The 2011 Nick Estcourt Award has been presented to Nick Bullock and Andy Houseman for their attempt on the superb South Pillar of Kyashar in Nepal.
Last autumn Houseman attempted this elegant line above the village of Tangnag in the Khumbu Himal with Tony Stone, but retreated from 5,700m when Stone failed to adapt to altitude on the 6,769m peak.
The pillar has been attempted three times, on the first two occasions by strong Czech teams, which reached the crest via a hard mixed and thinly iced entry on the south west flank.
Last autumn this part of the face had no visible ice, so Houseman and Stone climbed the ridge from its foot, overcoming a large lower rock barrier via difficulties up to HVS on very loose terrain.
At much the same time Bullock was retreating from an unsuccessful attempt on Annapurna III, so the tried and tested pair, who were nominated for a 2010 Piolet d'Or for their ascent of Chang Himal's North Face, will be hoping for a better result this spring.
This year's Estcourt Award has a value of £1,500
Although Kyashar, formerly known as Peak 43, had more than likely received an unauthorised ascent prior to 2001, when the Government of Nepal first added it to the official list of peaks permitted for climbing, the first recorded ascent did not take place until 2003.
In that year a multi-national team of Sam Broderick (Swiss/American), Andreas Frank (Austrian) and Bruce Normand (Scottish), first reached the 5,800m col between the long North East Ridge of Kusum Kanguru and the West West Ridge of Kyashar, and then continued up the West Ridge. Above 6,400m, where the ridge becomes steep and rocky, they moved onto the upper West North West Face to gain the summit.
In 2009 Americans David Gottlieb and Joe Puryear made the first ascent of Jobo Rinjang in the Lunag Massif, a collection of high peaks, generally unnamed on maps, that form the Nepal-Tibet border south west of the Nangpa La and Cho Oyu.
Last autumn Young French alpinists Maxime Belleville, Mathieu Detrie, Mathieu Maynadier and Seb Ratel climbed the 1,200m South East Face of Lunag I (6,895m), reaching the ca 6,830m South East Top.
Next autumn British climbers Steve Holmes and Neil Phillips will make an attempt on unclimbed Lunag V (6,550m), the most northerly of the group. If conditions are favourable they would like to continue traversing over some of the other summits.
For this ambitious project in a relatively remote area of north western Khumbu, the pair has been awarded a Mark Clifford Mountaineering Grant of £500.
The trustees have also made a one-off award to Chris Stewart, who is the Great Britain National Champion in Telemark skiing. This is a minority sport which receives almost no state funding or grants, relying on personal savings or private sponsorship.
Their aim is to boost Stewart into the World's top 20, hoping that the little bit of extra help and exposure he receives this year will help him find commercial sponsorship leading up to the Olympic Games - and beyond.
Photo shows Kyashar from the south west. The south pillar initially falls from the summit towards the camera, and then bends right to a snow shoulder and down the lower rock buttresses. The West Ridge is the left skyline.
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