Annapurna 2025: Risky Decisions – April 7 Update: Summits and Missing Sherpas

UPDATE 2: Over 45 summits

Multiple teams, including Imagine, Pioneer, and Seven Summits Treks, reported summits on April 6 and 67, perhaps over 45. However, as of 8:ooPM, April 7 local time, two Sherpas are missing between Camps 2 and 3 due to an avalanche. This area was the most concerning for everyone, as South Africans Warren Eva and John Black posted an excellent video update from base camp. Warren summited while John turned back.

UPDATE 1: Summit Push Underway

Seven Summits Treks gave its update:

Acclimatization rotations are at the final phase. Ropes have been fixed to Camp 4 and the fixing team is moving up to the summit as per the latest update. Our first team is attempting summit push tonight (April 5) and next will attempt on the 8th of April. We are coordinating with agencies organizing in Annapurna and with the expert meteorologists as well to prepare the best for summit push. The weather afterwards, as analyzed from Meteotest’s forecast, is observed a bit unfavorable and might influence the last summit push.

According to long-time Sherpa climbers, Annanupurna is experiencing some of the worst conditions ever. After an abnormally dry winter, the lower mountain, usually snow-covered, is bone dry, and the upper mountain is hard-packed, blue ice. Climbers are not using their mountaineering boots or crampons to reach Camp 1.

Also, large, wide, and deep open crevasses pose problems. Then, in a twist, heavy snowfall is predicted in a few days, forcing teams to either rush or delay their summit plans. The fixed ropes are only to Camp 3, and it’s been deemed that the traditional Camp 4, from which all summit pushes began, should not be put up. This will make for an extraordinary long summit push.

It will be interesting to see how the dry winter impacted Everest and Lhotse this year. I expect a similar dry climbing scenario.

Annapurna

Annapurna I is the 10th highest mountain in the world, at 8,091m/26,545ft. This year is the 75th anniversary of the first summit of Annapurna by French climbers Louis Lachenal and Maurice Herzog on June 2, 1950. It was the first summit of any of the fourteen 8,000-meter mountains in Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan.

According to Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, there are four teams with 42 members and an unspecified number of Sherpas. The teams include:

• Imagine Nepal
• Namas Adventure Team
• Pioneer
• Seven Summits Treks

According to the Himalayan Database, Annapurna has been summited by 514 people, 310 members with 204 Sherpas. Anna has a low success rate of 23% compared to 42% for Everest. It long held the highest death rate of all the 8000ers at 3.37%, but advances by Nepali guides over recent years have lowered the rate to 0.77%. These rates are based on the number of climbers above base camp. The deaths as a percentage of summits is 14% for Annapurna and 2.6% for Everest. Avalanches account for the highest number of the 73 total deaths at 53%, followed by “fall” at 21%. Primarily Sherpas, 41 died while doing route preparation. Annauprna is a very dangerous mountain.

Difficult Conditions & a Rescue

Imagine Nepal provides this disturbing update on Thursday, April 3, 2025:

Our fixing team arrived at camp 2 and will be climbing to camp 3 tomorrow morning and make a final summit push in the evening. This is our second summit push. We had to abort our summit from 7600m on our first summit push. I have never seen Annapurna in such a bad condition before, and I would never want to see it again in such conditions. This mountain is just too risky between Camp 2 and Camp 3, and this should be my last expedition on Annapurna. I have always regarded this mountain as the most beautiful 8000m to climb and also the hardest 8000m on the other side. I hope our team has good weather on the 5th of April to the summit and returns safely. Best wishes to all the climbers on Annapurna.

A French climber, Vadim Druelle, 23, fell into a crevasse and was rescued by three Sherpas. He was evacuated by helicopter to a Kathmandu hospital. He was climbing in alpine style with minimal gear, in a single push, and without outside support, including Sherpas.

I haven’t seen any updates on Italian Gianluca Cavalli and Peruvian César Rosales attempting to open a new route on Annapurna’s northwest spur.

Aggressive, Risky Plans

South Africans Warren Eva and John Black posted an excellent video update from base camp. They commented that high winds have stalled some progress and that climbing conditions are overall difficult. They discussed their summit plans, noting that heavy snowfall will begin on Monday, dumping as much as 1 meter/3 feet of new snow and burying the fixed line. They noted that most climbers would go between the 5th and the 8th, right in the middle of the potential snowstorm,

So, they will leave tomorrow, Friday, April 4, for an aggressive assault climbing to Camp 2, skipping C1. Warren explained they will move to C3 on Saturday and, hopefully, summit on Sunday morning before the weather moves in. They expect it to take 10-12 hours to reach the summit.

These season climbers summited K2 together, and understand the risk, and are prepared to move fast and efficiently. They hoped the fixed ropes were set to the summit for their bid. Imagine Nepal hopes to have the ropes there by April 5.

John summed it up with, “the chances of success are debatable.”

Best of luck to all, and be safe.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything

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Previous Everest 2025 Season Coverage Posts

• Everest 2025: Weekend Update March 30
• Everest 2025: Weekend Update March 23
• Everest 2025: Welcome to Everest 2025 Coverage – an introduction to the Everest 2025 Spring season
• Everest by the Numbers: 2025 Edition – A deep dive into Everest statistics as compiled by the Himalayan Database
• Comparing the Routes of Everest: 2025 Edition – A detailed look at Everest’s routes, commercial, standard and non-standard
• How Much Does it Cost to Climb Everest: 2025 Edition – My annual review of what it costs to climb Everest solo, unsupported and guided

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