Makalu | 1954 Makalu La-NW Ridge (recon)

A New Zealand expedition to Makalu in 1954 via Makalu La-NW Ridge (recon), led by Edmund Hillary. Summit reached on 15th May 1954. 10 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	2948
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
Host Country	1
Route 1	Makalu La-NW Ridge (recon)
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	New Zealand
Leaders	Edmund Hillary
Sponsor	New Zealand Alpine Club Barun Valley 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	UK
Approach	-
Basecamp Date	-
Summit Date	1954-05-15
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	0
Total Days	0
Termination Date	-
Termination Reason	7
Termination Notes	Abandoned at 7000m after Hillary strickened by AMS
High Point (m)	7000
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	4
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	10
Summit Members	0
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	15
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	False
O2 Unknown	False
Other Summits	Climbed Baruntse (BARU-541-01), Pethangtse (PETH-541-01), Pethangtse East (PTHE-541-01), Chago (CHAG-541-01) and Nau Lekh (NAUL-541-01) (all 1st ascents); attempted Cho Polu (CHOP-541-01) and Makalu II (MAK2-541-01)
Campsites	BC(Apr,4875m),C1(09/05,5180m),C2(10/05,5790m),C3(11/05,6340m),C4(14/05,6700m),xxx(15/05,7000m)
Route Notes	The source of this information is New Zealand Alpine Journal as quoted by George Lowe (pg 60-61) in East of Everest written by Edmund Hillary and George Lowe.
Accidents	-
Achievement	-
Agency	-
Commercial Route	-
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	True
Primary Member	True
Primary Reference	True
Primary ID	BARU54101
Checksum	2437777
Year	1954
Summit Success	False
O2 Summary	None
Route (lowercase)	makalu la-nw ridge (recon)

Members

Field	Value
ID	22038
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	01
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Edmund Percival
Last Name	Hillary
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1919
Calculated Age	34
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Leader
Residence	Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation	Apiarist & 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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	True
Injury Date	1954-05-16
Injury Time	-
Injury Type	1
Injury Height (m)	6700
Death Notes	-
Member Notes	-
Necrology	(1919-2008) Died 11 Jan 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2420244
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	edmund percival hillary
Year of Birth	1919
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	35
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	26193
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	05
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Norman David
Last Name	Hardie
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1924
Calculated Age	29
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	Christchurch, New Zealand
Occupation	Civil engineer
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	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	7000
Summit Date 1	1954-05-15
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	(1924-2017) Died 31 Oct 2017
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2422227
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	norman david hardie
Year of Birth	1924
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	30
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	26194
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	07
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Wallace George
Last Name	Lowe
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1924
Calculated Age	30
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	7000
Summit Date 1	1954-05-15
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	(1924-2013) Died 20 March 2013 in Derby, England
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2421879
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	wallace george lowe
Year of Birth	1924
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	30
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	27946
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	04
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	William B. (Bill)
Last Name	Beaven
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1926
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2422778
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	william b. (bill) beaven
Year of Birth	1926
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	28
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	27947
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	06
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Geoff
Last Name	Harrow
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1926
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2422947
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	geoff harrow
Year of Birth	1926
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	28
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	27948
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	08
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	James C. (Jim)
Last Name	McFarlane
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1925
Calculated Age	28
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2422542
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	james c. (jim) mcfarlane
Year of Birth	1925
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	29
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	27949
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	09
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Colin MacDonald
Last Name	Todd
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1927
Calculated Age	26
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	(1927-1958) Died in New Zealand from motorcycle accident
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	17
HCN	0
Checksum	-1924
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	colin macdonald todd
Year of Birth	1927
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	27
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	27950
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	10
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Brian J.
Last Name	Wilkins
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1925
Calculated Age	28
Citizenship	New Zealand
Status	Climber
Residence	-
Occupation	-
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2422565
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	brian j. wilkins
Year of Birth	1925
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	29
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	32819
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	02
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Robert Charles
Last Name	Evans
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1918
Calculated Age	35
Citizenship	UK
Status	Deputy Leader
Residence	Liverpool, Merseyside, England
Occupation	Physician (surgeon)
Leader	False
Deputy	True
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	(1918-1995) Died 6 December 1995 (Obit: AJ 102:334-341 1997)
Summit Bid	1
Summit Term	17
HCN	0
Checksum	2419971
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	robert charles evans
Year of Birth	1918
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	36
Role	Deputy

Field	Value
ID	32820
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Member ID	03
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1954
Season	1
First Name	Michael
Last Name	Ball
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	-
Calculated Age	0
Citizenship	UK
Status	Exp Doctor
Residence	-
Occupation	Physician
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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	0
Summit Date 1	-
Summit Date 2	-
Summit Date 3	-
Summit Time 1	-
Summit Time 2	-
Summit Time 3	-
Route 1	0
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	17
HCN	0
Checksum	3
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	michael ball
Year of Birth	-
Year	1954
Age at Expedition	-
Role	Member

10 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Edmund Percival Hillary	M	1919	New Zealand	Leader	Auckland, New Zealand	Apiarist & alpinist	Details Other expeditions
Norman David Hardie	M	1924	New Zealand	Climber	Christchurch, New Zealand	Civil engineer	Details Other expeditions
Wallace George Lowe	M	1924	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
William B. (Bill) Beaven	M	1926	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
Geoff Harrow	M	1926	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
James C. (Jim) McFarlane	M	1925	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
Colin MacDonald Todd	M	1927	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
Brian J. Wilkins	M	1925	New Zealand	Climber	-	-	Details Other expeditions
Robert Charles Evans	M	1918	UK	Deputy Leader	Liverpool, Merseyside, England	Physician (surgeon)	Details Other expeditions
Michael Ball	M	-	UK	Exp Doctor	-	Physician	Details Other expeditions

References

Field	Value
ID	7249
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA54102
Reference ID	01
Year	1954
Type	1
Journal	-
Author	Lowe, George
Title	From Everest to the South Pole
Publisher	St. Martin's Press, New York
Publication Date	1961
Language	-
Citation	-
Yak 94	L293
Notes	-

1 recorded references.

Expedition ID	Journal	Author	Title	Publisher	Citation	Yak 94
MAKA54102	-	Lowe, George	From Everest to the South Pole	St. Martin's Press, New York	-	L293