PEAK CLIMBING
Chulu West
22 days
The ascent of Chulu West and Chulu Central are best made from a base camp in a small valley north of Manang situated off the main trail to Thorong La pass 5416m. Indeed some of the best views of this peak can be seen from that pass.
The trail goes through the yak pastures and up a ridge which leads into a hidden valley where it is possible to find a good site for base camp. From there an ascent is made to a Col (4,900m) on a subsidiary ridge that leads down from the main ridge. A snow covered slope rises 200m from the Col to the base of a band of rock at an altitude of 5,100m, which makes an ideal spot for a high camp.
After a somewhat difficult climb up the rocky band to the north-west shoulder of Chulu is another suitable campsite and yet another alternative is on a snow plateau above at 5,530m. On the first and several subsequent ascents ropes were fixed on the rocky strip. From the plateau the upward climb is along a progressively narrowing ridge to the summit 6419m. The descent is along the same route.
