Annapurna I | 2012 N Face

A USA expedition to Annapurna I in 2012 via N Face, led by Don Bowie. Summit reached on 18th April 2012. 1 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 7943
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID ANN112116
Peak ID ANN1
Year 2012
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 N Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Don Bowie
Sponsor Bowie to Annapurna I
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 -
Approach By helicopter to BC
Basecamp Date 2012-03-26
Summit Date 2012-04-18
Summit Time -
Summit Days 23
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 14
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6400m due to personal emergency back home
High Point (m) 6400
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 1
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
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 -
Campsites BC(26/03,4200m),C1(30/03,5000m),C2(01/04,5500m),C3(18/04,6400m),xxx(18/04)
Route Notes Details from www.donbowie.com blog Flew by helicopter Pokhara to Annapurna Base Camp at 4200m. March 29 - I've now been in camp for 3 days. All staff, gear, and climbers are here now, too. Yesterday, one of the Spanish climbers and I scrambled up a narrow ridge to 4700m in order to acclimatize a little because base camp is very low at 4160m. Tomorrow I'll set off to spend 2 nights at 5100m and 1 night at 5600m and to get a better look at the mountain above. March 30 - Reached Camp 1 today on Annapurna at 5000m. April 4 - There are 12 people sharing our climbing permit, a varied group hailing from Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, Iran, Turkey, China, the USA, and me: the Canadian. The route to Camp 1 here on the north side is similar to the route to Camp 1 on the south side of Annapurna, where I made two previous attempts; the first in 2006 and then again in 2008. April 13 - I was hoping to go to Camp 3 at least once to acclimatize before a summit push, so I started up alone from Camp 2 last Tuesday morning until I got about 200 meters from the upper north wall proper. A few Sherpa's had fixed the ridge up to 6600 meters the day before, but now I was breaking new trail in the fresh snow, alone, and at every step I became increasingly aware of the amount of snowfall that had occurred over the past week. And with last night's dump of 20cm, I was wondering if the accumulation was getting dangerous. When I got back to Camp 2, I put down my pack and began to share my dangerous snow evaluation with some of the others in Camp 2. Just then, a VERY big slab avalanche peeled off from above the couloir we pass under on the route to Camp 3. We all looked up in awe at the massive cloud billowing in the chute. From where we watched at Camp 2 the noise was muffled at first, but then a roar developed - not the harsh, thunderous roar of the ice avalanches - but a soft, deep rumble of a snow avalanche. It blasted across the climbing route and made its way much farther down the mountain. Had I not turned around when I did, the avalanche and I would have likely met. April 17 - Phone Dispatch from Don: "At Camp 2 now for the night. Heading up to Camp 3 at 6800m in morning of 4/18/12 for a few days acclimatization. Winds high on the mountain are rather precarious right now, so will make a decision to go further as the weather unfolds." April 19 - Don phoned to say that he was back down in Camp 2 after just coming from two nights stay in Camp 3. The weather conditions for the past couple of days have not been good, so he has decided to head back down to base camp today. He mentioned that there were a few avalanches and said that his tent got wrecked in Camp 3, but also said that no one was hurt. April 21 - In just 24 hours, the international group of climbers attempting Annapurna endured 3 separate avalanche events, and somehow survived them all. A complete and graphic detail of the avalanches is given on Don Bowie's blog at www.donbowie.com
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Seven Summit Treks
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2461018
Year 2012
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) n face

Members

1 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Donald Allen (Don) Bowie M 1969 USA/Canada Leader Bishop, California Search and rescue team member Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
ANN112116 - - http://www.donbowie.com - - -