Dhaulagiri I | 1981 S Face-SE Ridge up; NE Ridge down

A Yugoslavia expedition to Dhaulagiri I in 1981 via S Face-SE Ridge up; NE Ridge down, led by Stane Belak. Summit reached on 23rd October 1981. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 1790
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID DHA181302
Peak ID DHA1
Year 1981
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face-SE Ridge up; NE Ridge down
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Yugoslavia
Leaders Stane Belak
Sponsor Slovenian Himalaya Expedition
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 1981-09-26
Summit Date 1981-10-23
Summit Time -
Summit Days 27
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 4
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8000m due to approaching bad weather
High Point (m) 8000
Traverse True
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 1
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 6
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(26/09,4000m),C1(15/10,5000m),Biv1(16/10,5500m),Biv2(17/10,5700m),Biv3(18/10,6100m),Biv4(19/10,6900m),Biv5(20/10,7300m),Biv6(21/10,7400m),Biv7(22/10,7550m),Biv8(23/10,8000m),xxx(8000m)
Route Notes Belak - 10 Nov 81 Original route on left part of face; big avalanches and big seracs falling often, so impossible. 16 days to BC 3950m; arrived 26 Sept, then 27 Sept up to 5300m point for view of face. Saw it was without snow with lot of stone fall and seracs. Then 3 days storm 27-30 Sept continuous rain/snow. After storm again to view point; now no stonefall, but ice and snow covered face. Impossible to acclimatize on face because to dangerous and steep so go for 3 days go to top of 6400m hill. Went to route part of face and further 4100m climbed. This way only possible way up face; even here during night and early morning. Full moon about 13 Oct so could climb at night. Total about 4250m = height of face. Steep face, no place for tents after one week, 6-12 Oct, looked at face, going up 900m and put in several meters fixed rope. Another group reached 5300m to steep section and pitched tent at 5100m. 15-16 - Oct started with 8 days food and 1 biv tent from BC to tent at 5100m: Belak, Bercic and Tratnik. Rested there 5 hours till 11:00 pm and climbed in moonlight to 5600m very difficult rock and steep, then snow field. When sun came 9:00 am much stonefall. Kept falling and had to stop 7 hours about 6000m where were protected from fall 4:00 pm 16 Oct. 17 Oct - 5 pm began climb again to 2nd ice step and on up all night and all next day till late afternoon. 18 Oct - 17 hours of climb to about 6500m mixed rock and ice having gained 500m; next steep ice (up to 600m) and hard snow. 19 Oct - 8:00 am started climb; mixed face: rock and ice at 3:00 pm reached 6900m. 20 Oct - started 9:00 am, reached top ridge = SE Ridge about 7200m and found Japanese rope [from German expedition] and stopped at ridge at 3:00 pm. 21-22 Oct - 100m gain only because sharp ridge and not steep (indeed same little down) in 6 hours; reached 7300m. 21-22 Oct Bercic got frostbite. 23 Oct - last biv on ridge at about 7700m. Took 4 hours just to melt one drink and used up gas; strong wind. 24 Oct - came and 9:30 am tent broken: black clouds in sky so summit not possible. Goal now to reach 8000m pass and go down north side. Started moving at 10:00 am and 12:00 noon at pass at 8000m. Looked down NE Ridge, looked nice and not so much wind. Went to NE Ridge where found ropes, 1 old tent. Late afternoon found gas stove in tent and same sacks of Japanese-labeled tea and cocoa and gas at about 7200m in dark. Accidental fire in tent but no one hurt. 25 Oct - down to East Glacier Plateau at 5800m. Very tired, little frozen and weather very bad: snowfall. No tent, sleeping on snow but had sleeping bags and good clothes. 30 cm snow fell during night. 26 Oct - walking staggering for hours till evening found crevasse for shelter up at 5950m. 27 Oct - 8:00 am started again. Could see at noon villages and reached at dark bottom of rock and ice face 200m high now 4700m. 28 Oct - crossed glacier all day; worst day: very tired and glacier impossibly broken and dangerous with seracs falling often. At dark left glacier to grass. Slept in grass after one and hour walk. 29 Oct - found Belgian trekkers; on arrival Belgians helped and reached Kalopani. 6 days no food; all lost 8-10 kg. Had planned to descend NE Ridge since too dangerous to descend face. Bercic - 10 Nov 81 Original route not attempted; danger from avalanche high up and route in middle "no good," not much snow on face. 4100m of face from bottom to top. One camp at 5000m on face; above all bivs. Started up on 15th and slept 15th Oct in this camp by Belak, Bercic and Tratnik. Face very steep ice; 4 bivs on face, then reached top East Ridge at about 7000m and 3 bivs on ridge and stopped climb little beyond 3rd biv. Reached 8000m 23 Oct, 3rd biv reached 22 Oct. 23 Oct - up a little; stopped ascent because strong wind, gas fuel finished; then descended North Face; 5 bivs on face descent: last 5 days "no eating." Found one tent about 7200m and 2 gas bottles so could make liquids to drink: soup, cocoa and tea. Other 3 members came round via Tukuche Village to North BC but 3 climbers not to North BC but to East Glacier and to Kalopani about 29 Oct other 3 retired from North BC to Tatopani asking police for 3 friends. All meet except Bercic who frostbitten and cannot walk. Came to Beni after 3 days on foot from Kalopani to Beni and horse to Baglung and by air to KTM with Belak and Tratnik after 7 days at airport of Balewa and arrived KTM 9 Nov. Other 3 arrived today. Emil no frostbite; Stane a little; Vinko all hands and feet. Belak - 9 Sept 81 Leave KTM 11 Sept by bus to Pokhara and 9-10 days to BC; approach via Chimikhola, Mangle up Thula Khola and north to BC site east of Manapathi at about 4000m. Glacier from BC to 2-3 tents under the wall (at foot of wall at about 5000m) not a camp really. May need fixed rope on wall above these tents, but prefer pure alpine-style climb - wall lower part 70 degrees and upper part 50 degrees Belak thinks "but we shall see." Wall subject to avalanche and must find route that is safe from those. May make route as per postcard, perhaps more directly to summit; wind can be big problem towards top. Arrive BC 21 Sept. 3 weeks acclimatization and seeing best way to make route; mid-Oct try 2 times to climb wall. 20 Oct full moon and can climb at night when less dangers of avalanche. 3-5 bivs above tents at foot of wall; in lower part of wall difficulties from many couloirs. No Sherpas beyond BC. No oxygen at all. South Face of Dhaulagiri climbed 16 days for the ascent & descent by Indok Sluzba The final section of the approach march was over virgin ground. On 23rd Sept they reached the location of BC, where the low altitude porters left them. Nevertheless by 26th Sept the BC had been set up. Following a period of bad weather and research, the only acclimatization tour possible was made to Manapati during 1st-3rd Oct. From 7th-13th Oct the lower part of the face was explored, the climbers reaching an altitude of 5300m, fixing 400m of rope and pitching a tent at 5150m. 15th Oct: Stane Belak, Cene Bercic and Emil Tratnik started upon the face and left their tent at 02.35 the following day. At 9:00 they were halted for seven hours by falling stones at an altitude of 5500m. They then climbed until nightfall, reaching 5700m. 17th Oct: At midnight they continued the ascent over an icefield and by morning had reached the third rock-step. Continuing to climb they dug out their third bivouac at an altitude of 6100m. 18th: The following section presented difficulties in orientation (50-65 degrees) and at 6400m the fourth biv was made. The same day the second rope started on the face and reached the tent at 5100m but then descended so as to go with the sixth climber (Janez Sabolak) to meet their companions. 19th: Belaying was problematic, inclination 50 degrees. They bivoucked at 6900m. (In fact they at their disposal on average only 5-6 hours for climbing; the remainder of the time was needed to prepare the biv.) 20th Oct: At 14.00 they reached the rock band (7300m) in the SW Ridge, where they came upon the ropes used by the Japanese expedition in 1978. The face was climbed. 21st Oct: After a bad night they climbed the exposed rock section (III-IV) of the ridge. They were able to gain only 100m in height. 22nd: Only 150m height was gained. There followed a cold and windy night at an altitude of 7550m. 23rd Oct: In the afternoon they reached the right-hand edge of the huge/great snow-slopes below the summit (7800m). The chances of preparing food were minimal while the wind and cold intensified. 24th Oct: From this point there were no further climbing difficulties. The leader informed BC of their plan for the descent. But shortly after 8.00 the gas-stove ceased to function. The wind also increased in force and buried the tent. All these conditions called for an immediate retreat. All that was no longer important (the gas-stove, tent, dehydrated food, etc) was rejected and at noon they reached the highest point of the SE Ridge and then descended over the northern slope to 7200m. Here they fortunately found the remainings of a tent (probably Japanese). However the gas stove they dug out burst into flames and easily destroyed. Radio contact with BC failed to function. 25th Oct: They descended by the north rib. Worse weather was rapidly approaching from the west. The climbers bivouacked in the open, without either protection or food. 20 cm of snow fell during the night. 26th Oct: The weather deteriorated still further; nevertheless they fought their way down to 6000m and bivouacked in a crevasse. 27th Oct: 60 cm of new snow fell. They ploughed through to the ridge and in deep snow reached the altitude of 6090m above the Dhaulagiri glacier and the valley of the Tak Khola. They then descended for another seven hours and organized a bivouac on the glacier (4800m). Contact with their companies was still not possible. 28th Oct: At day break they started the difficult traverse of the extremely fragmented and dangerous glacier and after 12 hours gained the border morraine. Bivouac on snow-covered pastures (4200m). 29th Oct: For the first time in 16 days they met other people and after 6 days of hunger had access to food. By evening they had dropped down to the village of Kalapani. 30th Oct: In the village of Beni they met their remaining companions, who had searched for them in vain. On account of his frostbitten feet Cene Bercic continued the journey on horseback. There still remained the march to the Balewa airfield, which they were home again on 16th Nov. "Yugoslav Dhaulagiri I South face Expedition 1981" completed the ascent of the South Face of Dhaulagiri, which no other expedition had ever succeeded in doing and thus registered one of the greatest achievements in Yugoslav alpinism. It was the first expedition entirely in alpine style (and without oxygen), Following the first ascent of the S Face of Makalu in 1975, of West Face Trisul in 1976, of SW Ridge of Hidden Peak in 1977, of the West Ridge of Everest in 1979, and of the South Face of Lhotse in 1981.
Accidents Stane little frostbite, Vinko frostbite on all hands and feet
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2450797
Year 1981
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) s face-se ridge up; ne ridge down

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Stanislav (Stane) Belak-Srauf M 1940 Yugoslavia Leader Kamnik, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Designer of hospital equipment Details Other expeditions
Vinko Bercic-Cenko M 1959 Yugoslavia Climber Kamnik, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Furniture factory worker Details Other expeditions
Sabolek Janez M 1958 Yugoslavia Climber Ljubljana, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Farmer Details Other expeditions
Rok Kolar M 1959 Yugoslavia Climber Prevalje, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Mechanical engineer Details Other expeditions
Emil Tratnik M 1951 Yugoslavia Climber Idrija, Slovenia, Yugoslavia Worker in engineering works Details Other expeditions
Joze Zupan M 1954 Yugoslavia Climber Ogece, Slovenia, Yugoslavia High school teacher of physical education Details Other expeditions

References

8 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
DHA181302 AAJ Savenc, Franci - - 56:238-240 (1982) -
DHA181302 HJ Belak, Stane The South Face of Dhaulagiri Climbed - 38:169-171 (1980-1981) -
DHA181302 AJ Savenc, Franci South Face of Dhaulagiri - 88:181-182 (1983) -
DHA181302 MM - - - 83:9 (Jan 1982) -
DHA181302 DAV - - - 107:161 (1982-83) -
DHA181302 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198223802/Asia-Nepal-Dhaulagiri-South-Face-and-Traverse - - -
DHA181302 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/38/25/expeditions-and-notes-38/ - - -
DHA181302 - - https://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1983_files/AJ%201983%20181-182%20Savenc%20Dhaulagiri.pdf - - -