and assessed conditions. Upon inspection, they decided that this year’s lack of snow had increased objective hazard beyond an acceptable level. On March 10, they traversed around the peak and set up another camp at 5800m below the east face. They stood on the summit two days later.
In February, prior to attempting the main objective, they climbed ten water-ice routes–ranging from WI3 to WI6 and one pitch to eight–in the Rolwaling Valley.
Puryear and Gottlieb have returned to the Tradkarding glacier safely. More information will be posted in Alpinist NewsWire as it becomes available. Official expedition reports are available at climbnepal.blogspot.com.