Annapurna I | 2012 N Face

A USA expedition to Annapurna I in 2012 via N Face, led by Cleo Weidlich. Summit reached on 20th April 2012. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 7505
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID ANN112112
Peak ID ANN1
Year 2012
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 N Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Cleo Weidlich
Sponsor Weidlich Annapurna I Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed True
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2012-03-30
Summit Date 2012-04-20
Summit Time 1030
Summit Days 21
Total Days 23
Termination Date 2012-04-22
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8091
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 2600
Total Members 1
Summit Members 1
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 1
Summit Hired 1
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
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 Dhaulagiri (DHA1-121-09)
Campsites BC(30/03,4100m),C1(31/03,4800m),C2(01/04,5500m),C3(07/04,6400m),TempC4(08/04,6600m),C4(19/04,7400m),Smt(20/04)
Route Notes After Weidlich and Pema Tshering [see notes below] had established C2 at 5500m on 1 April, they descended to BC on the 2nd. On the 5th they resumed climbing and returned to C2. The 6th was spent fixing rope, and after fixing more rope on the 7th, later that day they pitched a high C3 at 6400m above the Dutch Rib; they had just climbed the rib and were to join the French route from C3. On the 8th, they made a temporary C4 at 6600m, then decided that they did not have enough gear, including a snowbars and rope, to cope successfully with the huge crevasse (12m across and 200m wide) 100 meters above the camp and reach the top. They returned to BC in the night of the 9th. On the 10th, they met a few members of Chinese and Indian teams, and they planned a joint summit push during the good weather window to be on 18 and 19 April, according to their Sherpas information. So Weidlich and Pema Tshering waited for this favorable weather period and rested at BC till the 16th, when the three parties started up again. They got to C2 that day and to C3 on the next day, the 17th. Here they saw that it was necessary to fix the lines again, so they slept at temporary C4. On the 19th, they moved up to normal C4 at 7400m in heavy snowfall and strong wind. Here Weidlich's fingers started to tingle and then feel as though they were burning (they still had the burning sensation in Kathmandu on the 25th). Nevertheless, she and Pema Tshering pressed on, and at 11:30 pm on the 19th, when the wind was still, Weidlich and Pema Tshering left for the summit. They were on the top at 10:30 am on 20 April. Weidlich had to use her ice axe all the way to the top in the "beautiful weather." She and Pema Tshering spent the nights of the 20th in C4, 21st in C1, and 22nd back in BC. They had used 16 snowbars and 18-22 ice screws during their climb. On the 24th, she helicoptered from BC to Kathmandu. She damaged one knee badly on Kangchenjunga a year ago; she wears a metal brace on her leg while climbing. She cannot trek normally through French Pass on her way to and from BC. Note: Several photos and comments have surfaced that give doubts to the status of all the summiters on 20 April 2012 for Annapurna I. One set of photos show the Indian team of Debasish Biswas and Basanta Singha Roy standing 50-60m below the top of the summit ridge with a climber dressed in red climbing towards the summit ridge high in the background. Another set of photos show the Chinese team of Yang Chun-Feng and Rao Jian-Feng (dressed in red) near the crest of the summit ridge. One Chinese and two Sherpas are shown on top of the crest and one Chinese and one Sherpa are shown as stopping below the crest. It also appears that the Chinese team did not proceed along the crest of the summit ridge to the true summit that is 20-50m further away in an upwardly horizontal direction. The widow of Rao states that her husband told her that Rao summited, but not Yang. Both Rao and Yao were killed in June 2013 when the base camp at Nanga Parbat was attacked by terrorists. Other comments put the American team of Cleo Weidlich and her Sherpa either above or below the Indian team, but not at the summit ridge. For the above reasons, these ascents are being marked as "disputed." Billi Bierling - 25 March 2015 Chang Dawa Sherpa told Billi Bierling that Chang Dawa, Kami Sherpa, Jian-Feng Rao and Pecchumbe Sherpa reached the true summit, while all others stopped further down the mountain. Chang Dawa had photos of them on the true summit. Billi Bierling - 30 April 2019 Dawa Sange was with Cleo rather than Pema Chhiring/Pemba Sherpa.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Seven Summit Treks
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2461020
Year 2012
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) n face

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Cleonice Pacheco (Cleo) Weidlich F 1964 USA/Brazil Leader Palo Alto, California Nuclear engineer Details Other expeditions
Dawa Sange Sherpa M 1985 Nepal H-A Worker Makalu-9, Makalu-Barun - Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.