Pauhunri

Pauhunri is a mountain in the Eastern Himalayas. It is located on the border of Sikkim, India and Tibet, China and is situated about 75 km northeast of Kangchenjunga. It marks the origin of the Teesta River.

First ascents

Pauhunri has an elevation of and was first climbed in 1911 by Scottish mountaineer, Alexander Mitchell Kellas, along with two Sherpas known only as "Sony" and "Tuny’s brother". Unknown at the time, it was recognised many years later that this climb made Pauhunri the highest climbed summit on Earth from 1911 to 1928.
The summit was then reached by the English mountaineer Wilfrid Noyce in September 1945. In June 1949, the third ascent was achieved by the Frenchman Robert Walter, headmaster of Calve College in Pondicherry. His wife Madeleine accompanied him as far as base camp. Walter wrote about his experiences in an article for the journal La Montagne. In June 1951, he successfully reached the summit of Trisul, with Sherpa Nyima Tensing. As a result of his Pauhunri and Trisul climbs, Walter became a member of the Groupe de Haute Montagne in 1954, sponsored by Maurice Herzog and Robert Tézenas du Montcel.