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 - - -