Annapurna I | 1997 E Face of Fang to Annapurna's SW Ridge

A Italy expedition to Annapurna I in 1997 via E Face of Fang to Annapurna's SW Ridge, led by Simone Moro. Summit reached on 25th December 1997. 3 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 2486
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID ANN197402
Peak ID ANN1
Year 1997
Season 4
Host Country 1
Route 1 E Face of Fang to Annapurna's SW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Italy
Leaders Simone Moro
Sponsor Annapurna South Face Winter Expedition 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 Kazakhstan
Approach By helicopter->BC
Basecamp Date 1997-12-02
Summit Date 1997-12-25
Summit Time -
Summit Days 23
Total Days 24
Termination Date 1997-12-26
Termination Reason 6
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6300m due to fatal avalanche
High Point (m) 6300
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 500
Total Members 3
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 2
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(02/12,4100m),Deposit(06/12,4300m),ABC(12/12,5000m),C1(24/12,5500m),xxx(25/12,6300m)
Route Notes BC at normal site from Annapurna South Face teams as per German Annapurna map Deposit on glacier ABC below East Face of Fang C1 on East Face of Fang due west of Tent Peak. Notes of interview with Moro - 29 Dec 97 On 7th Dec, 3.7m new snowfall and a BC tent broken by it, so after that, rented 2 rooms in lodge very near BC and this was fell for 3 days. 11 Dec up to deposit camp to BC on 7th; more snow, safer spot; had decided could not use Bonington South Face route to ridge from Annapurna South and Fang to Anna I's summit. Slept 2 - 16th down to tiny village below Chomrong to rest from exertions from struggling against deep snow. 20 Dec returned to BC, 22nd to deposit camp, 23rd to ABC, 24th made C1, 25th started up face at 6:00 am to reach ridge. Moro climbed first, fixing rope, with Anatoli behind. Moro got to 6300m and rope supply almost finished so called down to Anatoli to bring more up; Anatoli was at 5900m and started up to Moro with Sobolev below him (maybe at 5700m); he was video filming. Team had watched face for avalanching for a number of days and seen none; now on 25th at 12:15 pm, Moro saw ice cornice had just fallen from the ridge at 6350m and was gathering snow as it broke into pieces and fell as an ice-and-snow avalanche 50m wide. Moro called warning to Anatoli and saw him run to his right (north) to dodge avalanche. Moro clung to fixed rope but fell at 12:30 pm with avalanche 700-800m and became unconscious, partly buried in snow; he opened eye at 12:37 pm, called for reply and no sign of Anatoli, Moro started down alone; "I tried to help but I am not God"; his injuries included eye swollen shut (eye itself not damaged), both hands badly burned by rope (tendon of one left finger cut by rope), legs and one arm painful, and took him six hours to reach BC alone after dark. Moro will go by helicopter today (29 Dec) to look for Anatoli and Sobolev but "I don't believe" they're alive. [Moro said on Tel. 27 Dec when asked if Anatoli was dead: "I cannot be sure because I do not find his body ... I believe, yes" that he must be dead. Temperature was -21 in tent after cooking in it at C1 on 25th)]. Moro wants to go inside C1 tent he left stocked with food etc. to see whether Anatoli might have managed to return there. [Helicopter flight that day could not reach BC because of low clouds]. Anatoli was wearing green one-piece down suit; Sobolev wore red pants and blue jacked; both had many gold teeth. Anatoli had one brother and one sister still living, both parents and other siblings dead. "I never saw another person with such instinct for mountains;" his death is "big loss for mountain world"; he never went home from expedition without having reached some summit. His next plans were to go to Everest in Tibet in April '98, main summit of Xixa in May, in summer to Gasherbrum I and Nanga Parbat to finish all 8000ers (& to be first Asian to do so) and then organize his own commercial expeditions. * (without going to Fang's summit themselves) EAH notes of Khabibulin interview on 7 Jan 1998: Kazakh Army Sports Club sent 4-man search team to Nepal; they arrived KTM 1 Jan '98. Members had been on Kazakh Everest expedition to north side in spring '97; they were Rinat Khabibulin, Dmitri Mouravev, Sergei Ovsharenko and Andrei Molotov (these last three are professional climbers and summited Everest in '97). Two Sherpas were dropped by helicopter near BC on 31 Dec to try to reach C1 tent to see if anyone was inside, but were unable to reach C1. On 2 Jan, a small helicopter dropped Khabibulin at BC after overflying C1's silver tent at 5500m, and big helicopter carried the other 3 to Pokhara, from where on 3rd they landed at BC, left Molotov there and picked up Khabibulin and Phurba Sherpa and proceeded to C1 site, where it hovered at 8:00 am while up to 5600m, where there was a crevasse with a one-meter open gap and searched this 70m wide area; found no sign of a fall ending; tried to find here the rope Moro had fixed or equipment, but again found nothing. Back to C1 at 2:00 pm, but the searchers were not acclimatized to higher altitudes; they went to BC lodge, spent night there and returned to KTM. Anatoli's American friend Linda Wylie, 49, from Santa Fe, was in Kathmandu during these days and flew in helicopter that dropped Sherpas on 31st; she said she and Moro would return in early spring '98, when bodies could be visible, and bury them. Search again for Boukreev Arrive 5500m in helicopter 22 April 98 after Linda and staff dropped at Annapurna South and BC 4100m. R & Simone dropped out of chopper into deep heavy wet snow - stayed 2 hours there and could not reach bergschrund wanted to go to because avalanches off East Face of Annapurna South - very very dangerous and fled areas. Linda in Pokhara and on KTM 27-28 April with Rinat.
Accidents Boukreev and Sobolev killed and Moro injured in fatal avalanche
Achievement -
Agency Cho Oyu Trekking
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2455820
Year 1997
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) e face of fang to annapurna's sw ridge

Members

3 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Anatoli Boukreev M 1958 Kazakhstan Climber Almaty (Alma-Ata), Kazakhstan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Simone Moro M 1967 Italy Leader Colere, Bergamo, Italy Alpinist Details Other expeditions
Dmitri Sobolev M 1961 Kazakhstan Climber Almaty (Alma-Ata), Kazakhstan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
ANN197402 AAJ Moro, Simone - - 72:301-303 (1998) -
ANN197402 HIGH - - - 193:18 (Dec 1998) -
ANN197402 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199830103/Asia-Nepal-Annapurna-Attempt-and-Tragedy - - -