Makalu | 2010 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A USA expedition to Makalu in 2010 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by John Gray. Summit reached on 7th May 2010. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	6800
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	MAKA10101
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2010
Season	1
Host Country	1
Route 1	Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	USA
Leaders	John Gray
Sponsor	Two Americans to Makalu
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	Tumlingtar
Basecamp Date	2010-04-20
Summit Date	2010-05-07
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	17
Total Days	27
Termination Date	2010-05-17
Termination Reason	4
Termination Notes	Abandoned at 7450m due to bad weather, running out of time
High Point (m)	7450
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	2
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	2
Summit Members	0
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	1
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	True
O2 Unknown	False
Other Summits	-
Campsites	BC(20/04,4812m),ABC(22/04,5570m),C1(30/04,6100m),C2(01/05,6700m),xxx(07/05,7450m)
Route Notes	On 7th May, Gray together with Blair Falahey left C2 at 8 am. Blair Falahey had cold feet so they stopped at the German C2, which was a bit further up, for one hour to warm up. It was a very cold morning. The German and American team had fixed the route to the Makalu La. The route was very icy and rocky. They tagged the C3 site and descended to C2, where they arrived at about 7:20 pm. On 8th May Gray descended to base camp, where he stayed until 16th May, when he went back to C2 to pick up the material they had left there. Cortes reached C2 on 1st May. She stayed there for one night with Gray. On 2nd May, they both descended back to BC. On 5th she went back to C1 on her own to spend one night there. On 6th may, Gray went to C1 to pick her up to go to C2; however, Cortes had a bad night's sleep and decided to go back to BC. Gray continued to C2, where he stayed the night and then carried on to Makalu la the following morning. Even though the rest of the Thamserku team decided to give it another try on 22nd May, Gray and Cortes decided to leave as they were running out of time. They left BC on 17th May.
Accidents	-
Achievement	-
Agency	Thamserku Trekking
Commercial Route	False
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	False
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2458279
Year	2010
Summit Success	False
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	makalu la-nw ridge

Members

Field	Value
ID	50801
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA10101
Member ID	02
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2010
Season	1
First Name	Emilie
Last Name	Cortes
Sex	F
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1974
Calculated Age	35
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Millbrae, California
Occupation	Investment consultant
Leader	False
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)	6700
Summit Date 1	2010-05-01
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	1
Summit Term	7
HCN	0
Checksum	2440325
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	emilie cortes
Year of Birth	1974
Year	2010
Age at Expedition	36
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	50802
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA10101
Member ID	01
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2010
Season	1
First Name	John Christopher
Last Name	Gray
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1968
Calculated Age	41
Citizenship	USA
Status	Leader
Residence	Millbrae, California
Occupation	Bicycle mechanic
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)	True
Personal High Point (m)	7450
Summit Date 1	2010-05-07
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	1
Summit Term	3
HCN	0
Checksum	2438117
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	john christopher gray
Year of Birth	1968
Year	2010
Age at Expedition	42
Role	Leader

2 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Emilie Cortes	F	1974	USA	Climber	Millbrae, California	Investment consultant	Details Other expeditions
John Christopher Gray	M	1968	USA	Leader	Millbrae, California	Bicycle mechanic	Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.