Kangchenjunga: A Trekker’s Guide

Known as the Five Treasures of the Snows because of its five summits, Kangchenjunga is the world’s third highest peak (8586m). With the North Base camp trek, Ghunsa to the Simbua Khola valley, southern approaches and trekking to Kangch from Sikkim. The trek to base camp is regarded by many as the most beautiful walk in the world.

1: General Tourist Guides:
Insight Guide: Nepal edited by Hans Höfer (APA Publications). Expert contributions, both textual and photographic, give this regularly-updated book an air of authority.

The Insider’s Guide to Nepal by Brian Tetley (Moorland Publishing, 1991) with many fine photographs by Mohamed Amin and Duncan Willetts. Among more general information, it briefly describes a 16-day trek to Kangchenjunga, written before the road went as far as Basantpur.

Nepal (Nelles Guides published by Nelles Verlag/Robertson McCarta, 1990) includes a small section on the trek to Kangchenjunga.

Nepal: The Rough Guide by David Reed (Rough Guides/Penguin Books, 1993) and Nepal: A Travel Survival Kit by Tony Wheeler and Richard Everist (Lonely Planet, 1993) both offer lots of practical no-nonsense advice on getting around Nepal, and include some trekking information.

2: Photographic books:
Heart of the Himalaya by David Paterson (Peak Publishing, 1997)

People Within A Landscape by Bert Willison & Shirley Bourke (The Mountaineers, Seattle, USA/The Four Sherpa Trust, New Plymouth, NZ, 1989)

3: Trekking:
Trekking in Nepal by Stephen Bezruchka (Cordee/The Mountaineers - 7th edition, 1997) is the classic trekker’s guide. Packed with information, it is a gem of a book. Sensitively written and regularly updated, the author’s commitment to the country and his concern for the people are examples to all who follow in his footsteps. Anyone planning to visit Nepal should study this book before leaving home.

Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya by Stan Armington (Lonely Planet - 7th edition, 1997) is another weighty guide to several trekking regions, including Kangchenjunga. The author has spent many years leading trekking parties in the Himalaya, and lives in Kathmandu. The latest edition contains plenty of up-to-the-minute information.

Trekking in Nepal by Toru Nakano (Springfield Books, 1990) has a strong photographic content, but poor text. Some of the illustrations are particularly striking and will be a reminder to take a camera and plenty of film with you.

Trekking in Nepal, West Tibet and Bhutan by Hugh Swift (Sierra Club/Hodder & Stoughton, 1989) provides a stimulating overview of numerous trekking possibilities in these three countries, including a small section about a trek to Kangchenjunga made in the 1980s by Anne Frej. The book covers too much territory to give precise detail, but makes enjoyable reading nonetheless. A much more personal book than the three mentioned above, it is enlivened by anecdotes that really make you want to pull on your boots and go.

Trekking in Pakistan and India by Hugh Swift (Sierra Books/Hodder & Stoughton, 1990) is a companion volume to the above book. It contains a small section devoted to Sikkim.

4: Mountain Exploration & Mountaineering:
Himalayan Journals by Joseph Dalton Hooker (John Murray, 1855 - latest revised & condensed edition by Today & Tomorrow’s Printers & Publishers, New Delhi, 1987). This is a classic of Himalayan travel literature that includes an account of Hooker’s journeys to Kangchenjunga in 1848-49. Should be obtainable in Kathmandu.

Round Kangchenjunga by D.W. Freshfield (Arnold, 1903 - latest edition published by Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu, 1979). At times turgid, at times inspired, Freshfield’s account of his circuit of Kangchenjunga in 1899 nonetheless makes interesting reading for anyone planning to trek there.

The Kangchenjunga Adventure by F.S. Smythe (Victor Gollancz, 1930) is an account of the 1930 International Expedition to the northwest side of the mountain.

Himalayan Campaign: The German Attack on Kangchenjunga by Paul Bauer (Blackwell, 1937) is the story of Bauer’s two attempts in 1929 and ’31.

Kangchenjunga Challenge by Paul Bauer (Kimber, 1955) is very much a rewrite of his earlier book.

Kanchenjunga by John Tucker (Elek Books, 1955). The reconnaissance expedition of 1954, which discovered the route taken by Evans’ team the following year.

Kangchenjunga, the Untrodden Peak by Charles Evans (Hodder, 1956). The story of the first ascent in 1955, by the leader of the expedition.

Kangchenjunga: First Ascent from the North-East Spur by Col. Narinder Kumar (Vision Books, 1978). As the title suggests, this is the story of the Indian Army ascent of Kangchenjunga in 1977, the second overall, but first via the Northeast Spur.

Sacred Summits by Peter Boardman (Hodder, 1982) and Savage Arena by Joe Tasker (Methuen, 1982). Both volumes contain accounts of the 1979 ascent via the North Col, now brought together as part of The Boardman Tasker Omnibus (Bâton Wicks/The Mountaineers, 1996).

Himalayan Climber by Doug Scott (Diadem Books, 1992) is a showcase for Scott’s tremendous photography. It includes a section devoted to his 1979 ascent of Kangchenjunga with Boardman, Tasker and Bettembourg.

Living on the Edge: The Winter Ascent of Kangchenjunga by Cherie Bremer-Kamp (David & Charles, 1987). The subtitle is misleading. This is the story of a winter attempt in 1985 by Bremer-Kamp and Chris Chandler, with Nima Tensing (kitchen boy on Scott’s expedition), which ended when Chandler died of pulmonary oedema.

At Grips with Jannu by Jean Franco & Lionel Terray (Victor Gollancz, 1967) is the account of the French ascent of Jannu in 1962.

To the Third Pole: the History of the High Himalayas by G.O. Dyhrenfurth (Laurie, 1955). A history of attempts on the 8000m peaks, it includes attempts on Kangchenjunga prior to the first ascent.

Sivalaya: the 8000-metre Peaks of the Himalaya by Louis Baume (Gastons-West Col, 1978). Similar to Dyhrenfurth’s book, but in more concise form, and inevitably more up-to-date in content.

High Asia: An Illustrated History of the 7000 metre Peaks by Jill Neate (Unwin Hyman, 1989). Synopses of the ascent of the Himalayan 7000m peaks by a noted bibliophile, with brief accounts of several mountains within the Kangchenjunga region.