Kanchenjunga was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown, members of a British expedition led by Charles Evans. By agreement with the people of Sikkim, who hold the summit sacred, they stopped a few feet short of the true top, and later climbers have usually followed the same custom.
The expedition
The 1955 British Kangchenjunga expedition was led by Charles Evans, who had been deputy leader of the successful Everest expedition two years earlier. The team climbed from the Nepal side, up the Yalung Face from the Yalung Glacier. This route followed a reconnaissance made in 1954, and it went past a buttress and a high snow shelf called the Great Shelf.
The summit day
George Band and Joe Brown reached the top of the mountain on 25 May 1955. Norman Hardie and Tony Streather followed them on 26 May. Brown was a famous rock climber and Band was a young climber, and between them they gave the expedition its fame in Britain.
The promise
Before the climb, the expedition agreed with the authorities of Sikkim that they would not set foot on the very summit. The mountain is sacred to the Sikkimese, who believe that a god lives there. Band and Brown stopped about five feet below the top, and Hardie and Streather did the same the next day.
A custom that continues
Climbers who followed have often stopped just short of the summit, to respect the same belief. Many climbing records quote the summit as reached when the climber is within a few steps of the top. Check the wording if a record matters to you.
Earlier attempts
Several expeditions tried the mountain in the 1920s and 1930s, from both the Sikkim side and the Nepal side, and there were losses on the way. The 1955 success followed years of reconnaissance and many lessons from earlier failures.
What it means today
The 1955 ascent is remembered as one of the big events of Himalayan climbing, since it came two years after Everest. Kanchenjunga is still a serious, remote climb with few ascents. Read climbing difficulty and season for the modern picture.
Plan it
See how to see Kanchenjunga from Nepal and the Kanchenjunga trek guides.
