Janhkuth 2004

Janhkuth (aka Januhut) (6,805m) in the Garhwal Himal is one of the few peaks of this height that had only received one previous (unsuccessful) attempt - probably due to its remoteness (near the head of the Gangotri glacier, some 20km beyond Shivling) and technicality. Bad weather with no prolonged settled periods added to the access (and egress) problem of the present team. Climbing as separate 'national' parties, each attempted obvious lines of weakness on the West face. Both routes were judged to be difficile, but would have been hard to descend in storm conditions. With the early arrival of winter snowfalls, the UK trio reached 5,750m and the NZ pair turned back at 6,400m.