Makalu | 2008 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A UK expedition to Makalu in 2008 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by David Tait. Summit reached on 4th May 2008. 15 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 6066
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MAKA08113
Peak ID MAKA
Year 2008
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality UK
Leaders David Tait
Sponsor British Services Makalu 2008
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 87,104
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2008-04-10
Summit Date 2008-05-04
Summit Time 0530
Summit Days 24
Total Days 42
Termination Date 2008-05-22
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8485
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 1600
Total Members 11
Summit Members 3
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 4
Summit Hired 3
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used True
O2 None False
O2 Climb True
O2 Descent True
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(10/04,5600m),C1(19/04,6100m),C2(22/04,6500m),C3(01/05,7400m),C4(03/05,7600m),Smt(04,18/05)
Route Notes British Services Makalu 2008 (NW Ridge), led by David Tait - 25 May 2008 The British military expedition actually had three components: the group led by Tait for the normal NW Ridge route, another group led by Colin Scott for the more difficult SE Ridge, and the training group on Pethangtse led by Andrew Hughes. The NW Ridge team flew to Tumlingtar on 26 March and trekked to Hillary BC (4800m), arriving there on 7 April, at Japanese BC (low BC at 5200m) on the 9th, and their permanent BC (5600m) on 12 April. They spent some time going up in cycles to 7200m each climber going up twice, in order to acclimatize. The first summit team, Percival and Dawa Chhiri, left C4 at 7600m between 1:00 amd 2:00 am on 4 May and were on the summit at 5:30 am that day. They had had to move slowly because they were breaking trail and fixing rope above C4. They returned to C4 at 3:00 am on the 5th and were in BC on the 6th (Dawa Chhiri at 3:00 pm and Percival at 5:00 pm). Then there was a spell of bad weather. Now they went for the summit in three groups: The first one consisted of Boeckx, Laycock, Simmonds, Tait and Dawa Chhiri. They got to C2 on 12 May, but then down to BC because of the forecast for snow and wind. The members of the next one were Boyce, Herbert, Hing, Skuse, MacPherson, Dayula Sherpa and Lhakpa Dendi. The successful ones were in C1 on the 14th, C2 on the 15th, C3 on the 16th, and C4 on the 17th. But not all of them got all the way: Skuse turned back at C2 and Boyce at C3 because they had had enough. MacPherson left C4 with the successful climbers, but he turned around at 8000m because his toes were becoming frostbitten and he went down to C3. The others in this group, Hing and Herbert, plus the two Sherpas, Dayula and Lhakpa Dendi, had left C4 for the top at 11:00 am on the 17th. Since there had been fresh snowfall, they had to break trail again, but they reached the summit on 18 May at 3:35 pm. They were back in C4 at 11:30 pm. The final group were Boeckx, Laycock, Simmonds, Tait, Dawa Chhiri and Nawang Gechwo. But Boeckx had to drop out at C3 because of a chest problem. The others left C4 for the top at midnight of the 18th/19th. Laycock turned around at 8000m at 12:30 am of the 19th because she was not strong enough to go higher, so she returned to C4. Simmonds, Tait and the Sherpas reached the base of the couloir between 6:00 and 7:00 am of the 19th. Here Tait realized that his feet were cold but paid little attention and concentrated on the climb up the couloir. (Back in C4 he found that five toes on his right foot were badly frostbitten and one toe on his left foot slightly frostbitten.) They continued up the couloir to the rocks. But now the wind got stronger and stronger. Finally at 10:00 am at 8250m Simmonds, Tait, Dawa Chhiri and Nawang Gechwo turned back to C4. They descended to C3 on the 20th and C2 on the 21st. The expedition's climb was finished. The team had no accidents or serious illness. Oxygen was used by all members and Sherpas from C4 to high points to C4 and below as long as it lasted. Skuse left the expedition on 18 May. Percival left BC on 17 or 18 May to go to the BC of the SE Ridge team (led by Colin Scott), and Boeckx left on the 20th for the same BC. When Tait left on 22 May, the others were waiting at his BC to receive the SE Ridge team if they descended the NW Ridge route. Sherpas: Dawa Chhiri, 20/2/67 (8/11/2023), Lokhim-9, Solu, Makalu X2, Everest X3, Cho Oyu X3, Manaslu X1 Dayula/Da Yula Sherpa, 21/4/72, Sotang-6, Solu, Everest X2 Lhakpa Dendi, 1975, Gudel-9, Solu, no 8000ers Nawang Gechwo Sherpa, 1976, Lokhim-9, Solu, no 8000ers
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Himalaya Expeditions
Commercial Route False
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2457499
Year 2008
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) makalu la-nw ridge

Members

15 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Thomas Boeckx M 1976 UK Climber Broadstairs, Kent, England Lieutenant Commander in Royal Navy Details Other expeditions
Stewart Boyce M 1963 UK Climber Preston, Lancashire, England Aircraft engineer in RAF Details Other expeditions
Lara Jane Herbert F 1980 UK Climber Barnstaple, Devon, England Physician in navy Details Other expeditions
Matthew John (Matt) Hing M 1971 UK Climber Herford, N Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Army major Details Other expeditions
Angela Laycock F 1982 UK Climber Bedford, England Army lieutenant Details Other expeditions
William MacPherson M 1963 UK Climber Ferndow, Dorset, England Marine major Details Other expeditions
Jonathon Darren Percival M 1974 UK Climber Gloucester, England RAF flight lieutenant in medical branch Details Other expeditions
Kate Simmonds F 1976 UK Climber Lavendon, Buckingham, England RAF flight lieutenant Details Other expeditions
Mathew Skuse M 1970 UK Climber Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset, England Marine Details Other expeditions
David Christopher Tait M 1968 UK Leader London, England RAF squadron major Details Other expeditions
Richard (Dickie) Walters M 1970 UK Media Officer Cowes, Isle of Wight Navy lieutenant commander Details Other expeditions
Dawa Chhiri (Dawa Tsiri) Sherpa M 1967 Nepal H-A Worker Kurima, Lokhim-9, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Dayula Sherpa M 1972 Nepal H-A Worker Dhodre, Sotang, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Lakpa Dendi Sherpa M 1974 Nepal H-A Worker Gudel-9, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions
Nawang Gechwo Sherpa M 1972 Nepal H-A Worker Kurima, Lokhim-9, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MAKA08113 - - http://www.makalu2008.org - - -