Makalu II | 2008 W Face

A USA expedition to Makalu II in 2008 via W Face, led by Steve House. Summit reached on 16th October 2008. 3 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	6260
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	MAK208301
Peak ID	MAK2
Year	2008
Season	3
Host Country	1
Route 1	W Face
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	USA
Leaders	Steve House
Sponsor	Makalu West Face Expedition
Success 1	True
Success 2	False
Success 3	False
Success 4	False
Ascent 1	29th
Ascent 2	-
Ascent 3	-
Ascent 4	-
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Countries	Slovenia
Approach	Bus to Tumlingtar, trek to BC
Basecamp Date	2008-10-04
Summit Date	2008-10-16
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	12
Total Days	32
Termination Date	2008-11-05
Termination Reason	1
Termination Notes	-
High Point (m)	7678
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	1
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	3
Summit Members	2
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	0
Summit Hired	0
Hired Deaths	0
No Hired	True
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	Attempted Makalu (MAKA-083-05)
Campsites	BC(04/10,5760m),C2(11/10,6700m),Smt(17/10)
Route Notes	BC at south end of Chago Glacier C2 at start of steep section of Chago Glacier via normal route. Makalu West Face Expedition, led by Steve House - 31 November 2008 The main purpose of the expedition, as its name indicates, was to scale Makalu's West Face, and for House, Prezelj and Anderson to climb it via a new route, without Sherpas or fixed rope. But first, they needed to acclimatize via the normal NW Ridge route, and at the same time, the other two members, Cartier and Yardin, would also climb the normal route with their two Sherpas, Lhakpa and Gelbu. Cartier and Yardin didn't get very high: Yardin managed to reach C2 once while Cartier got no higher than 6200m. When Cartier decided to leave the mountain early, his partner Yardin left wtih him in a helicopter from Hillary BC to Kathmandu on 18 October. Their Sherpas left soon afterwards. The more highly experienced Himalayan climbers, House, Prezelj and Anderson, began their acclimatization climbing on 11 October, when they took their tent to the site for C2 at 6700m, then returned to BC on the 13th. On the 16th, they returned to C2 and set out for the Makalu La (7400m). All three had a chest infection, and House's bad cough bothered him enugh to cause him to stop 100m below the col, but the other two got to the col. The three slept in C2. On the next day, the 17th, while House stayed in C2, Prezelj and Anderson moved from the camp north across the glacier and up the West Face of Kangchungtse by a new route. They summited Kangchungtse and returned to C2 via the Makalu La the same day. All three descended to BC on the 18th. They made their first summit bid on Makalu on the 30th. They climbed the West Face to the right of the 1982 Polish route, but got no higher than 6300m. Strong wind drove them down and back to BC on the 31st. On the 2nd of November House went back alone to the West Face and tried another line farther to the right, near the 1981 route of Macintyre, Kurtyka and Kukuczka. But againt the wind became extremely strong, and he retreated from his high point of 6550m. He returned to BC on the 3rd, and the climb was over. Cartier/Yardin Sherpas: Lhakpa Sherpa, 27/4/65 (15/1/2022, Makalu-9 Gelbu Sherpa, 16/6/71 (2/3/2028), Taksindu
Accidents	All members chest infection
Achievement	-
Agency	Nomad Nepal Treks
Commercial Route	False
Standard Route	False
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	False
Primary ID	MAKA08305
Checksum	2457619
Year	2008
Summit Success	True
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	w face

Members

Field	Value
ID	46840
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAK208301
Member ID	02
Peak ID	MAK2
Year	2008
Season	3
First Name	Vincent
Last Name	Anderson
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1970
Calculated Age	38
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Ridgeway, Colorado
Occupation	Alpine guide
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	False
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	7678
Summit Date 1	2008-10-17
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	29
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2438520
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	vincent anderson
Year of Birth	1970
Year	2008
Age at Expedition	38
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	46841
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAK208301
Member ID	01
Peak ID	MAK2
Year	2008
Season	3
First Name	Steven Edward (Steve)
Last Name	House
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1970
Calculated Age	38
Citizenship	USA
Status	Leader
Residence	Terrebonne, Oregon
Occupation	Alpinist
Leader	True
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	False
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	7300
Summit Date 1	2008-10-16
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	0
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	3
Summit Term	9
HCN	0
Checksum	2438739
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	steven edward (steve) house
Year of Birth	1970
Year	2008
Age at Expedition	38
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	46842
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAK208301
Member ID	03
Peak ID	MAK2
Year	2008
Season	3
First Name	Marko
Last Name	Prezelj
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1965
Calculated Age	43
Citizenship	Slovenia
Status	Climber
Residence	Kamnik, Slovenia
Occupation	Alpine guide & photographer
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	False
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	7678
Summit Date 1	2008-10-17
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	1
Route 2	0
Route 3	0
Ascent 1	29
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	False
O2 None	True
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	False
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	-
Death	False
Death Date	-
Death Time	-
Death Type	0
Death Height (m)	0
Death Class	0
AMS	False
Weather	False
Injury	False
Injury Date	-
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	0
Injury Height (m)	0
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	-
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2436916
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	marko prezelj
Year of Birth	1965
Year	2008
Age at Expedition	43
Role	Member

3 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Vincent Anderson	M	1970	USA	Climber	Ridgeway, Colorado	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Steven Edward (Steve) House	M	1970	USA	Leader	Terrebonne, Oregon	Alpinist	Details Other expeditions
Marko Prezelj	M	1965	Slovenia	Climber	Kamnik, Slovenia	Alpine guide & photographer	Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.