Makalu | 2011 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A USA expedition to Makalu in 2011 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by Dave Morton. Summit reached on 21st May 2011. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	7118
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	MAKA11103
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2011
Season	1
Host Country	1
Route 1	Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	USA
Leaders	Dave Morton
Sponsor	Eddie Bauer First Ascent 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	2011-04-16
Summit Date	2011-05-21
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	35
Total Days	38
Termination Date	2011-05-24
Termination Reason	10
Termination Notes	Abandoned at 8300m due to route difficulty and their commitments regarding Everest
High Point (m)	8300
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	4
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	2
Summit Members	0
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 Everest (EVER-111-11)
Campsites	BC(16/04,5700m),C1A(20/04,6200m),C1B(25/04,6400m),C2(20/05,6600m),C3(09/05,7400m),C4(20/05,7500m),xxx(21/05,8300m)
Route Notes	Morton and Arnot left C4 for Makalu's summit on 20 May at 11:30 pm. At 1:30 am of the 21st, Arnot turned around: the route was too difficult. She turned to C4 at about 2 am. Morton carried on up to 8300m at 3:30 pm, but now it was too late to go to the top. He had lost about two hours by dropping back to about 8000m, he was going to return to C4 without going any further because he did not have an ice axe with him at the time, but "upon further reflection, decided to keep going and went back up," Morton said in an email. But by then it was too late for the summit. They now abandoned their attempt to scale Makalu. "We decided before we went on our summit push that we would give it one shot and then head to Everest. We were trying to balance the professional obligations of what our sponsor wanted with video footage on Everest and our effort to summit Makalu," Morton explained. They were back in BC on the 22nd and on the 24th flew by helicopter from there to Everest BC for their climb of Everest.
Accidents	-
Achievement	-
Agency	Sherpa Shangri-La Trekking
Commercial Route	False
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	False
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2458659
Year	2011
Summit Success	False
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	makalu la-nw ridge

Members

Field	Value
ID	52880
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA11103
Member ID	02
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2011
Season	1
First Name	Melissa Sue
Last Name	Arnot
Sex	F
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1983
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	USA
Status	Climber
Residence	Ketchum, Idaho
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	False
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	False
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	7600
Summit Date 1	2011-05-21
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	4
Summit Term	12
HCN	0
Checksum	2443762
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	melissa sue arnot
Year of Birth	1983
Year	2011
Age at Expedition	28
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	52881
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA11103
Member ID	01
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	2011
Season	1
First Name	David Charles (Dave)
Last Name	Morton
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1971
Calculated Age	39
Citizenship	USA
Status	Leader
Residence	Seattle, Washington
Occupation	Alpine guide
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)	8300
Summit Date 1	2011-05-21
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	4
Summit Term	13
HCN	0
Checksum	2439279
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	david charles (dave) morton
Year of Birth	1971
Year	2011
Age at Expedition	40
Role	Leader

2 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Melissa Sue Arnot	F	1983	USA	Climber	Ketchum, Idaho	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
David Charles (Dave) Morton	M	1971	USA	Leader	Seattle, Washington	Alpine guide	Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.