원정 개요

Report from Badriashvili and Tepnadze:

Approach: By Jeep to Num, then classic Barun Valley trek.

BC 15/04 5700m (usual ABC)
C1 20/04 6560m (usual C2, skipped C1, as most people did btw)
C2 07/05 7450m (usual C3) at Makalu La
HPt 24/05 7800m (above ususal C4 by Badriashvili and Tepnadze).

Fixed rope: 700m by themselves, in total. Fixed 500m to 600m until C1, including circa 200m at an ice wall at 6300m halfway to C1 (on 17/04). Fixed 1 roll of Korean ropes (200m) above C1, plus refixed old ropes also between C1 and C2.

Climb abandoned on 25/05 due to bad weather conditions.

Left BC on 26/05.

Members at end: Badriashvili and Tepnadze.

Sherpas above BC: 0
Oxygen: not taken, not used

After 7 days of quarantine, it happened that the flight to Tumlingtar was postponed. So took instead a jeep, starting 24-hour non-stop travel to Num.

Were the first climbers to arrive on the mountain's normal route, so begun to equip the route themselves, fixing ropes in the hard parts (steep or too crevassy). Sherpa team (cleaning expedition) fixed from 7050m to Makalu La. Between C3 and C4, Sherpas also fixed a little bit...Georgians stayed in total more than 40 days on the mountain.

Georgian attempt started on May 23rd in the evening at 11 pm from C2, and ended at about 3 am on May 24th. The weather forescast was announced very bad from the morning, so tried to go to the top ASAP, pushed by the weather forecast. Other teams had started 1 or 2 hours before. The duet met the latter going back down, retreating, but they continued in very bad weather, with no visibility in the night, just breaking trail. Found C4 place, then the big slope which leaves to the “French Couloir”. But at some point, they understood to have been slightly too much to the right. In fact they just couldn't see the way because of the weather. The slope was also becoming avalanche prone. So they decided to turn around, it was too dangerous to continue as they couldn't see the route anyway ("everything is different from Makalu La plateau up there; it's long, big distances"). They were at circa 7800m, as confirmed by the GPS and satellite phone, in the glacier section. Went back to C2 at sunrise in strong snow, between 5 and 6 am, then straight to BC on the same day.

It was the first and last attempt for the summit in the season before the monsoon's arrival. The teams starting a day after them also went down. Some other people stayed, some other even arrived later. But for the latter, there would have been too much snow; even if with good weather, they couldn't have gone up. In such conditions, they decided the expedition was over on the 25th.

It was their second experience on a classic route of an 8000er, this time with many more people on the route, but eventually “not in our taste”. “With many other people around, we could take and share a lot of ideas one one hand, but on the other mostly learned to be more independent and eventually rely on ourselves. Despite the concentration of people on the peak, we couldn't in fact achieve something all together”.


Report from Catherine Vulliez:

Approach: By Jeep to Num, trekked to BC, then ABC

BC(20/04,4800m),ABC(21/04,5690m),C1(26/04,6150m),C2(01/05,6600m),
C3(23/05,7400m),xxx

Vulliez abandoned expedition after too much snow from two cyclones.

Left BC: 02/06

Oxygen: Used from 7000m up and down until C2 (6600m).

Hired: Nuru Wangchu Sherpa


Report from Alireza Behpour:

Approach: By Jeep to Num, trekked to BC

BC(23/04,5700m),C1(30/04,6100m),C2(01/05,6550m),C3(23/05,7430m),xxx(24/05,7700m)

High point reached by Alireza Behpour, Morteza Ramezani, Chebi Bhote and Tashi Chhumbel Sherpa on 24 May, then abandoned due to unexpected bad weather and lack of fixed rope.

"Unstable weather in all time that finally with heavy snow fall up to 120cm made us termiate our expedition. Also it was not clear who was responsible for fixing rope to summit. Some of the personal Sherpas of the members refused to participate in fixing the route. But overall it was a god experience and very beautiful mountain."

Oxygen: From C3 to 7700m

Left BC on 2 June.


Garrett Madison and Chase Merriam went to Makalu BC in early June, but left without climbing due to deep snow. Here Sherpa only went up to C2.