Kimshung – or: Why We Voluntarily Carry Heavy Packs and Sleep Badly

This year Lukas and I headed to Nepal – more precisely to the Langtang Himal. We flew from Munich to Kathmandu on October 5th, 2025. For once, our luggage actually arrived at the same time as we did 🙂

After one night in Kathmandu, we continued the very next day by 4×4 jeep, with our gear strapped to the roof, to Syabrubesi. After about five hours on partly terrible roads (thanks to flooding in the days before), we switched to the classic “foot taxi.” Here, our three strong porters took over our five bags of gear, clothing, etc. – roughly 100 kg in total.

That same day we climbed about 750 vertical meters to Khangjin (2300 m), where we spent the night.

The next day we arranged with the porters to meet again in two days in Kyanjin Gompa (3900 m). We packed our sleeping bags and toothbrushes and set off early. That day we walked as far as Gumba (3400 m), where we found a nice little lodge.

After breakfast in the sun the following morning, we continued at an easy pace to Kyanjin Gompa (3900 m), arriving late morning. Passang from the Superview Lodge welcomed us warmly. We got a great room and refueled with soup and tea.

The afternoon was spent settling in and resting. Unfortunately, Lukas had caught a bit of a cold on the plane and was enthusiastically spreading his sniffles. Great start…

Already that evening – instead of the next day as planned – our porters arrived with our gear. Huge respect to them!

We spent the next two days acclimatizing and getting Lukas back on his feet. After two days in Kyanjin Gompa we visited the Italians at their basecamp, about 300 vertical meters above Kyanjin. Over a plate of pasta we discussed the situation and agreed to acclimatize separately at first.

After another rest day we packed our backpacks and on October 12th headed toward Yala Peak (5520 m). Lukas was feeling better by then, and we began the slow and painful process of acclimatization. At the foot of Yala Peak, around 5000 m, we pitched our tent and enjoyed the afternoon sun 🙂

Well fed and hydrated, we crawled into our sleeping bags at 6 p.m. – the sun already sets early at this time of year. After our first night at 5000 m, the rising sun woke us, and we enjoyed our “breakfast” (aka freeze-dried food) in the morning light. Lukas had semolina porridge, I had rice pudding. After what felt almost like brunch, we packed our daypacks and started toward the summit of Yala Peak.

Slowly, and with increasingly heavy breathing, we climbed step by step. In moments like these I always ask myself: “Why am I doing this – and even paying for it?” Well, experience shows it’s usually worth it if you push through 😉

With slow steps and a bit of easy scrambling near the top, we reached the south summit of Yala Peak (5520 m). We stood alone on the summit, enjoying an incredible panorama and our hard bread with bacon. Even an eagle caught the scent of our bacon and circled overhead a few times.

True to the motto “net time at altitude counts,” we stayed nearly an hour on the summit before heading back to our tent.

Once there, we packed everything up and continued toward the lodge, arriving late afternoon.

The next day was dedicated to drying gear, resting, and eating – eating – eating. Passang took great care of us, Lukas worked diligently on his laptop (remote work and all that), while I dove into Hermann Hesse.

Since the weather forecast remained good, we packed our backpacks again in the late afternoon for the next three days. The plan was to climb onto the Kimshung Glacier the following day, spend one night at its base, then move higher the day after and spend another night to further boost our red blood cells.

After a pancake breakfast late in the morning, we set off heavily loaded. Lukas was practically glowing while shouldering his pack – he’s internationally known for his love of heavy backpacks*.

After about 300 vertical meters we passed the Italians’ basecamp, where they immediately questioned us about our plans. With all questions answered and fears eased, we continued on.

We painfully climbed over 1000 vertical meters up a ramp of scree, rock, grass, and snow to the foot of the glacier. Around 4 p.m. we found a nice spot at about 5500 m, flattened the tent platform, and fired up the stove.

While the stove screamed, we pitched the tent and began setting up our “suite.” With carb and water stores replenished, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset before crawling into our sleeping bags. And for anyone wondering: yes, we do brush our teeth – at least twice a day! Don’t worry!

After a starry night, we were once again woken from hibernation by the world’s best alarm clock: the sun. After the usual morning routine, everything went back into the backpacks. Roped up, we headed onto the glacier. The air grew thinner and breathing harder. Oh, how wonderful high-altitude mountaineering is! Carefully sticking to our drinking breaks, we climbed the glacier in perfect weather. It was almost too warm – we walked in T-shirts, used only as sun protection, not insulation.

Suddenly we heard a buzzing sound – shortly after, Damiano’s drone appeared (Francois’ cameraman). Not long after that, two figures approached on the horizon. We sat down to watch the show. Soon they were close enough to recognize: Francois and Giuseppe. They greeted us and told us they were doing a training day. They passed us and continued toward the end of the glacier. We followed more slowly with our heavy packs. Higher up we met again, and Francois shared some bread with prosciutto.

We pitched our tent and spent the afternoon hiding from the sun inside, carefully studying the east face of Kimshung. Here too, the sun disappeared by 6 p.m., and it quickly became icy cold.

After a freezing night, the sun took its time showing up, so we entertained ourselves with “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” questions Lukas had thoughtfully downloaded earlier. After 1.5 hours of quizzing, the sun finally appeared and we crawled out of our sleeping bags. We skipped breakfast, quickly made something to drink, packed up, and started back toward our bed at the lodge.

We left our tent at the foot of the glacier along with our gear and sleeping bags. Right on time at noon we reached the Italians’ basecamp, where they welcomed us with a beer.

You could feel the tension in the air, and it didn’t take long before Francois spoke up. He told us he had already consulted his weather guru, who said that Monday – three days away – would be the day.

So we went into their team tent and discussed details. After some questions it became clear that although the Italians wanted to climb with us, we would form two separate rope teams – everyone carrying their own gear. With that settled, a plan was quickly formed: we would move back up to our tent the day after next and attempt the summit the following day.

With everything clarified, we descended the final 300 vertical meters to our lodge and filled our stomachs.

Well fed, we rested and checked in with Alex, our meteorologist. He also confirmed that Monday, October 20th, 2025, would be the perfect summit day, with deteriorating conditions afterward.

We had been looking forward to 2–3 rest days before the push, but we didn’t want to miss this weather window – so those 2–3 days became just one.

After sleeping in, we spent our rest day preparing gear, food, clothing, and packing for the summit push. In the afternoon we even conducted a quick “job interview” with Lukas’ new roommate, who made a nice impression.

With everything ready, we had a pasta party and went to bed.

October 19th: well rested and fed, we set off around 10 a.m. Passang and his parents wished us luck. We stopped briefly with the Italians to exchange a few words before continuing. They started about an hour after us.

At our tent we began melting snow and refilling our carb stores. Before snuggling into our sleeping bags, we discussed the next day’s plan with the Italians: start at 02:30. A beautiful sunset followed before retreating to our honeymoon suite.

October 20th: wake-up at 01:15. Stove on, snow melting – which at this altitude and temperature takes forever. We “enjoyed” our cinnamon roll from the bakery and drank tea. After breakfast and filling our thermos bottles, we set off slightly late at 02:45.

Despite the delay, there were still no lights behind us – so the Italians must have been running late too. We started slowly in bitter cold, wearing everything we had. After about 15 minutes we saw two lights, and soon the Italians caught up. Still half asleep, we crossed the glacier by headlamp, climbing through deep snow to the bergschrund, where we were rewarded with a breathtaking sunrise.

The bergschrund – as they often are – was tricky, but with a leftward detour we crossed it safely and entered the wall.

At first Lukas and I led. Repeatedly the Italian lead climber joined us at belays, and suddenly all the tension of the past weeks vanished. We were all having a blast and simply enjoying being there.

The promised weather held, and we climbed in thin pullovers under the sun. Snow, ice, and mixed sections alternated in the couloir, offering engaging climbing that was sometimes difficult to protect.

At the end of the couloir another steep mixed section awaited before reaching the summit face.

About 300 vertical meters below the summit we let the Italians pass. Francois broke trail up the summit face and finally stood on top of Kimshung (6781 m) at 12:30 local time – followed closely by Giuseppe, Lukas, and me. We hugged each other in disbelief and joy!

Visibility stretched from Shishapangma to Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Makalu.

After summit photos and a short rest came the hardest part: the descent.

The first 300 meters we downclimbed unroped with full concentration. Then the real work began. Francois and I rappelled first, setting anchor after anchor, closely followed by Lukas and Giuseppe. After about 13 rappels we were back at the bergschrund. From there, autopilot engaged – back across the glacier to our tents, packing everything up as the sun sank lower and rewarded us with glowing evening colors.

By headlamp we reached the Italians’ basecamp around 7 p.m., where we were warmly welcomed. Over a plate of pasta we reviewed the day, and the kitchen crew even surprised us with a summit cake 🙂 Well fed, Lukas and I descended the final 300 vertical meters to our lodge, collapsing into bed – exhausted but incredibly happy.

The next day our hosts surprised us again with another cake, baked especially for us by Passang’s mother! And at 9 a.m. we had our first beer in two weeks. What a pleasure!!!

We spent the rest of the day drying gear and visiting the bakery once more.

After two rest days we checked the weather again and considered our remaining options. We still had nearly two weeks before our return flight, but conditions had deteriorated since summit day, and the forecast looked grim: strong winds and precipitation.

After two more days of deliberation, we decided to join the Italians and leave Langtang together for Kathmandu. With lots of laughter and nonsense, we returned to Syabrubesi in two days, then continued by jeep to Kathmandu. Our “Formula 1” driver may have set a new speed record – after just four hours we were already at the hotel.

Freshly showered, we enjoyed our first burger since departure. Delicious!

Well rested, we wandered Kathmandu’s streets the next morning – always an experience.

That evening we met the Italians one last time for pizza at “Fire & Ice.” Afterward, Kathmandu’s bars and clubs were thoroughly tested into the early hours. All I’ll say is: I was extremely grateful to Lukas the next morning, who safely – and on time – got me to the airport (even though I briefly resisted waking up) and also dealt with the annoying airline clerk about our excess baggage.

All in all, another mega expedition – so much more than just a summit!

Thanks as well to my sponsors who supported this expedition:

Gipfelstürmer Innsbruck – Arc’teryx – Petzl

* For those who don’t know: Lukas hates backpacks that weigh more than 8 kg.