New Routes in the Himalaya
DUTCH EXPEDITION CLIMBERS OPEN SEVEN NEW ROUTES IN THE HIMALAYA
During its final expedition in the remote Denyai Tokpo (Zanskar, Ladakh, lndia) the NKBV Expedition Academy opened seven new routes on peaks ranging from 5,600 to 6,135 meters.
The twelve-member team spent five weeks in the valley (August-September 2025) and achieved several first ascents despite the heaviest snowfall in 37 years. As far as is known, no previous ascents or established routes existed in this valley.
Seven new routes:
1. On a previously unnamed mountain, now named Nochung Ru (5,700 m) Folke and Jan opened the route Committed to the Cause;
2. Boris, Karlijn, Laura, and Claartje climbed Warrior Girls up to 20 meters below the east summit of Chortan Rigib (5,800 m);
3. To the west summit of that mountain (5,752 m) Folke, Bas, and Joris established the line Jullay Broer;
4. A second previously unnamed peak was named Chotzangma (5,800 m) and climbed by Alexander and Mael via Snow Symphony;
5. Jan, Jules, and Niek opened the route Tak Sham on this same Chotzangma;
6. A large team - Alexander, Laura, Bas, Niek, Folke, and Mael - ascended the south face of Khang Chan Chenmo (6,135 m) via Wish You Were Here, dedicated to Jeroen van Ommen, Mats Wentholt, and Line van den Berg, who passed away in 2023;
7. Karlijn and Boris created the route Steps of the Chough along the ridge of a 5,600-meter mountain, now named Rejam Ri.
"It's a special feeling to open new terrain entirely on your own - and to stand in places where no one has ever been, " says Jan van der Meulen.
"Climbing on intuition, in such a wild and remote landscape, feels magical and like a rare privilege," adds Claartje Meijs.
Despite exceptionally wintry conditions - with the camp having to be dug out multiple times, the team managed to seize several weather windows. Coach Niek de Jonge says: "Our greatest success is that everyone returned safely and in friendship. The fact that we also made beautiful climbs is the icing on the cake."
In addition to these major alpine ascents, the team also established a series of new rock routes up to grade 6b and compiled a bouldering topo with more than fifty problems.
About the Expedition Academy
The Expedition Academy is a 2.5-year training program run by the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (NKBV) in which young mountaineers are trained to become independent expedition climbers. The program focuses on various climbing disciplines, teamwork, and risk management.
The Team
The Expedition Academy team consists of nine enthusiastic alpinists: Falke Drost, Mael Durand, Claartje Meijs, Jan van der Meulen, Laura Oldenburger, Jules de Ruiter, Alexander Sternfeld, Joris Timmermans, and Karlijn de Wit.
They were supported by five experts: Court Haegens, Niek de Jonge, Eveline van Tuinen, Boris Textar, and Bas Visscher.
The adventures of the Expedition Academy were supported by SCARPA.
