MYAGDI: The first successful ascent has been made on Gurja West, in Dhawalagiri Rural Municipality-1 of Myagdi district.

An eight-member expedition team comprising five French nationals and three Nepalis scaled Gurja West (6,465 metres) also known as ‘Paschim Himal’ or Ghustung Peak on Tuesday.

"The team led by Rajan Bhote set off for climbing the mountain in the second week of October, successfully made it to the summit yesterday," ward chair Jhak Bahadur Chhantyal was quoted in Rastriya Samachar Samiti as saying.

It may be noted that Five Koreans, four Nepali climbers had lost their lives as a massive landslide buried the base camp of Mt Gurja (7,193m) on the lap of the south face of Mt Dhaulagiri on October 12.