Makalu | 2008 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A Italy expedition to Makalu in 2008 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by Giampaola Casarotto. Summit reached on 11th May 2008. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6059
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MAKA08106
Peak ID MAKA
Year 2008
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Italy
Leaders Giampaola Casarotto
Sponsor Independent team on Makalu
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 91st
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2008-04-13
Summit Date 2008-05-11
Summit Time 0900
Summit Days 28
Total Days 31
Termination Date 2008-05-14
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8485
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
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 -
Campsites BC(13/04,4800m),ABC(17/04,5700m),C1(26/04,6100m),C2(02/05,7300m),C4(10/05,7700m),Smt(11/05)
Route Notes BC at Hillary BC C3 at Makalu La. Independent team on Makalu led by Giampaolo Casarotto - 18 May 2008 The team made C1 at 6100m on 26 April in their acclimatization climb but slept there only that one night. The next day they made C2 at 6700m, and on the 28th went back to ABC. During this acclimatization, Castagna's toes on both feet became frostbitten because her new boots had not been broken in and the weather was very cold (-30 degrees C.). Despite her frostbite, Castagna continued to climb. They went up again from ABC to C2 on 1 May and put C3 on the Makalu La at 7300m on the 2nd of May. They returned to ABC on the 3rd. They began their summit push from ABC to C2 on 8 May. They climbed to C3 on the 9th and made C4 at 7700m on the 10th. On 11 May they left C4 for the top at 12:30 am (half an hour after midnight). They met Waldemar Niclewicz, the Brazilian leader of the the Latin American expedition, in their ascent and moved with him. Casarotto reached the summit at 9:00 am with two Sherpas from Carlos Soria's team and one from the French team led by Francois Marsigny after the French members had abandoned their own big for the summit. Casarotto stayed an hour on the top. The weather was very good, not windy. In his descent, Casarotto met Castagna on her way to the summit about 100m below it. She got to the top at 11:00 am with Niclevicz's summit party, and during her descent she met Ralf Dujmovits, who was on his way up. Casarotto reached C4 at 2:00 pm, but it took Castagna there more hours to arrive there. She had stopped with Niclevicz on the summit for photos and moved very slowly because of her toes. Casarotto waited for her in C4 and as soon as she arrived, they descended together to C3, where they arrived at 7:00-7:30 pm. On the 12th they left C3 at 7:30 am and were back in ABC at 2:00 pm. They went to BC (Hillary BC) on the 14th, and on the 16th, because of Castagna's frostbitten toes, they flew by helicopter to Lukla and by scheduled flights to Kathmandu. The team had not taken oxygen with them, but Castagna was given some above C4 for two minutes by Niclevicz because the weather was so cold. Niclevicz and Burda said 18 May that Castagna was hypothermic, and they gave her some of their limited supply of hot tea; she even asked for more, but they had very little to spare. They kept waiting for her when they descended to make sure she was all right.
Accidents Castagna frostbite
Achievement -
Agency Thamserku Trekking
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2457506
Year 2008
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) makalu la-nw ridge

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Giampaolo Casarotto M 1956 Italy Leader Creazzo, Vicenza, Italy Elementary school teacher Details Other expeditions
Cristina Castagna F 1977 Italy Climber Vicenza City, Vicenza, Italy Nurse Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.