Lhotse | 1955 W Face
A USA expedition to Lhotse in 1955 via W Face, led by Norman Dyhrenfurth. Summit reached on 15th October 1955. 11 members recorded.
Expedition Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| ID | 512 |
| Imported | 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634 |
| Expedition ID | LHOT55301 |
| Peak ID | LHOT |
| Year | 1955 |
| Season | 3 |
| Host Country | 1 |
| Route 1 | W Face |
| Route 2 | - |
| Route 3 | - |
| Route 4 | - |
| Nationality | USA |
| Leaders | Norman Dyhrenfurth |
| Sponsor | International Himalayan Expedition 1955 |
| 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 | Austria, Switzerland |
| Approach | - |
| Basecamp Date | 1955-08-30 |
| Summit Date | 1955-10-15 |
| Summit Time | - |
| Summit Days | 46 |
| Total Days | 61 |
| Termination Date | 1955-10-30 |
| Termination Reason | 4 |
| Termination Notes | Abandoned at 8100m due to frequent storms (snow and wind) |
| High Point (m) | 8100 |
| Traverse | False |
| Ski | False |
| Paraglide | False |
| Camps | 5 |
| Fixed Rope (m) | 0 |
| Total Members | 8 |
| Summit Members | 0 |
| Member Deaths | 0 |
| Total Hired | 12 |
| Summit Hired | 0 |
| Hired Deaths | 0 |
| No Hired | False |
| O2 Used | True |
| O2 None | False |
| O2 Climb | True |
| O2 Descent | False |
| O2 Sleep | False |
| O2 Medical | False |
| O2 Taken | False |
| O2 Unknown | False |
| Other Summits | Climbed Island Peak (IMJA-551-01) and Palung Ri (PLNG-552-01); recon Lhotse Shar (LSHR-551-01) |
| Campsites | BC(30/08,5300m),C1(06/09,6100m),C2.ABC(18/09,6550m),C3(7000m),C4(08/10,7375m),C5(14/10,7620m),xxx(15/10,8100m) |
| Route Notes | Ascent route W face; Highest point at near couloir; Descent route W face 1st summit bid: 10 Oct, reached 7770m from C4 2nd summit bid: 15 Oct, reached 8100m from C5 |
| Accidents | 2 Sherpas fell but no serious injury; Spirig snowblindness and exhaustion |
| Achievement | 1st attempt to climb Lhotse |
| Agency | - |
| Commercial Route | - |
| Standard Route | True |
| Primary Route | False |
| Primary Member | False |
| Primary Reference | - |
| Primary ID | - |
| Checksum | 2438161 |
| Year | 1955 |
| Summit Success | False |
| O2 Summary | Used |
| Route (lowercase) | w face |
Members
11 recorded members.
| Name | Sex | Year of Birth | Citizenship | Status | Residence | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Wolfgang (Fred) Beckey | M | 1923 | USA | Climber | Seattle, Washington | - | Details Other expeditions |
| George Irving Bell Sr. | M | 1926 | USA | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Norman Guenter Dyhrenfurth | M | 1918 | USA/Switzerland | Leader | USA | Film-maker | Details Other expeditions |
| Richard Earl McGowan | M | 1933 | USA | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Erwin Schneider | M | 1906 | Austria | Climber | Vienna, Austria | Cartographer | Details Other expeditions |
| Ernst Senn | M | - | Austria | Climber | Innsbruck, Tirol, Austria | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Bruno Spirig | M | - | Switzerland | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Arthur Spoehel | M | 1917 | Switzerland | Climber | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Pemba Sherpa | M | - | Nepal | H-A Worker | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Chowang Sherpa | M | - | Nepal | H-A Worker | - | - | Details Other expeditions |
| Pasang Phutar Sherpa | M | 1927 | Nepal | Sirdar | Namche Bazar, Khumbu | - | Details Other expeditions |
References
5 recorded references.
| Expedition ID | Journal | Author | Title | Publisher | Citation | Yak 94 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHOT55301 | AAJ | Dyhrenfurth, Norman | Lhotse, 1955 | - | 30:7-20 (1956) | - |
| LHOT55301 | MM | Dyhrenfurth, G. O. & Dyhrenfurth, Norman | Lhotse | - | 66:38-42 (Mar 1979) | - |
| LHOT55301 | - | Herrligkoffer, Karl M. | Mount Everest, Thron der Gotter | Langen-Muller, Munich | - | H275 |
| LHOT55301 | - | Nickel, Andreas | Himalaya, Norman Dyhrenfurth | AS Verlag, Zurich | - | - |
| LHOT55301 | - | - | http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12195600700/Lhotse-1955 | - | - | - |