원정 개요

Approach: Heli to BC

NW Face route:

BC 04/04 4200m
IC 10/04 4542m (tent)
ABC 11/04 5200m (tent)
Biv 18/04 6200m (hanging bivouac)
HPt 18/04 6200m by Bielecki and Hatala

From the usual Annapurna BC their route starts to the right with a 200m-descent. The first time they went to ABC, the way was hard to find. They were able to walk on the left of the glacier, but sometimes they had to get on the glacier as there was too much rockfall from the wall to the left. On the first rotation they stayed two nights at ABC. On 12/04, they ascended to the Bergschrund at about 5400m, and on 13/04 back to BC.

For the second rotation, team left BC on 17/04 and went to ABC in about seven hours. The route was in good condition, and it was up to 60-degree snow, firn and ice. The danger on this route was the rockfall. It was very warm and the climbers got occasionally hit by rocks. They set up their hanging bivouac about 200m to the left of the route as it was protected from the rockfall. On 19/04 they abandoned the climb due to the great rockfall danger. They did not return to the ascent route but went straight down to ABC in 1:20 min from their bivouac. They packed up ABC, left at 12 noon and descended to BC.

The route is getting a lot of sun (from 9 am to 2 pm), which is strange as it is the NW Face.

Abandoned on 18/04 due to too much rockfall.

Attempt on normal route (N Face)

At the beginning of the expedition, the team was waiting for Felix Berg who was on Manaslu and as they did not want to waste time, they attempted the normal route. However, they decided that it was too avalanche prone and abandoned the climb at C2.

C1 06/04 5000m
C2 07/04 6000m

Rescue of Anurag Maloo (the Indian climber)

On 20/04 the team supported SST to rescue the Indian climber. Bielecki and Hatala were picked up by helicopter on 20/04 and were taken to C2. They had to ascend for about 30 minutes until they reached the crevasse, which was in a very dangerous place as there were seracs right above it. Bielecki was lowered down through the narrow gap of the crevasse and he saw three holes in the ice. He went down one of the holes and descended the entire length of his rope which was about 60m. At the very end, he found Anurag in a snow hole completely covered in snow. Bielecki first touched him with his feet and then went closer and Anurag moved, which scared Bielecki and he tought that he had lost his mind. But when Anurag moved again he took a head torch and looked into his eyes and could see his eyes move. He called up and asked for Tashi, another Sherpa who helped him set Anurag up for being hauled up.

The whole rescue effort took about 6 hours and they managed to helicopter Anurag to Pokhara where he was in a hospital for a few days before he could be moved to Kathmandu. On 30/04, Anurag was still in a coma but started to respond. According to Chang Dawa of SST, he only has a few frostbite which is amazing given the fact that he was out in the open for three nights.

After the rescue the team stayed for another few days at BC as they were contemplating attempting the normal route again. However, due to the bad weather, they abandoned the idea and left BC by foot to Hum Khola on 28/04. Hum Khola to Tatopani by Jeep and then plane from Pokhara to Kathmandu.

Oxygen: Not taken, not used
Sherpas: None