The Expedition

The main goal of the expedition is to climb the north-east ridge of the 8167m high Dhaulagiri. We will do this without the use of supplementary oxygen or the support of sherpas above the basecamp.

The Approach

Before we will make the trekking to Dhaulagiri basecamp, we will spend 1.5 weeks in the Khumbu valley to acclimatize. Once acclimatized, we will return to Kathmandu to join five austrian climbers. With them we will be climbing on the Dhaulagiri.

From Kathmandu we will travel by bus to Beni with a stop-over in Pokhara. In Beni we will start the trekking to Dhaulagiri basecamp (4750m). We have reserved 7 days for this trekking which will lead past Tatopani and the so-called Italian Basecamp.

The Climb

From basecamp we will start planning the route on the mountain and start to build our three high-camps, which will help us to slowly acclimatize to the high altitude and will make a final summit push possible.

 

The Dhaulagiri with the basecamp and the 3 high-camps

The first difficult passage is located only half an hour from basecamp. Here we will have to find a way through the ice-fall which comes down between Tukuche-peak and the Dhaulagiri. The icefall passes below the so-called 'Eiger-face' (named after the Eiger in Switserland). This face is notorious for the avalanches that come down continuously (even when snowfall has been little).

 

The Eigerface and icefall between basecamp and camp1

After the icefall, the route continues over the glacier to the saddle below the north-east ridge. This saddle is located between Tukuche-Peak (6920m) and the Dhaulagiri. Just below this saddle camp I will be set-up at an altitude of 5700 meters.

From camp 1 we will climb the moderately steep glacier to the foot of the north-east ridge. At the foot of the ridge (sometimes referred to as the 'Jacobsladder'), camp II will be set-up. The location of this camp has to be picked with care due to the high risk of avalanches. To reach camp III at an altitude of 7350 meter, a 200-300 meter long, steep rock- and ice passage has to be overcome. This section is generally seen as the crux of the route. When the weather conditions are favourable, we will summit Dhaulagiri from camp III.

 

The north-east ridge of the Dhaulagiri