Himlung Himal | 2012 W Ridge

A USA expedition to Himlung Himal in 2012 via W Ridge, led by Luke Smithwick. Summit reached on 14th October 2012. 5 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 7941
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID HIML12311
Peak ID HIML
Year 2012
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Luke Smithwick
Sponsor Project Himalaya Himlung 2012
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 Australia, Denmark, Germany
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2012-10-02
Summit Date 2012-10-14
Summit Time -
Summit Days 12
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 7
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6900m due to exhaustion
High Point (m) 6900
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 5
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 2
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 False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(02/10),C1(06/10,5600m),C2(12/10),C3(13/10),xxx(14/10,6900m)
Route Notes Lars Andersson blog: 23 October 2012 entry: It has been some time since the last update to the blog but here is a final entry. We had the final day of our summit attempt on 14/10. We woke up at 3am and got away in the cold at about 4am. I guess it was between -10 to -15 degrees outside. The day started with a 150 meter decent into a "saddle", then it was uphill again. After a few hours I felt that this wasn't my day, the last three days had been good but now the body complained. I turned around while the others continued. My way back was really testing me as I was really tired. When I finally came back to camp 3 I was exhausted and fortunately Mara was there to help me get fed and hydrated. The others continued several hours longer but it had been slow progress. They reached about 6900 meters and then they also turned around, this meant that there were still no summits by any team this season. On the 15th we decended all the way to basecamp, this was a decent from 6300 meters down to 4800 meyers. It was a long day with quite heavy loads during the final leg from Camp 1 to basecamp. On the 16th we packed up basecamp, loaded everything on mules and decended to the village of Phu. On the 17th we had an 11 hour long walk all the way down to Koto. This was a decent of about 1400 meters so the air got thicker and thicker along the day. On the way up we had used two 8 hour days for the same distance, doing the reverse in one day was quite a task. When we finally arrived in Koto it was almost dark and there was drizzle in the air too. On the 18th we managed to get seats in jeeps taking us all the way from Koto to Besisahar, a ride of 9 hours. This ride was along the new road that has been built over the last few years, the very same road that we saw on our way up and that we commented as crazy. Now we suddenly were sitting in a jeep in the middle of a cliff face, it was pretty exciting. The road was just opened the day before and we were apparently the first westeners to go on this road. It was pretty cramped ride though, we were 11 adults and one baby in a jeep of the size of a Land Crouser. On the 19th we did the final leg of our 5 day journey from Camp 3 to Kathmandu. This time the means of transport was a hired bus. On the 20th and 21st we had a couple of lazy days in Kathmandu. We were just shopping, eating, drinking coffee and looking at people. Now I am home again with lots of memories and photos. I will try to sort out the photos and post here at some point in the future. 17 October 2012 entry: 11th - 15th October 11th October: Climbed to Camp 1, resting and playing cards. 12th October: Climbed up to Camp 2 and settled down for the night. 13th October: Climbed even higher, arrived at our Camp 3 for the first time. 14th October: Today was our summit attempt. We woke up at 3am for a 4am start. After climbing for 5 hours I realised I wasn't going to make it to the summit today, I decided to turn back. The landscape was just beautiful, I was walking on a glacier with enormous crevasses. On the way I had passed ravines and other majestic natural formations. Unfortunately no-one in our team made it to the summit today, as they all had to turn back a few hours after I did. 15th October: Back in Base camp, it's nice to be able to breath again. One of our team members has some problems with his toes, we are still waiting for him to get back to base camp to see if it is frostbite or not. We may need to call for help to get him back to Kathmandu. 9 October 2012 entry: 6 October: Today we walked up to Camp 1 and stayed the night. 7 October: We did an acclimatization walk up to Camp 2 today, and then we walked back to Camp 1 to spend the night. I however got a stomach ache on the way up to Camp 2, so I decided to sit down and rest, while the others continued to Camp 2. It was beautiful weather and I had great views. It took them about 1.5 hours to get back to me, by which time I felt fine again. 8 October: Today we trekked back down to Base Camp and I got to have my first shower for a few days, so now I am nice and clean again. 9 October: Today we went for a 3 hour walk, had a nice lunch and then we played cards - so a pretty relaxing day. Last night the temperature in the tent was -7 degrees. In two days time we will make a push for the summit, as long as the weather stays fine. Until then... more cards. 4 October 2012 entry: 3rd October: Today was a rest day. I felt a little tired and had no energy, so I didn't go with the others on their acclimatisation tour, but instead walked a bit around the camp. Our base camp is at 4900m and it is now starting to get cold. I have developed a frog in my throat because of the cold winds. I've had some problems with my stomach but the drugs are now starting to kick in. 4th October: Today we had a puja; a lama came to bless all the things we are going to carry up on the mountain. We put all our packs and gear onto a stone altar and he walked around it chanting and throwing rice and water onto our gear, while we were drinking tea, whiskey and eating food. Now that everything is blessed the Sherpas feel that we can bring it all up on the mountain. We carried all the gear that we will be needing at Camp 1 (5600m) there and set up the tents. Then we walked back to Base Camp. Tomorrow will be a rest day again, and I think I will need it.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Happy Feet Mountaineers
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2458632
Year 2012
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w ridge

Members

5 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
James Luke Smithwick M 1979 USA Leader Pittsburo, North Carolina Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Lars Per Johan Andersson M 1957 Australia/Sweden Climber Sydney, NSW, Australia Software engineer Details Other expeditions
Mara Victoria Larson F 1979 USA Climber Salem, Oregon - Details Other expeditions
Stefan Kunz M 1969 Germany Climber Trossingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany Salesman Details Other expeditions
Michael Hojgrav-Huus M 1962 Denmark Climber - Farmer Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
HIML12311 - - http://www.himlung2012.com - - -