Mountaineers Bryan Hylenski, Jake Preston, Jonn Jeanneret, Dan Kopperud and Gabriel Thomas, collectively known as the Dedicated Everyman, had quite a summer in the Indian Himalaya. In July of this year, the five men traveled to three remote and unclimbed peaks in the Hagshu Glacier region with the hopes of putting up the first ascent on each of those peaks. The team ended up having quite an adventure while still managing to accomplish several of their goals.The original target of the Everman squad was an unclimbed peak in the Uttarkhand province. But back in June, that part of the world was hit by one of the worst floods in recorded history. Those floods destroyed buildings, wiped out crops and killed more than 10,000 people. This unmitigated natural disaster caused the team to alter their plans, heading to the Hagshu Glacier instead.
Due to that shift in plans, the squad was looking for something to attract their attention and provide a new challenge. Arriving in Base Camp on July 8, the boys decided that they wanted to attempt to bag three unclimbed peaks in the region. With that in mind, they set their sights on Hagshu (6520 m/21,391 ft) and two mountains that didn't even have names – Peaks 6035 and 6191.
After a couple of weeks working the mountain, acclimatizing and establishing their high camps, the team was finally ready to start their first push. That began on July 15 with an attempt on Peak 6191 but due to bad weather and poor health conditions, they were forced to turn back. A few days later, the team made an attempt on Peak 6035 and while three of them turned back, Bryan and Jonn managed to reach the summit, completing the first ascent of the mountain, which they then dubbed "Under Moonlight."
With their first successful summit out of the way, the men moved on to Hagshu on July 25. Despite their best efforts however, they were forced to turn back less than 80 meters fro the top. Undaunted by the failure to reach the summit, they decided to make a second attempt on Peak 6191. On July 28, Bryan, Jonn and Dan topped out giving them their second first ascent of the expedition. As is their right after becoming the first to climb the mountain, they named the peak "Hana's Men," after Bryan's five-year old daughter.
All in all, it was a successful adventure for the entire team and next February the intend to head back to India to attempt the first winter ascent of a mountain that hasn't been climbed in 20 years. To find out more about their summer expedition, visit DedicatedEveryman.com.
