Japanese Climbers Redirect Summit Attempt on Sharphu VI in Nepal

The trio of Japanese climbers, who aimed to conquer the unclimbed Sharphu VI, started their final summit push as planned from a high camp yesterday. However, circumstances forced them to change their plans.

Takahiro Kaneko, Saki Terada, and Takahiro Ishikawa had established two camps and secured part of the route up to Sharphu VI. This 6,076-meter peak is situated in the Kangchenjunga region of eastern Nepal, halfway between Kangchenjunga and Jannu.

Yesterday, they were set to reach the summit from their topmost camp. Although the weather was favorable, they came across an impenetrable section at 6,000m on the Sharphu Glacier during their 18-hour ascent. It was already too late in the day to search for another way to the summit. On their return journey, they climbed a lesser mountain that was situated just off their path. Based on maps and available data, this peak, known as Tha Nagphu (5,980m), was also unclimbed.

Some time ago, Japanese alpinist Yasuhiro Hanatani had plans to climb Sato Peak (6164-meter) and Sharphu VI Peak within the Sharphu range as part of a seven-member team that included renowned climbers such as Kaneko, Terada, and Ishikawa. The team of seven was supposed to split into two groups with one group attempting Sato Peak while the other tackling Sharphu VI. This recent attempt was a continuation of that original plan.