Jonatan García and Topo Mena end Gangapurna expedition
Jonatan García and Esteban 'Topo' Mena have decided to withdraw from Gangapurna due to the poor conditions they have encountered, with snow up to their waists and no clear lines on the wall. They decided to undertake the climb in March, before the middle of spring, but the conditions they encountered were not what they expected.
Jonatan García shared on social networks the end of the current expedition, and plans to return in the future. "So much for our adventure in the Gangapurna (...) We have a lot of things left to do, we will return to this precious corner of the Himalayas as soon as we can".
For its part Topo Mena shared on his blog with sadness but at the same time joy at being the ones who decide to end the expedition, "to withdraw and plan another visit in the future".
"The cold temperatures and wind direction, plus the deep/facetted snow we encountered under a wind-affected layer of ~15 cm, were enough to make us realise that conditions were not going to change one bit in the near future or perhaps for the rest of the season, at least on the long and committed approach to our dream line. The views of a drier than expected wall, combined with the conditions to reach the base, were the substance of our decision to try again in the future but after the monsoon visits these mountains.
After a few hours discussing options and ideas, half broken-hearted at not even being able to try the wall, we decided to call the helicopter to leave." -Esteban 'Topo' Mena
11/03/2022: Jonatan García and Topo Mena installed at the foot of the south face of Gangapurna, 7,455m.
Jonatan García and Esteban 'Topo' Mena have already set up their base camp at the foot of Gangapurna (7,455m), in a safe place at an altitude of 4,700m.
They chose the south face because of the danger of seracs on the north face. The aim is to bring the light, fast and autonomous alpine style to the south face of the mountain, which has mixed terrain and less ice than the north face.
This face was opened in 1981 by the Canadian group led by John Lauchlan, and there is another route opened by a Korean group in 2016 - the last ascent of the mountain. It is currently uncertain whether they will open a new route or repeat any of the previous ones.
16/02/2022: Jonatan García and Topo Mena, light alpine to Gangapurna (7.455m)
Jonatan Garcia wants to take his light, fast and autonomous alpine style to the Annapurna massif to attempt to climb Gangapurna (7,455m). Jonatan's style is widely known with his activities in the Benasque Valley. He will do it together with Esteban 'Topo' Mena. The two met on Dhaulagiri in the spring of 2021 where they developed a great understanding and plans for the future.
