Annapurna I | 2009 S Face (Bonington rte) (to 6400m)

A Czech Republic expedition to Annapurna I in 2009 via S Face (Bonington rte) (to 6400m), led by Martin Minarik. Summit reached on 19th April 2009. 3 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6327
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID ANN109103
Peak ID ANN1
Year 2009
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face (Bonington rte) (to 6400m)
Route 2 S Face-E Ridge via Roc Noir (up); NE Face Dome (down)
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Czech Republic
Leaders Martin Minarik
Sponsor Minarik Annapurna I Expedition
Success 1 False
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries France, Slovakia
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2009-03-18
Summit Date 2009-04-19
Summit Time -
Summit Days 32
Total Days 36
Termination Date 2009-04-23
Termination Reason 7
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8026m due to Minarik tired and they had no more food and drink
High Point (m) 8026
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 3
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 1
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits Climbed Annapurna East (ANNE-091-01)
Campsites BC(18/03,4200m),E Smt(19/04,8026m)
Route Notes High point at East Summit. Minarik's Annapurna I Expedition led by Martin Minarik - 25 April 2009 According to Ms. Elisabeth Revol, the only remaining member since Kopold's early departure and Minarik's disappearance and presumed death, the three-member team established their BC on 18 March on the eastern side of the South Annapurna Glacier at 4200m. They had no Sherpa climbers with them and pitched no fixed camps above BC, but moved in pure alpine style with a series of bivouacs up and down the mountain. They started moving up from BC on 21 March intending to climb the South Face of Roc Noir to acclimatize before attempting to reach the main summit of Annapurna I via the Bonington route farther west. On the 21st they bivouacked at 4500m and the next day at 5000m. Then snow began falling and they were back in BC on the 23rd. On the 26th, the three men moved up again and again bivouacked at 5000m. They stayed there the next day because snow was falling again. On the 28th they tried to continue up, but one meter of new snow had fallen, and it was impossible to make more than fifty meters of progress in the deep snow. Furthermore, they had seen big seracs above. So at 5050m they retreated to BC the same day. Now they decided to do their acclimatizing on the Bonington route itself. On 1 April they went to 5000m at the bottom of the face and bivouacked there. The next day they were on the south ridge of the Bonington route and bivouacked on it at 6100m. On the 3rd, they had reached 6400m when snow began falling and it became very windy. So back to their 5000m bivouac site and on the 4th they were again in BC. The poor weather kept them in BC till 10 April. Kopold had to leave the mountain by 18 April, and he decided to leave now. The remaining two members, Minarik and Revol, moved to Machhapuchhare BC and spent that night in a lodge there at 3700m. They resumed their assault on the mountain on the 11th and bivouacked at 5000m beside the West Annapurna Glacier. On the 12th, Minarik and Revol went to 5500m and bivouacked near Fluted Peak aka Singu Chuli. Their route on the 13th went up and down and up; they had arrived at only 5600m, past the east side of Fluted Peak, when they made their next bivouac. On the 14th, they moved to 6000m onto a plateau east of Glacier Dome (Tarke Kang) and made their next bivouac there. On the 15th they moved west and bivouacked at 6700m near Roc Noir (Khangsar Kang). A wind had blown up, so they spent all day at this site. On the 17th they gained Annapurna's East Ridge and bivouacked on the ridge at 7000m west of Glacier Dome and east of Roc Noir. On the following day, they climbed to the summit of Roc Noir and bivouacked at 7500m between Roc Noir and the East Summit of Annapurna I. On the 19th they gained Annapurna I's East Summit (8026m) and then returned to the site of their 7500m bivouac of the 18th. On the 20th, they continued to their 7000m bivvy of the 17th. On the 21st, they moved towards Glacier Dome to a col at 7100m. Revol climbed to the NE Face and stopped on it at 7500m. Minarik apparently stayed on the ridge; she waited an hour for him to join her, but he did not turn up, and it was no impossible to see more than a few meters because of the wind-blown snow. On the 22nd she did see him at 6700m coming down the NE Face of Glacier Dome. Then again she couldn't see very far and so lost sight of him. She descended the face to the glacier at 6500m. On the 23rd, she moved to 4100m and a lodge halfway between Tilicho Lake and Manang village. The last sight she had of Minarik was this day when he was on the ridge between Roc Noir and Glacier Dome. She thinks he tried to descend the NE Face. Now they had no food or anything to drink; they had taken only three or four days supplies with them. Martin had become very tired, and his face and hands were swollen by edema. They were not well acclimatized. She had spent four nights above 7000m and he five nights. She had no idea what finally happened to him. A search for him by helicopter found no sign of him, and two Sherpas who went on foot up to 5000m saw nothing also. On the 24th, she reached Manang village, where a helicopter sent by their trekking agent picked her up and flew her to Pokhara. She flew by scheduled flight to Kathmandu on the 25th for a flight home on the 26th.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Iceland Trekking (Tendi)
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2459920
Year 2009
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face (bonington rte) (to 6400m)

Members

3 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Jozef (Dodo) Kopold M 1980 Slovakia Climber Bratislava, Slovakia Athlete Details Other expeditions
Martin Minarik M 1967 Czech Republic Leader Blatnicka, Czech Republic Tour guide Details Other expeditions
Elisabeth Marie Bernadette Revol F 1979 France Climber Saou, Drome, France Teacher Details Other expeditions

References

2 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
ANN109103 - - http://www.martinminarik.cz/annapurna2009-en.html - - -
ANN109103 CLIM - - - 65:63-64 (July 2010) -