Update: Americans Climb Mega North Face of Jannu
Matt Cornell, Alan Rousseau and Jackson Marvell have repeated one of the steepest and most impressive north faces in the Himalaya
Americans Matt Cornell, Alan Rousseau and Jackson Marvell have climbed the north face of Jannu, a 7,710-metre peak in Nepal. The team received an $8,000 grant from the American Alpine Club for their attempt at the famed wall. In spring, the American Alpine Club announced that their objective “was climbed nearly two decades ago by a Russian team in siege style over two years. Marvell and his team will be attempting an alpine-style climb of the route.” In 2004, a Russian team climbed the direct north face route through the headwall using big wall techniques – read the trip report here. They left a considerable amount of gear and fixed ropes on the mountains, but still received a Piolet d’Or for their ascent.
Update: Cornell, Rousseau and Marvell have announced on social media that they spent seven days making the first ascent of Round Trip Ticket, a 2,700-metre M7 AI5+ A0 up the north face in alpine-style. See their posts below for more info.
The first ascent of the north face of Jannu to the summit was in 1976 by a Japanese team, it climbed the left side of the face avoiding the steep head wall. A team from New Zealand climbed the north face in 1975, but did not climb to the summit. In 1987 a Dutch party made the complete second ascent. During the descent, two members were killed. In 1989, Slovenian Tomo Česen claimed he soloed the north face, but it was widely disputed. To see every attempt and ascent of Jannu since the 1950s visit the Himalayan Index here.
Cornell, Marvell and Rousseau are three of the world’s best alpine climbers. They’ve accomplished some of the most audacious first ascents in remote ranges over the past decade. One example of their speed and strength was their 21.5 hour ascent of the Slovak Direct on Denali in 2022. Stay tuned for more details about this historic climb as they become available.
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