Summit of Annapurna I

Unpredictability is an essential part of adventure. And the more ambitious a mountain project, the greater is the uncertainty as to whether it really ends with a success. Thus the Italians Tamara Lunger and Simone Moro, who had planned to traverse the four summits of the Kangchenjunga massif without bottled oxygen, had to turn back without having reached a single summit. Two attempts ended at 7,200 meters, because Simone suffered from stomach ache. The German Thomas Laemmle returned empty-handed from Makalu, after four (!) failed summit attempts without supplemental oxygen and Sherpa support, always forced back by bad weather. And on the Northwest Face of Annapurna, the 33-year-old Pole Adam Bielecki, the 63-year-old Briton Rick Allen and the 36-year-old German Felix Berg had to capitulate halfway. “It was completely the right decision to turn around,” Felix tells me. “On the day of our descent, there was heavy snowfall. It would not have been possible with the weather.”

Alternative destination searched and found

Bielecki, Berg, Rousseau, Allen (from l. to r.)

From the beginning, the expedition was star-crossed. After the arrival in Kathmandu the team, at that time still including the 40-year-old Canadian Louis Rousseau, had to change their plan at short notice. Originally, the four climbers had wanted to open a new route through the Cho Oyu North Face, but the Chinese refused to issue entry visa for Tibet for all those who had stayed in Pakistan for more than a month without a break during the last three years. The difficult search for an alternative destination goal began. “Where can you find a beautiful wall on an eight-thousander?”, asked Felix and Co. They decided for the rarely tried Northwest Face of Annapurna, with the goal of finding a new, direct route to the summit. A first attempt to scale Tilicho Peak near Annapurna for acclimatization failed due to bad weather. Then Rousseau had to return home because his time budget for the expedition had run out. Bielecki, Allen and Berg managed in the second attempt to reach the summit of Tilicho Peak and finally tackled the Annapurna Northwest Face.

Tent torn, sleeping bag lost

On the second day in the wall

“We had food for eight days when we entered the wall,” says Felix. “It was continuously about 50 degrees steep, never less than 40 degrees. We had difficulties to find bivouac places.” For the first night, they managed to pitch up their tent on a small platform so that they at least could sit in a row next to each other. For the second bivouac, they had to use a small, sloping rock sledge at 6,500 meters. “By contrast, the sitting bivouac of the previous night had been luxurious,” Rick Allen wrote. “A portaledge would have been more appropriate than a tent,” says Felix. The tent tore, and through the hole, one of the sleeping bags fell into the depth. This was the final signal for turning around. Back in the Base Camp, the three climbers wanted to leave for Kathmandu. But first there were no helicopters available. “They were all on Everest, for rescue flights,” says Felix Berg.

After all, there was a helicopter that brought Bielecki, Allen and Berg back to Kathmandu. “It was an extremely spontaneous expedition,” says Felix. “But even though we were a rather mixed bunch of climbers, we got on and worked together very well. For sure we were not the last time together en route.”

Annapurna

The good weather window predicted for the coming weekend has not only led to a huge number of teams starting their summit attempts on Mount Everest. Also on other eight-thousanders climbers have left the base camps. On Makalu, for example, the German Thomas Laemmle, who is climbing solo and without bottled oxygen, has today pitched up his tent already far up, on Makalu La at 7,400 meters. On Dhaulagiri, the 78-year-old Spaniard Carlos Soria and his team-mates are planning to reach the summit on Sunday. On Annapurna, the Pole Adam Bielecki, the Briton Rick Allen and the German Felix Berg have started their summit attempt on Wednesday.

“Difficult Action”

Annapurna Northwest Face

As reported before, the trio wants to open a new route through the rarely climbed Northwest Face of the 8091-meter-high mountain. The fourth climber previously involved in the project, the Canadian Louis Rousseau, returned home at the beginning of May, because his time available for the expedition had run out. After he had left, Adam, Rick and Felix succeeded, in the second attempt, an ascent of the 7134-meter-high Tilicho Peak in order to continue their acclimatization. “We gained a glimpse of the NW face of Annapurna, our next objective”, Felix Berg wrote in his blog.

According to Felix’ girl friend, yesterday’s weather on Annapurna was “not ideal” with a lot of wind. In addition, the three climbers reported a lot of snow and avalanches. They bivouacked on a small ice plateau in the wall at about 6,000 meters. “Difficult action, as expected,” it was said. “Quite exciting.” So keep your fingers crossed!

Gheychisaz on top of Lhotse

The Iranian climber Azim Gheychisaz, by his own account, reached today the 8516-meter-high summit of Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on earth – thus completing his 14 eight-thousander-collection without breathing mask, as his team said on Facebook. According to the mountaineering website “Altitude Pakistan”, there are still questions marks over his ascent of Manaslu in 2012.

Annapurna Northwest Face

Time for plan B. Since China has not issued visa for Tibet this spring for climbers who have been staying in Pakistan for more than a month at a time during the past three years, the Canadian Louis Rousseau, the Briton Rick Allen, the Pole Adam Bielecki and the German Felix Berg had to re-plan. The team was surprised by the new Chinese regulation in Kathmandu. In 2015/16 Bielecki had tried unsuccessfully a winter ascent of Nanga Parbat, Felix Berg had climbed Mustagh Tower in the Karakoram in summer 2016. So the previous plan to open a new route through the North Face of Cho Oyu, located in Tibet, became impossible. The quartet was looking for an alternative destination in Nepal and found it.

Direct route to the summit

Rousseau and Co. opted for an attempt in the rarely climbed Northwest Face of the 8091-meter-high Annapurna. In 1985, Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander had climbed through a large part of the wall, but had taken in the upper section the Northwest Ridge up to the summit. The upper triangle has also remained unexplored in later attempts to climb directly through the wall. “Now let’s go to the summit,” says Felix Berg.

“Perfect team spirit”

Tilicho Peak for acclimatization

The days of uncertainty were hard, the 36-year-old German writes to me: “As soon as the decision was made, everything happened very quickly. The wall is impressive, probably higher than the North Face of Cho Oyu, and the Annapurna is legendary – so the motivation comes quickly by itself.” All team members are “very enthusiastic”. This is confirmed by Louis Rousseau. The mood is good, “a lot of jokes”. “We’re really motivated,” writes the 40-year-old. “Perfect spirit in the team. All focus on Annapurna now!” First, Louis, Felix, Rick and Adam want to climb the 7134-meter-high Tilicho Peak in the Annapurna area for acclimatization.

Cho Oyu North Face

There is still potential for climbing highlights even on the “top sellers” among the eight-thousanders. This applies not only to Mount Everest (up to now more than 7500 summit successes), but also to the second most climbed eight-thousander, Cho Oyu (more than 3500 summit successes). This spring, an international team of four, led by Louis Rousseau, plans to open a new route through the North Face of the sixth highest mountain on earth, in Alpine style. For the 40-year-old Canadian, it’s a comeback on the eight-thousanders after a break of five years. In 2012, Rousseau had been searching on Gasherbrum I for his longtime climbing partner Gerfried Göschl from Austria, who had remained missing after a winter attempt on the mountain in Pakistan. In 2011, Rousseau had scaled Gasherbrum II, his third eight-thousander after Broad Peak (in 2007) and Nanga Parbat (new route along with Göschl in 2009).

In memory of Göschl

Louis Rousseau

The North Face of Cho Oyu in Tibet was first climbed by Slovenians in fall 1988. Since then, there have only been two more successful attempts on the north side. “The proposed route will start from the base of the north wall and will go directly up an untouched section in the center,” Louis writes to me. “I truly don’t know,” Rousseau answers my question of their chance of success. The North Face is steep and almost unexplored, says Louis: “We will know more about our chance when we will see the face for the first time and of course everything will mostly depend on the weather and the climbing condition.” He is already dedicating the project to his deceased friend Göschl: “Like an heritage, I still have in my possession all the ideas Gerfried and I had planned.”

Old warhorse

Besides Rousseau, the team includes the Pole Adam Bielecki, the Briton Rick Allen and the German Felix Berg. The 33-year-old Adam Bielecki was one of the winter first ascenders of the eight-thousanders Gasherbrum I (in 2012) and Broad Peak (in 2013). Rick Allen is an old warhorse who is up to every mountain trick. Along with Sandy Allan, the 63-year-old Scotsman succeeded in traversing the 10-kilometer-long Mazeno Ridge on Nanga Parbat in 2012. For this milestone, the two Britons were later awarded the Piolet d’Or, the “Oscar of the climbers”. Felix Berg, now 36 years old, was in 2004 the youngest German climber who had summited Mount Everest until then. “We are a great team,” Felix writes to me. “Personally, I am motivated by exploring unknown territory, by adventure – all the more astonishing that this opportunity is offered on the highly frequented Cho Oyu.”