Sepu Kangri
Lhasa, Tibet - (October 28, 2002) - "Sepu's weather has been wild and unpredictable, but by 8:00 A.M. (two hours from the summit), we were hit with a 'full-conditions' storm," explained expedition leader Mark Newcomb in his description of the remarkable October 2, 2002 first ascent of Mount Sepu Kangri, a formerly unclimbed 22,821-foot peak in northeastern Tibet. "When we reached the summit plateau, our situation was growing more serious by the minute," added Carlos Buhler, Newcomb's climbing partner and veteran of 25 Himalayan expeditions.
Sepu Kangri, the "Great White Snow God," is a stark, symmetrical and vertical pyramid and the highest summit in a range of dramatic, steep and difficult ice peaks comparable in length to the Swiss Alps located about 400 km from Lhasa. Sepu was named "Tibet's secret mountain" by Sir Christian Bonington, arguably Britain's most accomplished mountaineer. Bonington twice failed to summit this elusive peak because of severe weather. His last attempt, in the summer of 1997, ended when the summit team was forced to turn back in a storm about 500 vertical feet from the summit.
In spite of hostile conditions, Newcomb and Buhler became the first to summit this elusive Himalayan deity-the first successful ascent of Sepu Kangri. "That's just what we hoped for. We are thankful that Mark, Carlos and the team are safe. We counted on Sepu being nasty. This is one of the most inhospitable places on earth. That's why it is perfect for testing gear," commented Jim Frasier, VP of Design at Marmot, a Santa Rosa, CA outdoor equipment manufacturer and one of the Sepu expedition sponsors.
Despite the demanding conditions, all team members reached Camp 2 (19,200 feet) or higher on Sepu, using state-of-the-art ski-mountaineering equipment to ascend between Camps 1 (17,700 feet) and 3. The team members, besides Mark Newcomb (Jackson, WY) and Carlos Buhler (Bozeman, MT) were: Carina Osteberg (Victor, ID), Kate Clayton (Telluride, CO), Frank Pickell (Boulder, CO), Jordan Campbell (Moab, UT), and renowned adventure photographer, Ace Kvale (Telluride, CO). Kvale, a veteran of numerous ski-mountaineering expeditions to the world's great ranges, explained the skiing strategy, "We chose skis as the method to rapidly ascend the critical glacier terrain between Camps 1 and Camp 3, and to get us off the mountain quickly. In the end, our strategy worked."
The Sepu Expedition was a joint project between Marmot Mountain, Ltd, W.L. Gore & Assoc., Inc, POWDER Magazine and texture/media. Conceived as a cultural, climbing, and skiing adventure into remote northern Tibet by a small, mobile group of highly experienced American male and female athletes, the Sepu Expedition is tracked by posted information, episodic reports, gear evaluations and team images managed by texture/media on www.climbsepu.com.
Marmot and Gore collaborated in the development of several entirely experimental fabrications and garment designs for the Sepu Expedition. "This is real world testing in the old world," said Frasier. "Laboratories and testing machines don't tell the full story about our experimental products. Innovation, performance and durability are best judged in full conditions. We got them on Sepu. Mark and Carlos are part of the Marmot Design Team. They know what we need to know. I can't wait to see the results of the testing."
The full story will be featured in the upcoming February issue of POWDER Magazine, due to hit newsstands January 10th, 2003. Congratulations to the team!