Participants: Alfred Sutter, expedition leader; Ms Annelies Lohner; Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant; René Dittert; Adolf Rubi; Jacob Pargätzi.
Outcomes: Ascent of the Pyramid Peak North-East Summit (approx. 7100 m), Tangkongma Peak (6210 m), Chabuk La (6150 m), Dzanye Peak (6710 m), Attempt at ascent up to 6800 m on Nupchu Peak (7028 m), Exploration of the Kangchenjunga (8585 m) from the Nepalese side.
Encouraged by the success of the Garhwal expedition on Gangotri in 1947, the Sutter-Lohner-Dittert trio undertook a spring expedition in the Kangchenjunga («Kantsch») region. This mountain is the third highest “eight-thousander”, located in the easternmost part of the Himalayas. Dr. Edouard Wyss-Dunant, a doctor from Geneva, joined at his own expense. Our Foundation became Patron to the expedition, took part in the organisation and assigned two experienced mountain guides (Adolf Rubi from Wengen and Jacob Pargäzi from Grindelwald) to look after the mountaineering needs of the small team. Rubi was the designated head of the tour, but had to withdraw on health grounds during the course of the expedition. The mountaineering responsibility then fell on Pargätzi alone, supported by Dittert. The participants all remained on extremely good terms throughout the whole duration of the expedition.
The original mountaineering aim of the expedition was to climb a seven-thousander in the Sikkim Himalaya. Permission was granted by the Nepalese government at the very last minute, and the programme of activity was therefore extended.
Apart from the explorations and ascents carried out during this expedition, we should also mention the physiological observations made by Dr. Wyss-Dunant. A rich haul of photographs and sketches was also captured, and used for the «Sikkim-Himalaya» map created by the topographer Hans Bossart. The small «Jongsang-Nupchu Region» map was also produced from this material by Hans Bossart.