원정 개요

Tom Boydston - 17 Jan 2018

Starting as a team of 6 from High Camp (17,850) Darryl Sargent, Lhakpa Sherpa and I (Tom Boydston) summited Chulu West (21,062 ft or 6420m) October 23, 2017 in total white-out conditions returning back to High Camp in near white-out conditions which persisted through the descent. Total time was approximately 14 hours - HC to HC.

After our successful Chulu West summit, we moved from Chulu West base camp and set up our Annapurna IV base camp October 27-29, 2017 in a flat area commonly used for summit attempts of Annapurna IV and II. Our climbing plan and style was to establish 3 high camps up the NW buttress of Annapurna IV. Due to a severe respiratory cough on my part, I was only able to make it up to Camp 1, whereas Darryl Sargent, Lhakpa Sherpa and Ngima Tenzing Sherpa were able to carry and establish up to Camp 2 at approximately 19,400 ft. The team of 3 (Darryl, Lhakpa, and Ngima) were turned back by a combination of extreme cold temperatures, high wind, and snow as well as high uncertainty about the route above Camp 2 up to Camp 3. The route to Camp 3 has substantially changed, becoming more difficult, apparently due to the massive 2015 earthquake in Nepal, which exposed large (100m or more) glacial ice seracs guarding the possible routes to the dome of Camp 3.

Arriving at BC we had 2-6 inches of snow. Over the next 2 weeks, we experienced generally clear weather moderate winds, but falling temperatures. The route to C1 was notably devoid of snow requiring 3rd to 5th class (YDS) rock climbing. The route to C2 was hard snow over glacial ice, to bare ice.

Abandoned expedition due to extreme cold, snow and wind, and uncertainty about route to from C2 to C3 due to new large ice seracs above C2 due to 2015 earthquake.

Fixed rope: approximately 1000m various sections up to C2.

Oxygen: Not taken, not used.