Baruntse | 2009 E Ridge-NE Face (to 6400m)

A USA expedition to Baruntse in 2009 via E Ridge-NE Face (to 6400m), led by Ben Clark. Summit reached on 14th May 2009. 3 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6334
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID BARU09104
Peak ID BARU
Year 2009
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 E Ridge-NE Face (to 6400m)
Route 2 E Face (to 5550m)
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Ben Clark
Sponsor Baruntse Ski Traverse 2009
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 -
Basecamp Date 2009-04-27
Summit Date 2009-05-14
Summit Time -
Summit Days 17
Total Days 23
Termination Date 2009-05-20
Termination Reason 10
Termination Notes Adandoned at 6585m due to route difficulty
High Point (m) 6585
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 3
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 TempBC(27/04,5180m),ABC(30/04,5335m),Biv1(06/05,5935m),Biv2(07/05,6000m),Biv3(08/05,6400m),xxx(14/05,6585m)
Route Notes The team flew from Kathmandu on 16 April to Tumlingtar, trekked north to Makalu's Hillary BC, went northwest to the moraine of the Barun Glacier to a point due to north of the Sherpani Col, then westwards to temporary BC on 27 April at 5180m. On 27 April at 5180m. On the 30th they mde their ABC at 5335m on a shelf northwest of their temporary BC and north of Peak 4 (6730m, which itself is due north of the West Col). ABC functioned at their base. They had no fixed camps above it, only bivouacs as they moved up and down searching for a feasible new route. On 6 May, they bivouacked on the East Ridge at 5975m, and on the 8th on a shelf below the NE Face at 6000m. They climbed onto a rib on the NE Face to 6400m for their third bivouac. A snowstorm pinned them down in the third bivouac until 14 May. They tried to go higher on the 14th, but Miller was developing cerebral edema. Butson reconnoitered 185m higher [on a rib of the NE Face], saw hanging glaciers very difficult to surmount or very exposed to try to get around. They abandoned this route and on the 15th descended to ABC, Butson and Clark helping Miller down. On the 18th, Butson and Clark tried a different line. They attempted to climb the East Face and got up to 5550m at the base of a glacier. Butson called off this attempt because he would be too tired to help Clark down if Clark had a problem. They went back to ABC and their climb of Baruntse was over. They left ABC on the 20th and descended directly to the area where Makalu expeditions had their base camps. From there they trekked for four days to Tumlingtar and flew to Kathmandu on the 27th. Besides Miller's edema, the only other health problems was Clark's mildly frostbitten toes.
Accidents Miller's edema; Clark's mildly frostbitten toes
Achievement -
Agency Mountain Tribes Trekking
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2460125
Year 2009
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) e ridge-ne face (to 6400m)

Members

3 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Joshua L. Butson M 1978 USA Climber Telluride, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Benjamin Wayne (Ben) Clark M 1979 USA Leader Mountain Village, Colorado Professional alpinist & alpine skier Details Other expeditions
Jonathan Douglas Miller M 1980 USA Climber Telluride, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
BARU09104 - - http://skithehimalayas.com - - -
BARU09104 AAJ Clark, Ben - - 84:321-322 (2010) -
BARU09104 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 84:322 (2010) -
BARU09104 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12201032100/Baruntse-7219m-Northeast-Face-Attempt - - -