American Climber Mike Gardner Falls to His Death on Jannu East

Mountain guide from Idaho, Mike Gardner, fell to his death on treacherous 24,501 foot Jannu East in the Himalayas.

Mike Gardner / Arcteryx

American Alpinist Mike Gardner

American mountaineer Mike Gardner has died after falling on Jannu East in the Himalaya. Gardner was a mountain guide from Idaho, and an experienced alpinist with many ascents on Denali and over 150 ascents in the Grand Tetons. Gardner was climbing with Sam Hennessey who was awarded an American Alpine Club Cutting Edge Award to help fund the expedition to Jannu East.

Hennessey descended the mountain safely with assistance from a French climbing team consisting of Benjamin Vedrines, Leo Billon and Nicolas Jean, according to Jocelyn Chavy's article in Alpine Mag. Gardner reflected on the paradox between the joy of mountaineering and the ever present dangers that accompany all climbs in an Alpinist podcast. “I don’t have a really clear, well-thought-out answer…why I go to the mountains when there’s so much hurt and tragedy there for me, yet there’s so much joy, and the answer lies somewhere in the middle of these paradoxes.”

French Team Retreats on Jannu East

The French climbing team of Benjamin Vedrines, Leo Billon, and Nicolas Jean aborted their summit push up the same mountain due to one team member’s health concerns. Jannu East, 24,501 feet, presents one of the most difficult and technical mountaineering challenges in the Himalayas. Jannu, also known as Kumbhakarna, is located in the Kanchenjunga region of eastern Nepal, near the Nepal-Sikkim border. Jannu’s main peak sits above Jannu East at 25,294 feet. Though not as high, Jannu East provides a more formidable climbing challenge.

When Billon became ill the team turned around on the highly difficult north face. On their descent, while rappelling down the middle of the face, they encountered American climber Sam Hennessey waiving his arms and summoning them for help. Hennessey was climbing with fellow American Mike Gardner on a similar route as the French team. “But I couldn’t see his partner, I took my hood off and paid attention to what Sam was trying to tell me.” Mike [Gardner],” Vedrines told AlpineMag. Hennessey revealed the tragic news that Gardner had fallen from the mountain to his death.

Hennessey explained that his partner had fallen all the way to the base of the face. Hennessey descended with the French team, rappelling approximately 2,300 feet to the base of the north face. They found clothing, but no sign of Mike Gardner’s body. In the video above, Mike expresses his thoughts on life and his love for the outdoors and adventure.

Descending Jannu East / ©Védrines

Jannu East

Jannu East’s home, the greater Jannu massif, sits just west of Mount Kanchenjunga - the 3rd highest mountain in the world. The mountain’s striking and sheer north face, boasts some of the most difficult and technically demanding terrain in the world. It features massive rock walls, hanging glaciers, steep ice slopes, and knife-edge ridges. Jannu East, often considered one of the toughest sub-8,000-meter peaks on earth, has seen few attempts and summits due to this technical difficulty. The climb requires mastery of ice, rock, and mixed climbing techniques, with sections of the ascent featuring vertical rock faces, complex seracs, and overhanging ice walls.

The first successful ascent of Jannu East was achieved in 1962 by a French team led by Lionel Terray. This expedition approached via the southeast ridge, which remains the most common route to the eastern summit. Terray, a legendary climber, described the climb as one of the most difficult challenges of his career, emphasizing the extreme technicality and exposure of the route.