Makalu | 1988 Left side of W Face-N Face

A UK expedition to Makalu in 1988 via Left side of W Face-N Face, led by Doug Scott. Summit reached on 1st October 1988. 11 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 880
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MAKA88301
Peak ID MAKA
Year 1988
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 Left side of W Face-N Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality UK
Leaders Doug Scott
Sponsor Makalu 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 Australia, India, Ireland
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1988-08-29
Summit Date 1988-10-01
Summit Time -
Summit Days 33
Total Days 39
Termination Date 1988-10-07
Termination Reason 5
Termination Notes Abandoned at 8100m due to high wind and avalanche accident/danger, snow, and too many others on mountain at same time
High Point (m) 8100
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 11
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 False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits Some peaks between Chago and Pethangtse
Campsites BC(29/08,4700m),ABC(02/09,5500m),Biv1(20/09,6100m),Biv2(21/09,7100m),Biv3(27/09,6100m),Biv4(28/09,6500m),Biv5(29/09,7100m),Biv6(30/09,7800m),xxx(01/10,8100m)
Route Notes 1st push: BC at lower BC site ABC at higher BC site Biv at bottom of Roger Baxter Jones Couloir High point at North Face. Bivs by Allen and Hinkes. 1st biv on 20th Sep by Miller, Smith, Child and Allen. On 22nd went to Makalu La; at same time others to 7000m. Then big snowstorm and weather now cold which meant couloir now dangerous. Hinkes and Allen then went to left ridge of couloir, crossed into cwm, bived at 7800m (Spanish C4). On 1st Oct at 4:00 am they went on up and got avalanched. Took 5 days get them off. Winds now strong and route avalanche-prone. Parkin, Scott and Prabhu along with Child, Smith and Miller had gone to Makalu La 29th Sep but wind and snow drove them down. Hinkes and Allen started from ABC 28th Sep. Smith and Child went up on 7th Oct but only to C1. "So many others on mountain normal route was like a motorway and not many with any ideas of Himalayan climbing" - Scott. West Face impossible: wind slabs and powdered snow. Allen fell 400m because unconscious and Hinkes came to him and helped him down. Were at 8100m in summit bid on 1 Oct at 10:00 am. Had been climbing semi-alpine-style using Spanish fixed ropes to C2 and carrying tent (Spanish making their own and summit bid same day). 30 Sept 2 Mexicans had tried for top and planned another try on 3rd or 4th Oct. None of this expedition had been on West Face till Allen left today by helicopter.
Accidents Yates hepatitis and left BC Sep 24; Allen head injuries from avalanche
Achievement -
Agency Amtrek
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2450414
Year 1988
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) left side of w face-n face

Members

11 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Simon Andrew Yates M 1963 UK Climber Croft, Leicester, England Alpine guide & farm laborer Details Other expeditions
Richard Frank (Rick) Allen M 1954 UK Climber Aberdeen, Scotland Petroleum engineer Details Other expeditions
Gregory John (Greg) Child M 1957 Australia Climber Seattle, Washington Writer Details Other expeditions
Alan Charles Hinkes M 1954 UK Climber Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Mark Miller M 1961 UK Climber Sheffield, S Yorkshire, England Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Praful Mistry M 1951 India Climber Baroda, India Engineer Details Other expeditions
Terry Mooney M 1948 Ireland Climber Belfast, Northern Ireland Barrister Details Other expeditions
Andrew David (Andy) Parkin M 1954 UK Climber Chamonix, Haute-Savoie, France Artist (interior decorator & joiner) Details Other expeditions
Sharavati (Sharu) Prabhu F 1959 India Climber Bombay, India Marketing staff (Tata Co) Details Other expeditions
Douglas Keith (Doug) Scott M 1941 UK Leader Carlisle, Cumbria, England Author Details Other expeditions
Sean Smith M 1961 UK Climber Bath, Avon, England Alpinist Details Other expeditions

References

6 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MAKA88301 AAJ Scott, Douglas - - 63:191 (1989) -
MAKA88301 HJ Scott, Doug British Makalu Expedition, 1988 - 46:139-140 (1988-1989) -
MAKA88301 MM - - - 124:10 (Nov 1988) -
MAKA88301 MM - - - 125:11 (Jan 1989) -
MAKA88301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198919101/Asia-Nepal-Makalu-Attempt - - -
MAKA88301 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/46/22/expeditions-and-notes-46/ - - -