Photos: © Thibaut Marot /Quentin Degrenelle
World first ascent of Jannu East (7,468 m)
Benjamin Védrines and Nicolas Jean achieve a historic ascent in alpine style
On October 15, 2025 , French mountaineers Benjamin Védrines and Nicolas Jean achieved the world's first ascent of Jannu East (7,468 m) , in the Kangchenjunga region of Nepal. We can't even begin to describe how incredibly proud we are to have Benjamin on the COOKNRUN team: yes, Benj fuels himself with COOKNRUN (among other things) during his expeditions!
Considered one of the last great "problems" of the Himalayas, this legendary face had never been climbed despite numerous, sometimes dramatic, attempts. The French duo achieved a feat in pure alpine style —without oxygen, fixed ropes, or high-altitude porters—reconnecting with the most demanding and committed spirit of mountaineering.
One year after a first attempt stopped at 6,650m in 2024, Védrines and Jean returned to the same north face, determined to "close the story".
"It was the climb of a lifetime: three days of absolute intensity, between lucidity and extreme fatigue. It required pushing the limits of commitment while maintaining control."
— Benjamin Védrines
After more than a month and a half of acclimatization in Nepal and a successful first ascent of Adinesh Chuli (6,808 m) , the two climbers took advantage of a brief weather window to launch their ascent of the face. Three days of total effort, suspended on 2,300 meters of ice and mixed terrain , building small snow platforms each evening for their bivouac.
On October 15 at 1:40 p.m. , they reached the summit of Jannu Est , driven by exemplary determination and lucidity.
“I had been aiming for this climb for years, firstly because it was the site of my first expedition to Nepal, and also because this wall represented the ultimate challenge for contemporary mountaineers. It was also a childhood dream, that of opening a major summit, which I was able to realize at 33.”
— Benjamin Védrines
This world first is part of the lineage of great successes of French mountaineering in the Himalayas, sixty-three years after Lionel Terray and the 1962 French expedition , who made the first ascent of Jannu (7,710 m). It extends a tradition of audacity, elegance and exacting standards — a form of modern, light and lucid mountaineering, where speed, precision and sobriety serve above all a philosophy: respect for the environment and the beauty of the gesture.
Behind this success are years of preparation and a united team: the groundwork laid with Léo Viret (physical trainer) and Fabien Dupuis (mental trainer), the support of Thibaut Marot and Quentin Degrenelle at base camp, as well as the efficiency of the Nepalese staff, cooks in particular, who contributed to the success of the project.
"It was an expedition of the heart, a complete human adventure. There were two of us up there, but it was a whole team that made this summit possible."
— Benjamin Védrines
An extraordinary human and technical adventure, marked by friendship, precision, and commitment. A route established with absolute respect for the mountain, which will remain one of the great achievements of contemporary mountaineering.
