South face, 2,200m, WI6 M5+.
October 14-21 round trip from base camp.
The immense south face of Nuptse will always provide a difficult, high-altitude challenge. Even the unrepeated route of the 1961 first ascent is widely regarded as one of the first, if not the first, technical big faces climbed in the
Himalaya. Benjamin Guiguonnet and Hélias Millerioux tried a new line on the left side of the face in 2015 and '16. On their second attempt they were accompanied by Frédéric Degoulet, reaching 7,400m before bailing. Tenacity paid off in 2017, when all three Frenchmen completed the line and reached the summit of Nuptse Northwest (climbed several times previously from the opposite side). Their route was a bold outing with much steep and difficult terrain. It was committing, not without objective hazards, and required highly technical ice climbing, with at least a dozen pitches of WI5 and above. The climbers bivouacked five times on the ascent and once during the descent (largely by rappel) of their route. This ascent may be destined to gain iconic status in the realm of modern technical Himalayan climbing.
Frédéric Degoulet
- FRANCE
Year of birth : 1982
Fred is at the forefront of an exciting new breed of ice and mixed climber. He has taken his competition experience of dry tooling into the high mountains and achieved ambitious new routes previously thought of as impossible. These achievements have seen Fred included twice in recent years, in the Piolet d’Or long list. As well as the successes of the Gang, Fred was notably in the media, including TV coverage in 2015 opening a new difficult line in the Ecrins Massive, something of a rarity these days.
Benjamin Guigonnet
- FRANCE
Year of birth : 1988
Ben is one of the most gifted mountaineers of recent years. His impressive figures speak for themselves: an 8c climber, 8a block, 8a on sight in trad, grade 7 in ice, M10 on sight and a guide at 23 years old. The man who is cut like a SNCF sandwich doesn’t seem so imposing but he is a monster in the mountains ! This skinny beast is obsessed by kit weight optimisation. Based in Nice, he lives for climbing and alpinism. Ben has been prolifically opening and repeated extreme routes on major alpine summits and around the world, pushing the boundaries of difficulty and altitude.
Hélias Millerioux
- FRANCE
Year of birth : 1987
Over the last few year Helias has been one of the most active high altitude mountaineer of his time. Often featured in more than one film at the same mountain festival, Helias has accumulated an impressive list of ascents with some legendary climbers at high altitude. This experience has made Helias extremely experienced at managing expeditions. He is an extremely strong mixed climber with a great deal of experience including 8 high altitude pursuits in Argentina, Peru, Alaska, Nepal and Pakistan. Notably the Slovak Direct route on Denali over 8 days, Siula Chico in Peru and he has attempted a new route on Diamir Face of Nanga Parbat.
