Annapurna I | 1981 S Face (pillar E of Brit 70 route & W of

A Japan expedition to Annapurna I in 1981 via S Face (pillar E of Brit 70 route & W of, led by Hiroshi Yoshino. Summit reached on 29th October 1981. 12 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 1807
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID ANN181301
Peak ID ANN1
Year 1981
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face (pillar E of Brit 70 route & W of
Route 2 Polish rte Spr 81 to central summit)
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Japan
Leaders Hiroshi Yoshino
Sponsor 1981 Tokyo Himalayan Expedition to South Wall of Annapurna I
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 10th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach Pokhara->Annapurna Sanctuary
Basecamp Date 1981-08-28
Summit Date 1981-10-29
Summit Time 1530
Summit Days 62
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8091
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 5
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 12
Summit Members 2
Member Deaths 1
Total Hired 6
Summit Hired 0
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 True
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(28/08,4060m),C1(07/09,5000m),C2(15/09,5500m),C3(24/09,6150m),C4(13/10,7100m),C5(24/10,7600m),Smt(29/10)
Route Notes Sasaki & Yoshino - 15 Nov 81 31 Oct Kato and Endo missed route in half hour. Kato 1st going up and Endo delayed 30 minutes. Endo at 10:00 am saw Kato's footprints and slip mark where Kato fell, then blizzard and Endo returned to C5 at 2:00 pm. 1 Nov Endo to C4 where leader and 2 members were. Climb was very difficult and rock broken easily. Not much snow on face; mostly ice and rock. Snow and ice avalanches thrice at C2 from Polish route. 1st time 3 tents broken and some equipment missing, 2nd time 1 tent broken and 1 member slightly injured. Most difficult to fix rope. C2 to C5 all fixed rope. Did not go to middle summit - to top of face and thence to main summit. Oxygen never used. Above C3 no Sherpas able to climb, so members must carry all supplies up this plus big storm at end of Sept is reason why so long to reach C4. All members have bruised legs from daily rock fall. Shrestha, Tourism - 6 Nov 81 Yasuji Kato, 32, electrical engineer Kawasaki, reported last from 31 Oct at 5:50 am. At 11:00 am their members lost contact with this pair via walkie-talkie. 1 Nov Endo alone came back C4 6600m and informed that at 11:00 am 31 Oct they lost their way due to snow blizzard when they were between C5 and top; only one walkie-talkie was with Kato. All others in good health. Then 2 reached summit on 29 Oct LO message sent 3 Oct 31 Oct last climbing date Sharma, Tourism - 2 Nov 81 C5 7300m - date? 29 Oct Yukihiro Yanegisawa (26 Tokyo) and Hiroshi Aota (23 Tokyo) without oxygen to summit. Started from C5 at 7:00 am and reached top 3:30 pm, planted Nepal and Japanese flags and stayed 10 minutes, returned C5 7:00 pm same day - well. Leader and 4 other members would attempt summit - date? Sharma, Tourism - 4 Sept 81 BC established 28 Aug at 4060m. Members condition "so-so", weather not good. Yoshino - 11 Aug 81 12 members: 11 in KTM and other 15 Aug Leave 20 Aug to Pokhara by road and 8 days caravan to South Face Route South Face, last British and Polish routes BC - 4200m C5 - 7500m 6 H-A Sherpas Oxygen medical only Start climb 1 Sept, summit mid-Oct Route same difficulty and steepness as Polish and more than British. Route on ridge between Polish and British to col between wind and main summits and thence to main summit. Had planned route Poles climbed, then shifted to different one when learned of Poles success one month ago. BC in Sanctuary altitude same site as British. Tokyo Himalayan Expedition 1981, etc. No sponsor: private funding (by Yeti A)
Accidents Yasuji Kato fatal fall
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2449858
Year 1981
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face (pillar e of brit 70 route & w of

Members

12 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Hiroshi Aota M 1958 Japan Climber Tokyo, Japan Student (political science) Details Other expeditions
Haruyuki Endo M 1957 Japan Climber Tokyo, Japan Student Details Other expeditions
Yasuji Kato M 1949 Japan Climber Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Electronics engineer Details Other expeditions
Akira Kiuchi M 1952 Japan Climber Sawara, Chiba, Japan Farmer Details Other expeditions
Toshiaki Kobayashi M 1948 Japan Climber Soka, Saitama, Japan Office clerk Details Other expeditions
Kyoichi Mizuno M 1948 Japan Climber Tokyo, Japan Owner of a mountain lodge or pension Details Other expeditions
Machiko Oda F 1948 Japan Climber Tokyo, Japan Writer & photographer Details Other expeditions
Yoshimasa Sasaki M 1955 Japan Climber Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Sanitary (plumbing) engineer Details Other expeditions
Noboru Sawagami M 1952 Japan Climber Tokyo, Japan Travel agent Details Other expeditions
Atsuko Suzuki F 1948 Japan Climber Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan Dental anesthiologist Details Other expeditions
Yukihiro Yanagisawa M 1955 Japan Climber Sakaki, Nagano, Japan Office clerk Details Other expeditions
Hiroshi Yoshino M 1950 Japan Leader Tokyo, Japan Salesman in sporting-equipment shop Details Other expeditions

References

6 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
ANN181301 AAJ - - - 56:230 (1982) -
ANN181301 MM - - - 83:9 (Jan 1982) -
ANN181301 JAC Yoshino, Hiroshi The South Face of Annapurna I, 1981 - 77:11-16 (1982) -
ANN181301 IWA - - - 88:190-191 (1982) -
ANN181301 IWA - - - 88:54-55 (1982) -
ANN181301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198223002/Asia-Nepal-Annapurna-Ascent-and-Tragedy - - -