Lhotse | 1991 W Face

A USA expedition to Lhotse in 1991 via W Face, led by Peter Athans. Summit reached on 10th October 1991. 4 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 598
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID LHOT91301
Peak ID LHOT
Year 1991
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 W Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Peter Athans
Sponsor American Lhotse 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 1991-10-01
Summit Date 1991-10-10
Summit Time -
Summit Days 9
Total Days 13
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 4
Termination Notes Abandoned at 7600m due to winds
High Point (m) 7600
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
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(01/10,5350m),C1(05/10,6100m),C2(06/10,6500m),C3(08/10,7200m),xxx(10/10,7600m)
Route Notes C2 in Western Cwm C3 on Lhotse Face High point on West Face. Expected more support from Nepalese team in exchange for American's oxygen but they did not carry gear to C2 as expected. Made C3 and had high cache at 7600m top of yellow band; pitched C3 10th Oct. Oxygen cached next day but never slept above 6500m. Didn't need to sleep higher till making summit bid. 13th started for C3 with plan to summit later that night but winds strong and sign posted at BC indicated that icefall would be closed on 16th, so took down all gear from C2 and C3 to C1 then found it to be open longer - gave up. Team had reached BC late because because planned climb of Cho Oyu from Tibet fell through and they decided to try Lhotse after that. Lhotse very dry and lot of bare rock and blue ice. Whole of Lhotse Face "blinking blue ice." Icefall huge crevasses; so with partner and rope Athans would have gone for Lhotse summit but not alone (Athans not soloist, likes sharing experiences with someone else).
Accidents None
Achievement -
Agency Arniko Travel
Commercial Route -
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2451341
Year 1991
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) w face

Members

4 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Peter George (Pete) Athans M 1957 USA Leader Boulder, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Randy Todd Burleson M 1960 USA Climber Woodinville, Washington Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Rita Sherpa M 1966 Nepal H-A Worker Thami, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Man Bahadur (Gopal) Tamang M 1959 Nepal H-A Worker Jaidu, Salleri, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

2 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
LHOT91301 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 66:199 (1992) -
LHOT91301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199219903/Asia-Nepal-Lhotse-Attempt - - -