Annapurna climbing season 2024 has had its share of success and failures. Almost 40 climbers had made it to the summit this morning and started to descend back. However, the joy was not full since there was information about an avalanche between Camp 2 and Camp 3. At this point, most of the climbers were at higher elevations. There are several Sherpas working in the so-called Great Couloir area, and they have been reported to have been caught by the slide. There is information from unofficial sources regarding two missing climbers from Nepal, but there is no official information.
Hence, the safety of climbers who will be coming down overnight to Camp 2 is unknown. The condition of the fixed ropes, which are being called a “life line” for safe passage to the top, is determined to be in good condition, likely in good taste.
In spite of the hopes that scant snow this year on Annapurna would lower the avalanche risk, there have been some slides these past few days, one captured on video last week. This season has already seen some other close calls. It was April 4 when an Italian climber, named Gian Luca Cavalli, got hit by the fall of serac debris between Camp 2 and 3 and had suffered a head injury and broken thumb. He was immediately picked up by helicopters and went to Kathmandu for treatment, from where he is now recovering. Meanwhile, his climbing partner, Cesar Rosales, managed to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen and then descended back safely to Camp 2.
Here come success reports: the expedition teams, including Pioneer Adventure, 8K Expeditions, and Seven Summit Treks, reached their summits—most of them, obviously, Sherpa guides supporting foreign climbers.
At the head of the rope-fixing team, Imagine Nepal has identified its way across the icy conditions and open crevasses. It made the climbers skip their planned Camp 4, resulting in a horrific summit push directly from Camp 3—a 1,700-meter vertical climb.
According to Brazilian climber Roman Romancini, this was quite a risky, hurried attempt. There were long queues on ropes and some technical challenges to face, in addition to the weather being unseasonably warm. “We left Camp 3 at 4 PM, but something has been telling me that this is not okay,” he said at last, and eventually he pulled the plug, concerning the descent.
Safe descent these times will be each team’s first priority while steering clear of the weather bogey. Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions confirmed that theirs was among the six client and seven Sherpa summits today: “Our climbers are descending carefully.” As Pakistan’s Sirbaz Khan enjoys no-oxygen summits, this season defines itself by the achievements.
Climbing down the mount, where danger is increased several fold, is the mountain’s fickle nature, serving as a constant jarring reminder that the beauty of Annapurna is equated only by its danger. Updates on the missing Sherpas and descending teams are still awaited.
