Baruntse Expedition (7129 m) - 33 Days

The potential for climbing "east of Everest" was first recognised by members of Shipton's 1951 Everest Reconnaissance expedition, which made a journey of exploration into the region. Three years later, in 1954, members of that team, including Edmund Hillary and George Lowe, returned to exploit the climbing potential to the full. Although their prime aim was to explore Makalu, in a concerted effort of peak bagging around the upper Barun Glacier, this team made no fewer than 20 first ascents, of which Baruntse was the most significant. The first ascent of Baruntse being made on 30 May 1954 by Colin Todd and Geoff Harrow. 

They climbed the mountain by the South-East Ridge, which will be the line of our ascent. The South-East Ridge of Baruntse is a straightforward climb, mainly on snow but at high altitudes and crossing some steep sections of ice at 50°, with a prominent ice cliff at about 7,000 metres to be climbed on the way to the top. Sections of the upper summit ridge can be corniced, but there is little evidence of avalanche risk on the lower slopes of the mountain. The steeper sections of the climb are safeguarded by fixed rope, as are the obvious cornices that need to be traversed between the camps on the mountain.