Numbur Peak – Barmasse, Berg and Bielecki with Alpine-style first ascent
- Monday 27th October 2025
The Italian Alpinist from the Aosta Valley, Hervé Barmasse, together with the German Felix Berg and the Pole Adam Bielecki, has completed the first-ever ascent of the South Face of Numbur Peak (6958 m) in the Rolwaling Valley, Nepal, in Alpine style, establishing a new route along the way.
The team faced difficulties graded ED- (Extremely Difficult minus) or VI, WI5 (vertical ice) and M4 (mixed rock/ice).
The ascent, demanding and full of unforeseen events, required a bivouac at 6900 metres, without a tent or sleeping bag, at -25°C and with gusts of wind up to 60 km/h. From that extreme experience comes the name of the new route: Nepali Ice SPA. The team reached the summit of Numbur (6958 m) on October 19.
Recounting the climb, Barmasse commented, “It was a wild, unpredictable ascent. When we reached the base of the wall, Adam wasn’t feeling well: vomiting, weak, and out of strength. He looked at us and told us to go ahead without him. Felix replied: ‘We’re a team, let’s try it together. If things don’t work out, we can always come back and try again in the next few days.’ ‘Thank you, guys.’ Adam’s voice cut through the air, firm and determined.
In the first part of the wall, we followed the most logical line, the one already attempted by the Catalan team in 2016. The climb, fantastic, unfolded through a sequence of spectacular icefalls. But soon the enchantment gave way to unease: ice and rocks began to fall from above, putting our safety seriously at risk.
We decided to abandon the line attempted by the Catalans for a more direct, harder, uncertain route. That’s when, by sheer luck, a rock hit my shoulder instead of my head. The pain was strong, but turning back under those conditions would have been even riskier. We went on."
"From then on, metre by metre, the route became increasingly interesting, aesthetic, unpredictable. The difficulties of the climb thrilled us until, in the last two hundred metres, climbing literally meant swimming in soft snow, without any possibility of protection. We slowed down, took risks, aware that a false step would mean falling to the base of the wall in a few seconds.
We reached 6900 metres. From there, it was impossible to ignore the voice of the summit calling us. But it was late. We moved under a snow cornice and decided to bivouac: without a tent, without a sleeping bag, without food. Adam had with him an emergency sheet under which we took shelter, sitting, covering our faces and feet.
At first, we joked and laughed confidently. Then the wind rose, gusts reached 60 km/h, the temperature dropped quickly to -25°C. Silence fell. We focused on a single thought: to survive. Avoid frostbite, resist the cold, make it through the night. For me, without doubt, the most difficult night since I started climbing. The hours seemed endless. We huddled together for warmth. Adam held on. From time to time, Felix and I cracked a joke – they say laughter warms the heart.
At dawn, we looked at each other: we were alive. No frostbite. We were fine. Now we had to decide: to turn all this into a ‘good attempt’ or to complete the first Alpine-style ascent of the south face of Numbur. Mountaineering teaches us: it’s all about the head – always the head. The summit welcomed us. We were happy.”
Finally, Barmasse concluded, “It was a 'thriller' ascent, technically splendid, humanly profound. An experience in which, for hours, we tested our resilience and our capacity to endure pain and cold. Technically, one can be ready to climb anything. But for an adventure like this, you are never ready enough.
In the end, what remains is what you feel inside: the passion for life and the awareness that the hardest climbs turn the summit into a detail, while surviving the elements is the real achievement.”