KATHMANDU, MAY 3
A team from the Korean Alpine Federation has made the first recorded ascent of Sat Peak (6,220m) in Nepal's Kanchenjunga region, reaching the summit at 3:15 pm Nepali time on Friday and writing a new chapter in Himalayan exploration.
Team leader An Chi Young, 49, along with Lee Euijoon, 25, and Baek Jongmin, 53, stood on the virgin summit of the peak located in the Janak Himal range of Taplejung district.
The KAF team had set out from Kathmandu in April with the explicit objective of making the first ascent of Sat Peak - a goal that previous attempts had failed to achieve.
The team is currently descending, according to Ngawa Nima Sherpa, Managing Director at Sora Adventure Treks and Expedition, the Kathmandu-based organiser of the expedition.
The expedition was conducted in alpine style without Nepali guides, in keeping with the federation's approach to virgin peak climbing. The caravan route followed Taplejung–Ghunsa–Lonak–Tshima Glacier–Base Camp, a journey spanning approximately 6.3 km from base camp to summit.
The Department of Tourism's Director General Ram Krishna Lamichhane, who had flagged off the team alongside Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Tae-Young and Nepal Mountaineering Association President Phur Gelje Sherpa at a ceremony in Kathmandu last month, had noted that such first ascents help explore the potential of Nepal's many unclimbed peaks. Ambassador Park had said the expedition would help promote the Kanchenjunga region and attract Korean adventure tourists to Nepal.
Ngawa Nima Sherpa, liaison officer for the expedition, confirmed the summit and called it a historic milestone.
"History has been written on the heights of Sat Peak," he said, extending congratulations to the team and wishing them a safe descent.
