May 19, 1978 by Eugeniusz Chrobak and Wojciech Wróż
Kanchenjunga South Peak is a 8,476 m high subsidiary peak of Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
The summit is located in the Himalayan range, on the border between Nepal and India. A ridge leads north over the middle peak to the main peak of Kangchenjunga. To the east, a ridge branches off to Zemu Kang (7,730 m). To the south, the ridge continues over Hogsback Peak (7,379 m) and Talung (7,349 m) to Kabru.
Mountaineering
The mountain has rarely been climbed, with only six expeditions counted by the Himalayan Database as of 2024.
The first ascent of Kanchenjunga South took place in 1978, 23 years after the first successful summit of the main peak. It was climbed by a Polish team consisting of Eugeniusz Chrobak and Wojciech Wróż.
In 1989, the mountain was climbed for the first time without supplemental oxygen by a Russian team led by Eduard Myslovsky.
In 1991, Marko Prezelj and Andrej Štremfelj successfully summitted Kangchenjunga South by its Southwest ridge, in alpine style. After a challenging climb, they reached the summit on April 30. The following year, the pair were awarded the inaugural Piolets d’Or for their successful ascent.
In 2012, Kanchenjunga South was first summitted in Winter, when it was climbed by German Philipp Kunz and his team of four Sherpas, Tshering Dorje Sherpa, Kami Chiriri Lama, Lhakpa Wangel Sherpa, and Nima Ongdi Sherpa. The team reached the summit on February 15. Supplementary oxygen was not used in the ascent, and the expedition took 15 days in total.