Lhotse | 2003 S Face

A Japan expedition to Lhotse in 2003 via S Face, led by Osamu Tanabe. Summit reached on 15th December 2003. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4498
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LHOT03401
Peak ID LHOT
Year 2003
Season 4
Host Country 1
Route 1 S Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Japan
Leaders Osamu Tanabe
Sponsor JAC Tokai Section Winter Lhotse South Face 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 2003-11-14
Summit Date 2003-12-15
Summit Time -
Summit Days 31
Total Days 39
Termination Date 2003-12-23
Termination Reason 4
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8250m due to bad weather
High Point (m) 8250
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 5400
Total Members 6
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 15
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used True
O2 None False
O2 Climb True
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep True
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(14/11,5200m),C1(22/11,5900m),C2(28/11,7100m),C3.1(7300m,03/12),C3.2(09/12,7850m),xxx(15/12,8250m)
Route Notes BC at 5200m at left side of Lhotse Glacier C1 at 5900m at South Face C2 at 7100m at South Face C3 at 7850m at South Face High point at 8250m at South Face. Made temporary C3 at 7300m while making route, then made permanent C3 at 7850m. Then route-making on upwards and Kitamura and Senda reached team's high point of 8250m on 15 Dec. Then on 16th very strong wind and "they had very hard time" says BC manager. Kitamura and Senda slept in C3 on 15th, down to C2 on 16th, 17th to BC. On 18th weather forecast was for snow on 21 and 22 Dec, meaning avalanching for days and snowfall forecast for later in Dec. Expedition plan called for finishing at early Dec. So Tanabe decided on C1 on 18th Dec climb finished. All members back in BC 20 Dec. Kili Temba (Beding, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Everest) hit by falling rock on his chin making big cut on 8 Dec and left expedition. Dawa Tshering (Beding, Cho Oyu, Everest, Broad Peak, Manaslu) slightly frostbitten finger. Mingma Tshering (Beding, EvX9, etc) hit by falling rock on shoulder 14 Dec and arm movement painful, so left expedition. Yasamoto 1 frostbitten finger (slightly) on 11 Dec making route at 8100m. Fixed entire route from start of rock face at 5400m. 90 yaks used to take 5400 kg of cargo to BC and 40 yaks in return from BC. Oxygen: sleeping in C2 and all climbing and sleeping above by Japanese; Sherpas used sleeping in C2 and temporary C3 and permanent C3; also when making the route above C2 but not at other times climbing. Route very much the same as Tanabe's winter 2001 expedition, but this time reached higher point. Does he want to come to Lhotse's South Face again? "Right now, I think, no."
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Rolwaling Trek
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2455712
Year 2003
Summit Success False
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) s face

Members

6 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Toshiyuki Kitamura M 1962 Japan Climber Hanamaki, Iwate, Japan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Atsushi Senda M 1974 Japan Climber Nagoya, Aichi, Japan Alpine gym instructor Details Other expeditions
Masanori Suzuki M 1961 Japan Deputy Leader Asahimachi, Yamagata, Japan Lodge manager Details Other expeditions
Osamu Tanabe M 1961 Japan Leader Nagoya, Aichi, Japan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Shigehisa Yamamoto M 1968 Japan Climber Tiba-shi, Japan Architect Details Other expeditions
Goro Takenaka M - Japan BC Manager - - Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
LHOT03401 JAN Tanabe, Osamu Lhotse South Face Winter - Near Ascent - 5:2-4 (May 2004) -
LHOT03401 AAJ Tanabe, Osamu - - 78:408-409 (2004) -
LHOT03401 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200440800/Asia-Nepal-Malahangur-Asia-Nepal-Khumbu-Lhotse-South-Face-Winter-Attempt - - -
LHOT03401 - - http://jac.or.jp/english/images/vol5/jan-vol5-2-4.pdf - - -