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THE 2008 ANNAPURNA SOUTH FACE/EAST RIDGE EXPEDITION

Located in the central Himalaya region of Nepal, the summit of Annapurna is highly coveted ground. Of the fourteen 8000 meter mountains on earth, none has seen fewer attempts or successful summits as Annapurna. To date, less than 160 people have stood on her summit, compared to 3000+ total Everest summits, and 265 total summits on K2. The venerable Maurice Herzog first successfully climbed the mountain in 1950, four years before Everest's summit was reached, testimony to the difficult nature and elusive reputation of the mountain.
A Less Than Favorable Window (Dispatch: Don's Support Team)
Don was glad to report that after his climb with the Russians he had acclimatized and was now back in sync with his partners, Inaki and Horia. After a couple of days rest in Base Camp they once again began climbing together. They set out on May 3rd and eventually arrived in Camp 2 the following day. Daily clouds blanketed Annapurna 1 with frequent snow showers and moderate winds. Don believed the weather was deteriorating and the accumulating snowfall would make for difficult climbing, especially on the wall. Inaki called the Meteotest Mountain Weather forecaster on behalf of the team to determine if there was a weather window favorable for summiting. Meteotest informed him of the weather forecast. Don concluded from this feedback that "pushing for the summit over the next days was not advisable." A discussion ensued as to whether to continue their summit bid. Three different opinions emerged. Based on the information from Meteotest and the prevailing conditions, Don felt strongly that the wisest thing was to return to base camp and wait for a more favorable weather window. Horia insisted on continuing their push for the summit. All three returned to base camp on May 5th. Shortly thereafter, Horia and Inaki decided to part ways with Don and climb on their own. The twosome has since returned up the mountain. Don is currently awaiting suitable conditions before he resumes climbing Annapurna 1. Based on the likelihood of avalanches and even bigger amounts of snowfall that are forecast this weekend, Don intends to stay on at base camp. He feels that the weather looks more promising for climbing early this coming week. He’ll keep you posted as he formulates his plans to make another summit bid.