Makalu | 1990 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A Japan expedition to Makalu in 1990 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by Makoto Hara. Summit reached on 6th May 1990. 6 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field	Value
ID	639
Imported	2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
Host Country	1
Route 1	Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2	-
Route 3	-
Route 4	-
Nationality	Japan
Leaders	Makoto Hara
Sponsor	Research Center of High Mountains Mount Makalu Expedition
Success 1	True
Success 2	False
Success 3	False
Success 4	False
Ascent 1	31st
Ascent 2	-
Ascent 3	-
Ascent 4	-
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Countries	Poland
Approach	-
Basecamp Date	1990-04-07
Summit Date	1990-05-06
Summit Time	-
Summit Days	29
Total Days	0
Termination Date	-
Termination Reason	1
Termination Notes	-
High Point (m)	8485
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Camps	4
Fixed Rope (m)	0
Total Members	4
Summit Members	1
Member Deaths	0
Total Hired	3
Summit Hired	1
Hired Deaths	0
No Hired	False
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Taken	False
O2 Unknown	False
Other Summits	-
Campsites	BC(07/04,5300m),C1(04/04,6200m),C2(21/04,6850m),C3(04/05,7400m),C4(05/05,7750m),Smt(06/05)
Route Notes	BC at normal high BC at glaciers' junction C1 on glacier C3 at Makalu Col C4 at NW Ridge. Reached C3 early but built it up only 4th May in final stage of climb. On 6th May, Hara, Onishi, Ang Babu Sherpa and Nima Dorje Sherpa went up from C4. Hara and Ang Babu turned back from 8300m when Hara's oxygen pressure failed. Onishi and Nima Dorje continued on to summit. On May 2 Polish woman to C3. 7th May failed to reach C4 because windy and snow falling; 8th May to C4. 9th May tried for summit but again very windy and Wanda said C4 very low for their oxygenless ascent and turned back to BC same day. No more tents for C5 so 10th May C1 brought down. Jap and Polish BC - 5300m Polish C1 - 6500m Jap and Polish C2 - 6850m Polish C3 - 7250m Jap C4 - 7500m Poles left 2 tents in KTM at Japanese statement they had enough tents, but their tents were heavy, for 4 persons, and not enough light tents to make a C5. Wanda reached 7550m 9th, according to Wanda's altimeter and Ewa. Then to BC 10th and again Wanda up alone. How high, she won't say; apparently higher than 7550m but apparently not to summit [Josef Nyka says women reached 7900m]. Polish women were very unhappy about Japanese men's altitude: "they did everything to prevent our success." After Ohnishi reached summit, they declared expedition was over and Poles not allowed to go up the mountain again. Threatened to get Tourism Ministry to ban them if they did go up and may make a complaint to Ministry, which is why Wanda refused to say how high she reached. "Two different styles." Poles, no Sherpas, no oxygen, tried to be a separate team.
Accidents	None
Achievement	-
Agency	Cosmo Treks
Commercial Route	-
Standard Route	True
Primary Route	False
Primary Member	False
Primary Reference	-
Primary ID	-
Checksum	2450998
Year	1990
Summit Success	True
O2 Summary	Used
Route (lowercase)	makalu la-nw ridge

Members

Field	Value
ID	17776
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	01
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Makoto
Last Name	Hara
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1936
Calculated Age	53
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Leader
Residence	Nagoya, Japan
Occupation	Physician, specialist in high-altitude medicine
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)	8300
Summit Date 1	1990-05-06
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	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	True
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	In & above C3
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	11
HCN	0
Checksum	2426553
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	makoto hara
Year of Birth	1936
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	54
Role	Leader

Field	Value
ID	17777
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	02
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Hiroshi
Last Name	Ohnishi
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1962
Calculated Age	27
Citizenship	Japan
Status	Climber
Residence	Urawa, Saitama, Japan
Occupation	Unemployed, does odd jobs from time to time
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	False
Sherpa	False
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8485
Summit Date 1	1990-05-06
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	31
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	In C4
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	(1962-1991) Died 16 Oct 1991 on Namche Barwa (Tibet) from avalanche
Summit Bid	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2435835
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	hiroshi ohnishi
Year of Birth	1962
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	28
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	17778
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	03
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Ewa
Last Name	Panejko-Pankiewicz
Sex	F
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1951
Calculated Age	38
Citizenship	Poland
Status	Climber
Residence	Lodz, Poland
Occupation	Chemist & 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	-
High Point (m)	False
Personal High Point (m)	7900
Summit Date 1	1990-05-09
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	3
HCN	0
Checksum	2431995
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	ewa panejko-pankiewicz
Year of Birth	1951
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	39
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	17779
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	04
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Wanda
Last Name	Rutkiewicz
Sex	F
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1943
Calculated Age	47
Citizenship	Poland
Status	Climber
Residence	Warsaw, Poland
Occupation	Film-maker (formerly computer 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)	False
Personal High Point (m)	7900
Summit Date 1	1990-05-09
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	(1943-1992) Disappeared 12 May 1992 on Kangchenjunga
Summit Bid	4
Summit Term	3
HCN	0
Checksum	2428907
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	wanda rutkiewicz
Year of Birth	1943
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	47
Role	Member

Field	Value
ID	17780
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	06
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Nima Dorje (Dorje)
Last Name	Sherpa
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1955
Calculated Age	34
Citizenship	Nepal
Status	H-A Worker
Residence	Beding, Dolakha
Occupation	-
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	True
Sherpa	True
Tibetan	False
Summit Success	True
Claimed	False
Disputed	False
Solo	False
Traverse	False
Ski	False
Paraglide	False
Speed	-
High Point (m)	True
Personal High Point (m)	8485
Summit Date 1	1990-05-06
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	31
Ascent 2	0
Ascent 3	0
O2 Used	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
O2 Medical	False
O2 Notes	In C4
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	5
Summit Term	1
HCN	0
Checksum	2433281
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	nima dorje (dorje) sherpa
Year of Birth	1955
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	35
Role	Hired

Field	Value
ID	17781
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:05.675609
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Member ID	05
Peak ID	MAKA
Year	1990
Season	1
First Name	Babu Chiri (Babu Tshering)
Last Name	Sherpa
Sex	M
Age	0
Birth Date	-
Year of Birth	1965
Calculated Age	24
Citizenship	Nepal
Status	H-A Worker
Residence	Chhulemu, Taksindu, Solukhumbu
Occupation	-
Leader	False
Deputy	False
Basecamp Only	False
Not to BC	False
Support	False
Disabled	False
Hired	True
Sherpa	True
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)	8300
Summit Date 1	1990-05-06
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	True
O2 None	False
O2 Climb	False
O2 Descent	False
O2 Sleep	True
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	aka Ang Babu
Necrology	(1965-2001) Died 29 Apr 2001 on Everest from fall into crevasse
Summit Bid	4
Summit Term	14
HCN	0
Checksum	2437059
Summit Note 1	-
Summit Note 2	-
Summit Note 3	-
Death Route	-
Name (lowercase)	babu chiri (babu tshering) sherpa
Year of Birth	1965
Year	1990
Age at Expedition	25
Role	Hired

6 recorded members.

Name	Sex	Year of Birth	Citizenship	Status	Residence	Occupation
Makoto Hara	M	1936	Japan	Leader	Nagoya, Japan	Physician, specialist in high-altitude medicine	Details Other expeditions
Hiroshi Ohnishi	M	1962	Japan	Climber	Urawa, Saitama, Japan	Unemployed, does odd jobs from time to time	Details Other expeditions
Ewa Panejko-Pankiewicz	F	1951	Poland	Climber	Lodz, Poland	Chemist & alpine guide	Details Other expeditions
Wanda Rutkiewicz	F	1943	Poland	Climber	Warsaw, Poland	Film-maker (formerly computer engineer)	Details Other expeditions
Nima Dorje (Dorje) Sherpa	M	1955	Nepal	H-A Worker	Beding, Dolakha	-	Details Other expeditions
Babu Chiri (Babu Tshering) Sherpa	M	1965	Nepal	H-A Worker	Chhulemu, Taksindu, Solukhumbu	-	Details Other expeditions

References

Field	Value
ID	764
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Reference ID	01
Year	1990
Type	2
Journal	AAJ
Author	Nyka, Jozef
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1991
Language	-
Citation	65:215 (1991)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	4544
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Reference ID	02
Year	1990
Type	3
Journal	MM
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1990
Language	-
Citation	134:9 (Jul 1990)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	6728
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Reference ID	03
Year	1990
Type	3
Journal	IWA
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1991
Language	Japanese w/English summary
Citation	:215 (1991)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	6844
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Reference ID	04
Year	1990
Type	3
Journal	IWA
Author	-
Title	-
Publisher	-
Publication Date	1991
Language	Japanese
Citation	:43 (1991)
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

Field	Value
ID	11584
Imported	2026-03-06 18:06:36.307770
Expedition ID	MAKA90102
Reference ID	05
Year	1990
Type	5
Journal	-
Author	-
Title	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199121502/Asia-Nepal-Makalu
Publisher	-
Publication Date	-
Language	-
Citation	-
Yak 94	-
Notes	-

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID	Journal	Author	Title	Publisher	Citation	Yak 94
MAKA90102	AAJ	Nyka, Jozef	-	-	65:215 (1991)	-
MAKA90102	MM	-	-	-	134:9 (Jul 1990)	-
MAKA90102	IWA	-	-	-	:215 (1991)	-
MAKA90102	IWA	-	-	-	:43 (1991)	-
MAKA90102	-	-	http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199121502/Asia-Nepal-Makalu	-	-	-