{"id":47640,"date":"2025-04-03T15:21:46","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T21:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/?p=47640"},"modified":"2025-04-12T15:00:45","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T21:00:45","slug":"annapurna-2025-risky-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/03\/annapurna-2025-risky-decisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Annapurna 2025: Risky Decisions – April 7 Update: Summits and Missing Sherpas"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

UPDATE 2: Over 45 summits<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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\u00a0Warren Eva and John Black<\/a> posted an excellent video update from base camp. Warren summited while John turned back.<\/p>\r\n

UPDATE 1: Summit Push Underway<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

Seven Summits Treks<\/a> gave its update:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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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\u2019s forecast, is observed a bit unfavorable and might influence the last summit push.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

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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.<\/p>\r\n

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.<\/p>\r\n

It will be interesting to see how the dry winter impacted Everest and Lhotse this year. I expect a similar dry climbing scenario.<\/p>\r\n

Annapurna<\/span><\/h2>\r\n

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\u00a0in Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan.<\/p>\r\n

According to Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, there are four teams with 42 members and an unspecified number of Sherpas. The teams include:<\/p>\r\n