Naya Kanga 1992

My first visit to the Himalaya, the first of three self organised expeditions. The walk-in went through the very scenic hills to Gosinkund Lake over the 4609m Laurebina La, where I climbed an adjacent minor peak. From there we descended to Syabru and the Langtang valley with stunning views of Langtang Lirung (7234m). We stayed at Langtang village which was tragically buried in the 2015 avalanche with huge loss of life. It's very poignant to see these pictures now knowing that some of the wonderful people we met may have lost their lives.
We ended in Kyangjin Gompa, which in 1992 was just a group of huts, not the small town it is today. Here we had a base camp from which we did some acclimatisation and made a two day attempt on Naya Kanga itself. On the summit day my climbing partners turned back with trouble with the altitude so I ended up soloing the last 200m or so. I didn't fancy soloing the final pyramid so I turned back only a few meters from the summit - nearly but not quite!
The views from the summit (well nearly the summit...) were stunning, with the eight thousander Shishapangma being clearly visible.