Posts Tagged ‘mountain climbing’

Le Grand Bornand in the Haute Savoie, France, is a summer playground not to be ignored. It is a traditional French Alpine village and a popular winter and summer resort. The region is proud of its farming heritage and human population is still outnumbered by the livestock in this valley! Long may that continue…

Access Plan Le Grand Bornand

There is something for everyone, from those who want to experience a variety of extreme sports to those who just want to chill out:

• mountain biking
• mountain walking
• mountain climbing
• canoe/kayaking
• forest high ropes course
• canyoning
• horse riding
• paragliding
• white river rafting
• river kayaking
• downhill scooters

… to name but a few. All the normal things too of course: golf, tennis, swimming, etc.

It is a surprisingly low resort considering it’s probably best known as a ski resort – just 1,000 m, but blessed with a micro-climate which ensures good snow in the winter – and perfect weather in the summer. The region is protected by the majestic Aravis mountain range.

During the summer months this region pulsates with national and international sports and activities and the Chinaillon and Bouchet Valleys form a magnificent playground for walkers  – whether in the alpine pastures or along the Bargy-Jalouvre ridges.

There’s some good rock-climbing here too.

In fact there’s pretty well everything you could possibly want to do…

There’s too much to talk about in just one article, it would be serious information overload, so today I’ll stick to climbing and hiking…

There are an abundance of mountain trails and rock-climbing possibilities in the 35 km long Aravis range. Some of the 90 ski lifts in the region remain open in summer to provide quick access.

90km of marked hiking tracks and trails can be found throughout the Aravis region, with scenery varying between cool fresh forests, lush green fields, or a climb to overlook rock formations, each one  as beautiful as the next. The trails are well-maintained and clearly sign- posted  for the intrepid hiker. Many of the mountain restaurants and refuges remain open throughout the summer.

Mont Charvet, 2,538 m, Pointe de Tardevant,2,501,m and Pointe de Mandallaz,  2,277 m are great areas for hiking. The routes are well marked.

Climbers have an equally good bargain. The Savoie and Haute Savoie offer an extremely wide range of rock types and climbing styles, from the world famous Chamonix granite of the Mont-Blanc Range to the limestones and dolomites of the Pre-Alps and the Vanoise. Other less common rock types include compact quartzite, shiny schist, rough gneiss and the beautiful conglomerate of the Beaufortain.

The Aravis range boasts a large number of rock climbing areas, whether for bouldering, single-pitch cragging, multi-pitch routes, big walls or ridge climbs and all on limestone.

The routes are manageable and numerous.

Rocher des Aravis is a climbing cliff located deep in the heart of the Aravis range. It is made up of limestone and is compact and solid. The cliff provides up to 3 pitches. It is a good base for practicing and offers a great opportunity to work on your rope manipulation. There are some more technical routes at level 7. The area is generally quiet and peaceful, and its a good place to go warm up before taking on more challenging climbs. If you’re into that sort of thing you will be interested to know that there is a Via Ferrata nearby:

Les Pointes Longues, 2,451 m is great for climbing. It is a 4b – 6b climb with 7 routes and up to 7 pitches.

Pointe Percée is 2,750 m high and is near La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand. It is considered by some to be the best climbing spot in the Aravis range. There are 30 routes, up to 12 pitches and the degree of difficulty ranges between 4b to 7b+.  On the east side of Pointe Percée there is a magnificent wall called “Paroi de Gramusset”. The name comes from the hut found at its base. the wall is beautiful limestone, but beware as some bits can be loose. You can park at le Col des Annes near Le Grand Bornand and then hike 400m to the Gramusset hut. Another 30 minutes will get you to the bottom of the cliff.

Col des Aravis is 1,486 m high. There are 97 routes, up to 3 pitches and grades from 3a to 8a.

And then there’s the Pointe de Merdassier at 2,313 m.

Pointe de la Blonnière, accessed from Col des Aravis, has 1 nice route to climb called “L’Arête à Marion”. It is 300 m, 13 pitches and up to 5b in difficulty.

Paroi de Borderan, also accessed from Col des Aravis, has 18 routes, up to 8 pitches and ranges from 3c to 7b.

The Pointe de Chombas, which is accessed from Le Grand Bornand, has 5 routes, up to 6 pitches and ranges from 5b to 6b+.

There is another type of climbing available in this region. Called Via Ferrata, this type of climbing was invented by the Italian army in the First World War when they needed to get across the mountains undetected and in a hurry. It means ‘Way of Iron’ and is popular in the Aravis range. There are 3 routes: Le Grand Bornand, La Clusaz and Thones. Basically, they are mountain routes fitted out with cables, hand rails, rungs and foot bridges. With vertical ascents of over 750 metres you can experience exposed climbs even if you’re new to the sport. And if you are new to this sport, the good news is that you’re fastened on to a safety cable at all times with a special shock-absorbing device on your harness!

Embarking on a Via Ferrata without alpine equipment and experience of any kind could be a bit dangerous. You will need a sit-harness, or full harness, with screw-gate karabiner, a helmet,
two 9 mm rope sections with shock-absorber and 2 wide-aperture autolock-gate karabiners. With this sort of equipment, you do need to know how to work it. And you must never use a tape sling or a rope loop. The small print assures you that in the event of a fall the use of this equipment will kill you!

A good place to try out this activity for the first time would be the Via Ferrata at Col des Aravis. It is a beautiful route and  will take  about 3 hours  to complete. The bonus is it offers magnificent views over the Col des Aravis.

The Via Ferrata of Jalouvre is longer, taking about 5 hours to do, and is above the Col de la Colombiere.

The Via Ferrata at Thones is  technically the most difficult of the three. You will need some mountaineering knowledge to do this one, and a good physical level of fitness.

And, if nothing yet has been extreme enough, you could end your visit with the challenging Aguille Vert. At 4,122 m high, it  provides magnificent views across to Mont Blanc. It is one of the most prominent mountains of the Mont Blanc range and, with its huge ridges, is definitely one of the most beautiful. However, when I said challenging – I meant it,  it is the most difficult peak in the 4,000 m range to climb in the Alps. Besides the famous couloirs (NE and NW), the most beautiful route is probably the traverse Sans Nom – Jardin Ridge, but even the Moine Ridge (SW ridge) is not easy. The Aguille Vert was first climbed by E. Whymper with C. Almer and F. Biner on 29th June 1865.

And if, after all this, you want a day off, there is, of course, the beautiful town of Annecy only half an hour away, with its historical streets, wonderful shops and lakeside activities to lose yourself in. Alternatively, Chamonix, the Mont Blanc, the Mer de Glace glacier, the Aiguille du Midi are only an hour away.

What more could you possibly want on a holiday? The sea perhaps? Well, obviously not, if you’ve chosen to head to the mountains!!!

postscript: I am indebted to www.summitpost.org for a lot of the climbing information. I was able to find plenty of information on everything else, there is a wealth of information about what you can do in the Grand Bornand area, but very little detailed information on actual climbs, so thank you.

“The climbing experience offers something that’s very hard to get in today’s society, infatuated as it is with video games and reality TV and almost divorced from the natural world and real challenge” – Jeff Lowe

If you have done any ice-climbing in the past or intend to give it a go this winter, you will no doubt have heard of Jeff Lowe.

Lowe, a Utah native who was skiing at four and was making technical rope climbs in the Tetons with his father at 6, has been ascending the tallest mountains since somewhere in the 1960’s. Back then there was no such thing as sport or trad. Jim Donini, one of Lowe’s climbing partners, says “He was an all-rounder—he did it all. Although at the time, it was just known as climbing.”

Having stood atop the Himalayas and the highest and most difficult mountains in the Alps, it was his 1978 solo climb up frozen Bridalveil Falls in the rugged San Juan Mountains near Telluride, Colorado, that put Lowe firmly into the history books. Four years earlier he, and friend Mike Weis, had been the first climbers to make it up the 40-story column of ice. In 1978 Lowe did it solo and has subsequently retained an almost mythical status amongst ice climbers.

From the beginning, he was a climbing purist. He believes in fast, light climbing — one or two climbers, possibly three, each carrying everything he needs on his back; no fixed ropes or established camps; camping on the face of the mountain; no oxygen; the most technically challenging routes, often ones that have never been attempted; the use of only one or two ropes.

“I’m not a big adrenaline junkie,” he says. “If you get that, it means things are out of control. I try to avoid that. I hate big shots of adrenaline. It means you don’t have enough margin. That’s why I didn’t kill myself in 40 years of hard-core climbing. I know there are people who think adrenaline is a big part of it. For me, it was finding out what I could do safely.”

Instead of adrenaline, Lowe sought the aesthetics of climbing — the beauty and solitude of his surroundings, the physical and mental challenges of technical climbing and self-discovery.

It was his attempt of the North Ridge of Latok 1 (7,145 m or 23,441 ft) in Pakistan that is considered to be one of the greatest alpine endeavors of all time. Jim McCarthy calls it “by far the greatest failure of American mountaineering.”

Lowe and his team, Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy and cousin George Lowe, spent 26 days on the mountain and came within 122m (400 ft) of the summit, a high point that still holds. Donini cites diminishing fuel reserves, Jeff’s illness from a near-fatal virus and horrendous weather as the main reasons for their retreat. To this day, the North Ridge of Latok 1 awaits a first ascent, despite numerous attempts.

He has accumulated in excess of 1,000 first ascents including the first ascent of the now famed Moonlight Buttress in Zion National Park (V, 5.9, A3, 1971) which he climbed with Mike Weis, plus numerous others in the Alps, Dolomites, Cascades, Himalayas, Rockies, and Andes. He once calculated the number of nights he had spent bivouacked in a tent on the face of a cliff; it added up to several years.

His some-time climbing partner Jim Donini, recent past president of the AAC and a top alpinist, credits Lowe with importing ice-climbing techniques from Europe. He returned with a renewed notion of what was possible. Such first ascents as Bridalveil Falls (WI6, 1974) in Colorado, and Keystone Greensteps (WI5, 1975), Alaska, are Lowe’s ice climbing legacy.

Jim McCarthy says “He transformed ice climbing, period.”

During the late 1990s, while the ESPN Winter X-Games were still held in Big Bear, California, event organizers needed an innovative structure for the ice-climbing competition but the temperatures were too high (60 F) to create frozen waterfalls. After a few days of brainstorming, Lowe came up with the idea of a refrigerated free-standing holographic ice tower … and ice climbing went X-treme!

This tower has now been purchased by Ogden Climbing Parks, a non-profit organization which Lowe is associated with,  and will soon be erected in Ogden’s Big-D Sports Park providing reliable and easy access Ice Climbing. This will be a MAJOR contribution to Ogden as a recreation centre and will draw hundreds of ice climbers to the area.

In the late 1990s Lowe developed multiple system atrophy, a neurodegenerative disorder similar to MS. In 2004, at the age of 53 he had to give up climbing altogether. It is a cruel irony that the man who once solo-climbed a 40-story pillar of ice and became a legend and a Sports Illustrated cover boy with his international climbing exploits should contract such a cruel disease.

“It’s poetic injustice,” he says. “I say that tongue in cheek. I’m not saying ‘Why me?’ I’m saying, ‘Why not me?’ A lot of people have worse disabilities than I do.”

But this did not signal the end of life as he knew it to him – he just took another direction and now continues his involvement and passion for climbing through Ogden Climbing Parks. His goal is to promote and develop the climbing potential around Ogden, Utah. Ogden Climbing Parks also runs programs that allow underprivileged children and those with disabilities to enjoy the climbing experience.

Ogden, with its ambition to become the sports adventure centre of America is fortunate to have someone of Jeff Lowe’s caliber on their team. He was recruited to create a climbing park and to develop Ogden’s potential as a climbing haven. With his passion for mountaineering and his experience, he intends to revolutionise climbing in Ogden, working diligently to secure and open new climbing areas throughout the region.

“I enjoyed climbing so much that I’m getting a lot of joy in passing it along,” he says.

A man to admire…

Whilst looking into the life of Noel Odell, a great climber and adventurer of his time, I stumbled across this wonderful speech from Jan Smuts which was used in an obituary for Odell. I thought all mountain climbers would appreciate and empathise with. Smuts delivered this speech at the summit on Table Mountain, South Africa, at the end of the Great Wall:

“And so it has come about that finally in man all moral and spiritual values are expressed in terms of altitude. The low expresses degradation both physical and moral. If we wish to express great intellectual or moral or spiritual attainment, we use the language of altitudes. We speak of men who have risen, of aims and ideals that are lofty, we place the seat of our hghest religious ideal in Heaven, and we consign all that is morally base to nethermost hell. Thus the metaphors embedded in language reflect but the realities of the progress of terrestrial life. The mountain is not merely something externally sublime. It has a great historic and spiritual meaning for us. It stands for us as the ladder of life. Nay, more, it is the ladder of the soul, and in a curious way the source of religion. From it came the Law, from it came the Gospel in the Sermon on the Mount. We may truly say that the highest religion is the religion of the Mountain. What is that religion? When we reach the mountain summits we leave behind us all the things that way heavily down below on our body and our spirit. We leave behind all sense of weakness and depression;  we feel a new freedom, a great exhilaration, an exaltation of the body no less than the spirit. We feel a great joy. The religion of the Mountain is in reality the religion of joy, of the release of the soul from the things that weigh it down and fill it with a sense of weariness, sorrow and defeat. The religion of joy releases the freedom of the soul, the soul’s kinship to the great creative spirit, and its dominance over all things of sense. The mountains behold us and the stars beckon to us. The mountains of our land will make a constant appeal to us to live the higher life of joy and freedom.”

Beautiful isn’t it?

Jan Smuts

Jan Smuts was, of course, that great statesman who lived well before his time. A politician, world-famed statesman, soldier, naturalist, philosopher and eventually a former Prime Minister of South Africa, he played an important role in the drafting of the constitution of the League of Nations the exact design and implementation of which relied upon him. He later urged the formation of a new international organisation for peace: the United Nations. Smuts wrote the preamble to the United Nations Charter, and was the only person to sign the charters of both the League of Nations and the UN. He also sought to redefine the relationship between the United Kingdom and her colonies, by establishing the British Commonwealth. In 1941 he was promoted to field marshal of the British Army. He was opposed to segregation and apartheid in South Africa and in 1946 opened a commission to investigate these. “The idea that the Natives must all be removed and confined in their own kraals is in my opinion the greatest nonsense I have ever heard.”

Noel Ewart Odell

Noel Ewart Odell was an English geologist and mountaineer born in 1890, died 1987. In 1924 he was an oxygen officer on the Everest expedition in which George Mallory and Andrew Irvine famously perished during their summit attempt. Impressively, Odell spent two weeks living above 23,000 feet (7,000m) without any supplementary oxygen. He had earlier stated that it was his “firm belief .. that Everest can be climbed without oxygen”.

On the successful summitting of Nanda Devi (25,660ft), H.W. Tilman,  Odell’s climbing partner, said: “In 1936 he climbed Nanda Devi when he seemed so much fitter than the rest of us that I considered his age (47) to be immaterial.” It is worth remembering that Nanda Devi was the highest mountain climbed and remained the highest until 1950.

In keeping with Jan Smut’s statement on Table Mountain, Noel Odell agreed with the essence of the  statement and went on to say: “Indeed, one’s spirit must aspire ever upwards, metaphorically and in actuality, raising higher and higher one’s lethargic body. Or, to to express it as Robert Browning does, in another way: “a man’s reach must exceed his grasp, else what’s heaven for?”

Poets, philosophers and statesmen alike.

It’s been a while since I started the climbing styles discussion (trad and sports), so time to add some more information. Please note that these ‘discussions’ are merely an introduction to various climbing stlyes not the bible. And now for the i’s…

Indoor Climbing

Some would say that indoor climbing is ruining the sport of rock climbing, but as with everything, there is a time and a place for it, if only to get your initial rock climbing lessons. However, the tendency to become a little cocky on an indoor wall has been known, and seldom transfers with confidence to a real rock face!

There is a place for indoor climbing. Many people live in an inclement climate which prevents them from climbing outdoors as often as they wish. Equally many people find it difficult to find the time to go out rock climbing, but most people nowadays find time to go to a gym … and if you love rock climbing and there is a wall at your gym, then hey – why not?

In order to improve in any sport, consistent practice is crucial. With the advent of indoor climbing, weather, seasonal difficulties, and busy schedules are less of an obstacle to consistent improvement, and enjoyment of the sport.

The concept is simple: climbing walls, which can range from 14 thousand square feet to the size of a basement, are bolted with holds (points where the hands or feet can settle their weight in while climbing) and are located under a roof.

Because indoor climbing is in a controlled environment it is safer than climbing in the great outdoors, and although it may look easy as all the holds are easily distinguishable, it does offer different levels which you can try out and master. Despite the apparent uniformity from the ground, harder routes demand more effort and physical strength to be successfully scaled.

It is certain, though, that indoor climbing walls do not have the diversity of the real thing, nor the adrenaline buzz that you get from a real rock face. But for some, it’s better than nothing…

Ice Climbing

Ice climbing is self-explanatory – it’s all about ascending ice formations such as frozen waterfalls, icefalls and cliffs or rocks that have refrozen over.

There are two catagories of ice climbing: alpine ice and water ice.

Alpine ice, again self-explanatory, is in a mountain environment and is generally caused by precipitation. It is normally encountered on a summit attempt. Whereas water ice is caused by a frozen liquid flow of water and is found on cliffs or beneath water flows. Water ice is generally more technically challenging than Alpine ice.

Ice varies greatly in consistency according to weather conditions. It can be soft, hard, brittle or tough and the technical grade is independent of ice type. The strength of the ice is often surprising; even if the ice axe only goes in a centimeter or so it is enough to pull up on.

What you wear on your hands and feet is of vital importance for serious ice climbing. Your boots must be stiff enough to maintain ankle support and must be crampon compatible.  And your gloves will be of paramount importance. You ARE going to get cold, wet and numb! I have been told that the best are the GTX ones, but that they are pricey. If you can’t afford them then the next best thing to do is invest in the off brand pile gloves or wool gloves and carry multiple pairs. One that will get wet and one pair that will stay “dry” for belaying and standing around. Equally you could stock up with shells – the ones by OR are good and relatively affordable. Make sure you have yet another pair of warm, comfortable gloves for the way home.

Some important techniques and practices common in rock climbing (a discipline we are more familiar with) that are also employed in ice climbing include knowledge of rope systems, tying in, belaying, leading, abseiling, and lowering. However, there are other and different tools needed for ice climbing, amongst these are ice screws, ice axes/pick, a spike – important for balancing with the tool when you’re moving on low-angle ice, a hammerhead – allows you to pound pitons into the rock for protection, and an adze which can be helpful for chopping stances in alpine terrain and, of course, crampons.

One of the things that does make a difference in ice climbing is weight and balance – I have been told that this can make a difference to what tools you choose. Smaller climbers or those with less arm strength often prefer lighter tools whilst strong, confident climbers often prefer the weight of a heavy tool. More important than weight is balance. The tool’s balance point should be near its head so most of the energy of the swing goes into penetrating the ice.

If you are going to embark on an ice climbing career you must make sure that you are comfortable with the various tools. The best way to check this out is to attend an ice demo or festival where you can try out a variety of models bearing in mind that this is just a demo and does not give a full assessment of the tool’s performance.

I have given you the bare outlines of ice climbing here. I have not done it myself – though loving the cold as I do…hopefully it’s only a matter of time before I take on this challenge.

“Why ice climb? well apart from the fact that I get a huge buzz out of being scared shitless most of the time, its because its so so beautiful.” – Pete Atkinson

What further incentive could you possibly need?

“I am doing it for the thrill, for that feeling of danger and freedom.This is my way of expressing myself… We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such within ourselves. Know how to develop it… I do think that sometimes faith can move mountains”

Alain Robert

I do come across the most extroadinary people, places and events in my various researches, but Alain Robert has to be one of the most extroadinary people I have yet written about. Unfortunately, his urban climbing is so extra-extroadinary that I can find very little information on his equally fantastic rock climbing feats so have had to make do with stunning photographs instead… let me stop blathering and leave you to read about the French, or Human, Spiderman yourself.

Born in 1962, Alain Robert is the world’s most accomplished urban climber. He has scaled more than 85 buildings around the globe including the Eiffel Tower – 314m (1,027 ft), the Sydney Tower – 319m (1,047 ft), the Petronas Twin Towers – 452m (1,488 ft) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sears Tower Chicago – 443m (1,453 ft) and Taipei 101 – 508 m (1,667 ft).

Robert began climbing as a young boy, scaling rock cliffs in the area around his home. His ‘buildering’ career began at the age of 12 when he forgot his keys and was locked out of his parents’ eighth-floor apartment. Instead of waiting for them to return home, he simply scaled the exterior wall…

As this video from racchroxz testifies, his rock and urban climbs  do not include rope or rigging. He uses only his hands, chalk, and climbing shoes.

He is  an accomplished rock climber. In 1993 he achieved a world record for the most extreme solo performance in the Gorge du Verdon in the south of France.

In 1982 he suffered two accidents, the first in January at the age of 19 and the second in September at the age of 20. He fell 15 metres (49 ft) on both occasions. He suffered multiple fractures (to his cranium, nose, wrists, elbows, pelvis, and heels). He now suffers from permanent vertigo.

The doctors considered him 60 percent handicapped and told him he would not be able to climb again. However, within 6 months he was back doing what he loves most – climbing. He kept taking on more and more challenging structures and improving his skills. He polished his rock-climbing skills in the French Alps before turning to buildings.

In an interview in 2005 he admitted that he had fallen 7 times although the worst fall was the one in 1982. In 2004, he fell 2 metres (6 ft 6.7 in) when climbing a traffic light whilst posing for a photo in an interview. He landed on his elbow and needed forty stitches, but a month later he climbed the world’s tallest skyscraper at the time, Taipei 101, as part of its official opening week.

It was in 1994 that he began free solo climbing  the world’s tallest urban structures that would earn him the nickname  “The French Spiderman”.

He recently said that his most challenging urban climb was the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago Illinois in 1999. As he neared the top of the tower, the fog came down covering the glass and metal wall of the last 20 floors with moisture making it dangerously slippery. This made the climb considerably more dangerous, slower and more strenuous. However, nothing was going to stop him and he reached the top safely and successfully.

In 2008 he successfully scaled Hong Kong’s Four Seasons Hotel, a 45-story building and his third known urban climb in that city. To succeed, he had to resort to a strategy he has used many times in the past – to set off at dawn as  the Hong Kong police had been tipped off about a possible illegal ascent in the city.

Robert used the climb to promote greater awareness and international action for the cause of global warming.

He was briefly detained by authorities after the climb before being released. He has, in fact, been arrested and fined more than 100 times for illegally climbing the world’s tallest urban structures during the last two decades. These arrests and trials have been little more than formalities, although in 2007, in China, he was jailed and then deported after climbing the  88 story-skyscraper called the Jin Mao Tower – 420 m (1,378 ft).

“We set ourselves limits, but we are all strong enough to aim higher, to achieve our goals. All we have to do is find such strength within ourselves. Know how to develop it” he says.

His latest climb was the Petronas Tower in Malaysia – 452 m (1,483 ft) on 1st September this year. He successfully stood atop the highest point of the Tower.

Many of his climbs provide him no opportunity to rest and can last over an hour. That’s all! he attributes a lot of his success to his height – 1.65 m (5′5″) – which, being short and light, enhances his dexterity. He is, of course, in peak physical condition and has expert climbing techniques.

I suggest you visit his site, www.alainrobert.com – it’s worth it!

I love it when you do an article and then someone says: “hey, what about this one….” and you find that their suggestion is wonderfully interesting too, and well worth writing about.

Which is why, today, I have bothered to find out more about Annapurna – or, to be more precise, Annapurna I, which is an enormous Himalayan massif standing at 8091m (26,545 ft), making it the 10th-highest summit in the world and one of the 14 “eight-thousanders”. It is situated in Nepal.

PATIENCE, PRUDENCE AND TENACITY MUST BE UNITED IN ORDER TO ASCEND ANNAPURNA!!!

It is located east of a great gorge cut through the Himalayas by the Kali Gandaki River, which separates it from the Dhaulagiri massif. (Dhaulagiri I lies 34 km west of Annapurna I). It is a series of peaks in the Himalayas, a 55 km (34 miles)-long massif of which Annapurna I is the highest point. The mountain has glaciers on its western and northwestern slopes which drain into this gorge.

Annapurna is a Sanskrit name that can be translated as ‘Goddess of the Harvests’ or more simply ‘The Provider’.

One of Annapurna I’s claim to fame is that it was the first 8,000m (26,200 ft) peak to be climbed.

It was first summitted by a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal on 3 June 1950. It remained the highest summit for 3 years until the first successful attempt of Mount Everest. It is worth noting that higher climbs had been made prior to this but as they were non-summit climbs they don’t count!

In 1970 the south face of Annapurna I was conquered by Don Whillans and Dougal Haston, members of a British expedition led by Chris Bonington which included the alpinist Ian Clough.

As of 2005, there had been only 103 successful summit attempts. 56 lives have been lost on the mountain, many to the avalanches for which it is known. Climbers killed on the peak include alpinist Ian Clough in 1970, famed Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev in 1997, Christian Kuntner in 2005 and Iñaki Ochoa in 2008,

The first solo climb was October 2007 on the South Face by Slovenian climber Tomaž Humar.

The Annapurna massif contains six major peaks over 7,200 m

• Annapurna I            8,091 m
• Annapurna II          7,937 m
• Annapurna III        7,555 m
• Annapurna IV        7,525 m
• Gangapurna             7,455 m
• Annapurna South  7,219 m

The best months for climbing Annapurna are April/May and a good starting off point is Pokhara, Nepal. The closest airport is Kathmandu.

The greatest enemy to climbers of Annapurna are the avalanches.  These have taken the lives of many of the climbers that have dared to reach its highest point. The possibilities of severe and inhospitable climatic conditions are high with extreme cold and regular snowfalls to be expected.

Dhaulagiri looms directly opposite Annapurna, and between these two eight-thousanders lies the trekking route from Pokhara to Jomsom which runs through the deepest valley in the world.

It is an area of stunning beauty.

If climbing mountains and conquering peaks is not quite your thing, but you really want to get over there and witness for yourself the magnificent scenery, then the the Annapurna Circuit is just waiting for you.

It is the popular name for a 300 kilometre trek around the Annapurna mountain range in the Himalayas. The trek reaches an altitude of 5,300 metres on the Thorung La pass, touching the edge of the fabled Tibetan plateau. The magnificent mountain scenery, seen at close quarters includes Annapurna 8,091 metres, the magnificent ice pyramid Dhauligiri 8,167 metres, once the home of the legendary Buddhist guru Padmasamba, and Machhupuchhare 6,993 metres, considered by many to be the most beautiful mountain in the world.

Machhupuchhare

The trek follows ancient paths used as trade routes between Nepal and Tibet. These paths have long facilitated the flow of cultures and religions in this remote and formerly inaccessible region. There is an unusually wide range of climatic zones in this small small area, but the path ascends from 900 metres to 5,300 metres which provides a chance to see many different plants and animals, and the different ways of life of the many peoples who live there.