Fredrik Eriksson just posted a debrief of his and Jorgen’s Kangchenjunga summit push along with a set of stunning images.

At 6800 meters Fredrik and Jorgen made camp "in a nice crevasse" to shelter from the wind

The push started out well, Fred reports. Nice weather and solid snow made for a straightforward climb to the first camp at 6200 meters. Arriving at the Hump though, the camp was missing. Wind had repositioned the tent into a crevasse about 300 feet away. The two climbers fetched and fixed it with some duct tape.

The next day the wind picked up. At 6800 meters Fredrik and Jorgen made camp "in a nice crevasse" to shelter from the wind. Contrary to the weather forecast, the third day brought snowfall and whiteout. The next morning the sun was back along with two feet of fresh snow covering the ground previously blasted bare by a storm. The conditions were ideal for avalanches.

"There were some scary sections"

At 6200 meters, wind had repositioned the tent into a crevasse about 300 feet away.

"The decision to not continue towards the summit was easy to make but it wasn’t fun," Fred writes. "We had to give up our hopes for the summit of Kangchenjunga."

"Standing at 6800 meters we had 1300 vertical meters of powder skiing ahead of us. But to make it down without getting avalanched we had to use all our experience and all the tricks in the book."

"There were some scary sections but mostly we could enjoy nice powder turns on one of the world highest mountains in the world. I am disappointed that we didn’t reach the summit but at the same time relieved that we made it down safely. We had a great experience in a beautiful environment and I will definitely return one day to make a new attempt on Kangchenjunga."

"Standing at 6800 meters we had 1300 vertical meters of powder skiing ahead of us. But to make it down without getting avalanched we had to use all our experience and all the tricks in the book." All images courtesy of Fredrik’s expedition website.

"We are now packing our gear and getting ready for the week long hike back to civilization. Looking forward to a Pizza in Kathmandu."

Veteran 8000er skiers Fredrik Eriksson and J?rgen Aamot were aiming for the first Swedish/Norwegian ascent of Kangchenjunga and the first ski descent of its (very steep) slopes. The attempt was part of a project spanning three years where Fredrik would try to ski the three highest mountains in the world. Planned for summer 2009; K2 (8612m) is next and Mount Everest is saved for last in fall 2010.

Fredrik Ericsson grew up in Umea, a small town in northern Sweden, but has since 2000 spent most of his time in Chamonix in the French Alps. As a professional skier he spends the winter traveling to ski resorts in the Alps and exotic mountain ranges around the world. When Fredrik’s not skiing he enjoys climbing in the Mont Blanc range.

Short summary of Fredrik’s previous ski descents:
2003 – Peak Somoni (7 495 m), Tajikistan.
2004 – Central summit of Shisha Pangma (8 012 m), Tibet.
2005 – Gasherbrum 2 (8 035 m), Pakistan.
2005 – Laila Peak (6 069 m), Pakistan, skied from 5 940 m.
2007 – Dhaulagiri (8 167 m), Nepal, skied from 8 000 to 4 700 meter.

Fredrik’s sponsors: Dynastar skis, Osprey, Tierra, Hestra, Adidas Eyewear and Grivel. Supporters: Tissot, Exped, DHL, Giro, Ortovox, Dynafit, Therm-Ic, J?mtport and Loben Expeditions