Naya Kanga::
Height: 19,181 feet (5,846 meters)
Location: Langtang, Nepal, Asia
Grade: Medium
Duration: 18 days
Season: September/December and February to Mid May
Overview:
No one knows who first climbed this peak but many would like to credit Tilman with the feat. Certainly he and Peter Lloyd were probably the first westerners to cross the ganja La in this region. However it is certainly a beautiful looking mountain and worthy of far more attempts than it gets compared with the more well known trekking peaks in the Kumbhu. The technical difficulty of the climb is rated at Alpine Grade PD+. This is mainly a function of three things: the fact that you are on significant snow slopes for most of the journey above camp 1; some crevasses as you turn west below the Ganja La; and finally the short ridge section to the summit. The summit can be gained in two days from Kyanjin with one camp at Branchen or Nyengang Kharka, or alternatively in three days with a second camp at Kangla Phedi just beow the Ganja La.
While closed to Kathmandu, Ganja La Chuli 5844m.(Naya Kanga) is the most accessible of our "people peaks" towering over the South of alpine Langtang valley and holy lakes of Gosaikund. its fine ridge systems provide superb climbing and spectacular scenery from a top the summit, you can gaze in wonder at the peaks of the Jugal Himal as a Dome Blanc, Langshisa Ri and at Tibet's highest Mt. Shisapangma 8035m. the last 8,000m. peak in the World to be the climbed.
We then trek through the summer settlement of Yala Khark, for an acclimatisation climb of the very easy Yala peak 18045ft. before moving onto our base camp just below the crest of the Ganja la. With successfully ascent under our belt, we return to the Langtang valley and to the sacred lakes of the Gosaikund before crossing of Lauribinayak pass to Nepal's other Sherpa area, the Helambu valley where once again magnificent mountain views are for the taking.
Getting There
The Langtang Region is the closest to Kathmandu and it is the peaks of Langtang you can see from Kathmandu if the traffic fog isn`t too bad.
When To Climb
The Himalayas has two well known climbing windows; April-May, and October-November. The main issue is the snowfall in this area, you could be lucky or unlucky but in 2003 the snow was thigh deep and prevented us summiting. |
