News Flash: The following news flash is a preliminary report posted as a service to our readers. Alpinist has not confirmed the veracity of its contents but will post a story in detail when more information becomes available.–Ed.
A Russian team has made a significant addition to the north face of Cholatse (6440m) in Nepal’s Khumbu region. On March 20, after a week on the wall, Sasha Gukov, Viktor Koval and Valery Shamalo finished off a new route, which sweeps up the 1400-meter face to connect with the French Route (VI 90 degrees) and the west ridge.
The success came after a failed attempt earlier that month when Galina Chibitok and Sergey Kondrashkin returned home early after Chibitok fell ill halfway up the wall. The five Russians descended to base camp; later the trio retraced their line and pushed to the summit.
The grade and style of the ascent will be posted in a full NewsWire report when more information becomes available.
Please visit climbing.com for more on this story.