Trip Report
Attempt on the north face of Cholatse, Nepal
Friday November 27, 2015 2:15pm
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Cholatse is the peak on the right.
Cholatse is the peak on the right.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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Getting onto the face.
Getting onto the face.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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The ramp at the start of the main wall.
The ramp at the start of the main wall.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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Note the blank gneiss, which was very difficult to place gear in. The ...
Note the blank gneiss, which was very difficult to place gear in. The ice was usually too thin for screws, so the climbing was quite dangerous.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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There was frequent spindrift coming down the face.
There was frequent spindrift coming down the face.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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Weather closing in.
Weather closing in.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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Difficult section with crap protection.
Difficult section with crap protection.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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Our bivy spot. We spent three hours chopping a decent ledge that we co...
Our bivy spot. We spent three hours chopping a decent ledge that we could sit on.
Credit: KristofferSzilas
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After having chopped a ledge to sleep on, we wanted to get something to drink and my climbing partner got out the stove. Unfortunately, he dropped our only gas canister while pulling the stove out of his pack!
We watched in silence as the canister was bouncing off the rocks and then disappeared into the void.
Neither of us said a word for about five minutes as we just kept staring after the canister. We had already decided that this face was a one-way trip up and down the backside of the mountain, because the gear was so bad that we did not think it would be possible to rappel the face.

We did not sleep much that night, not so much because of the cold and thirst, but because we were really nervous about the descent the next day.
Obviously, we made it down, but it was the trickiest descent I have experienced as the ice was brittle and airy and the cracks were very thin and shallow. I believe we left all of our knifeblades and had to tie off every single ice screw we had as the ice wasn't even good enough for abalakov anchors!
Of course we found the gas canister at the base of the climb when we got down, but by then our brains were fried and all we wanted was to go home...

This is how Ueli and Freddie dealt with this climb:
[Click to View YouTube Video]

  Trip Report Views: 4,261
KristofferSzilas
About the Author
Kristoffer Szilas is a mountain climber from Denmark.

Comments
Stewart Johnson

Gym climber
top lake
  Nov 27, 2015 - 05:17pm PT
Proud effort
WBraun

climber
  Nov 27, 2015 - 05:19pm PT
How do you stay warm?
healyje

Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
  Nov 27, 2015 - 05:22pm PT
I love your trip reports even if they remind me why I don't do alpine.
lars johansen

Trad climber
West Marin, CA
  Nov 27, 2015 - 05:33pm PT
Nice effort, looks wild.-lars
Ezra Ellis

Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
  Nov 27, 2015 - 06:30pm PT
Wow, quite a career
Thank you!
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
  Nov 27, 2015 - 06:43pm PT
You're too much KS. Great tr! Best to feed this group slowly....save some for the doldrums of December.
johnboy

Trad climber
Can't get here from there
  Nov 27, 2015 - 08:32pm PT

Great climb, pics, clip.

Thanaks.
Vitaliy M.

Mountain climber
San Francisco
  Nov 27, 2015 - 09:43pm PT
You're too much KS. Great tr! Best to feed this group slowly....save some for the doldrums of December.

+11111
overwatch

climber
Arizona
  Nov 28, 2015 - 06:28am PT
Something tells me he has plenty to go around
Steve Grossman

Trad climber
Seattle, WA
  Nov 28, 2015 - 02:18pm PT
Beyond Proud Effort.

Thanks for the Reality Bath!
thebravecowboy

climber
The Good Places
  Nov 28, 2015 - 02:33pm PT
this may qualify as Type 4 fun. yowza!
Larry Nelson

Social climber
  Nov 29, 2015 - 07:39am PT
KS:
Just awesome content. Thanks for posting.
johntp

Trad climber
Punter, Little Rock
  Nov 29, 2015 - 09:13am PT
Damn KS, you get around. Thanks for the TRs.
le_bruce

climber
Oakland, CA
  Dec 4, 2015 - 09:23am PT
Unfortunately, he dropped our only gas canister while pulling the stove out of his pack! We watched in silence as the canister was bouncing off the rocks and then disappeared into the void. Neither of us said a word for about five minutes as we just kept staring after the canister.

Wonder what the first words were after those five minutes...
KristofferSzilas

Mountain climber
Denmark
Author's Reply  Dec 4, 2015 - 09:42am PT
Wonder what the first words were after those five minutes...
No swearing actually, as my climbing partner is British...
He apologized and proposed that we should just continue without the stove!
We had not had any water apart from one liter each that day and were looking at at least two more days of climbing. Not really an option.
KristofferSzilas

Mountain climber
Denmark
Author's Reply  Dec 5, 2015 - 02:08pm PT
Here is a photo of the north face of Cholatse that I took at the base:

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