The Outdoor Adventure: Video: Climbing Kangchenjunga

At 8586 meters (28,169 ft) in height, Kangchenjunga is the third highest peak in the world, and yet it few people know about the challenges of climbing the mountain. While the mainstream audience and press focuses on Everest, and others keep an eye on K2 – "the mountaineer's mountain" – climbers on Kangchenjunga tend to toil in obscurity. The mountain offers a formidable challenge in its own right and has a bit of mystique about it in that no climbers have actually gone up to the true summit. That place is considered sacred, and out of respect to the mountain, the first ascenders, Joe Brown and George Band, stopped short of the top – a tradition that has continued to this day.

Filmmaker Philippe Gatta accompanied a team of French and Swiss climbers to the mountain this past spring, and has now released a fantastic video on the experience. You'll find it below, but get settled in, as it is nearly 15 minutes in length. Well worth watching however.