Makalu | 1994 Makalu La-NW Ridge

A USA expedition to Makalu in 1994 via Makalu La-NW Ridge, led by Thor Kieser. Summit reached on 15th May 1994. 13 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 1330
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MAKA94101
Peak ID MAKA
Year 1994
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 Makalu La-NW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Thor Kieser
Sponsor Condor Adventures International Makalu Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 41st
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Bolivia, Kazakhstan, UK
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1994-04-02
Summit Date 1994-05-15
Summit Time 1615
Summit Days 43
Total Days 45
Termination Date 1994-05-17
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8485
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 13
Summit Members 2
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 2
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used True
O2 None False
O2 Climb True
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits Climbed Kangchungste (Makalu II) (MAK2-941-01) and Chomo Lonzo
Campsites BC(02/04,5600m),C1(03/04,6400m),C2(20/04,7400m),C3(28/04,7700m),Smt(15/05)
Route Notes BC at middle of Chago Glacier's southern end C1 on NW Ridge C2 at Makalu La C3 on North Face. 1st summit bid was made by 2 members 29th April & down to C3 [Guarachi and Boukreev stopped 30m below summit due to route difficulties]. Guarachi left expedition while Boukreev stayed on to attempt speed ascent & was in C3 on his way up when Kieser left BC on 14th May. May 8th McPherson tried alone from C3 & got to 8200m before wind & clouds made him decide to turn back (didn't want to climb alone in clouds) & down to C3 & left for home. May 9th third summit bid after spell of bad weather & resting from supporting 1st team. 9th May Bain, Beidleman & Kieser left C3 for top at 1:45 am (Bain on oxygen, others two not); Beidleman & Kieser turned back at 8340m, close to summit ridge, because of getting late, cloudy & tired; all three were making stupid mistakes at 100m in route finding. Bain continued to 20m below summit & down to C2 (were only 2 sleeping bags in C3). Beidleman & Boukreev left BC at 5:30 pm on 13th, were in C2 4 am on 14th; going for ascent in 24 hrs (without oxygen). Beidleman had returned to BC only on 10th May, amazing how he could go back up so soon. Making normal route very safe. Bain had gone to top of Makalu II alone from C2 2 May & on 10 May went alone to Chomo Lonzo summit & from C2 via SW Ridge. Back to C2 in same day, arrived BC very tired on 11 May. Beidleman & Boukreev (without oxygen) Left BC 13 May 6:30 pm Arrived C2 14 May 4:00 am Left C2 5:00 In C3 6:15 - C3 tent flattened so spent several hours putting it back together - brewed tea & slept Left C3 2:00 pm - too tired to go top so at 2:30-3:00 pm back to C3 for better sleep. Returned C3 3:30 am Left C3 15 May 8:30am On summit 4:15 pm Returned to C3 at 6:30 pm Returned to BC 16 May which now had been cleared & on to lower BC at 4600m - a long day (Hillary BC). Bain got to 20m below summit, to summit ridge & then stopped ascent at technically difficult steep knife-edge since he was alone. Part of a note from E. Hawley to Adams Carter, editor of the American Alpine Journal, 6 September, 1994: Makalu Spring 1994 I have been talking in recent days with two men who were on Makalu last spring, and I have now learned that the only people who actually reached the summit were Anatoli Boukreev and Neal Beidleman on 15 May. According to Beidleman, who has returned to Nepal just now to lead a team on Cho Oyu, and Bernardo Guarachi, who has been in town to go to the Tibetan side of Everest, on 29 April, Guarachi reached the area of the summit at the base of twin ice towers; he considered this to be good enough but was perhaps 50 meters vertically below the very highest point. Boukreev, who had been climbing with him, went on farther to about 20 vertical meters below the top. Only on 15 May did anyone from their expedition reach the summit at the second tower, and they were Boukreev and Beidleman. Beidleman said on 3 Sept 94: Those who tried to reach the summit actually got to the following vertical distances below Makalu's summit: 29 April - Guarachi 50m Boukreev 15-20m 09 May - Bain 50m Kieser 125m Beidleman 125m 15 May - Boukreev on top Beidleman on top The wording of Climbing's story attached here on the right is correct, he said. On Makalu (8463 meters), a Bolivian, who says he is the first Native American ever to climb in the Himalaya, reached the base of the twin ice towers approximately 30 meters from the summit via the normal route on the northwest side. Bernardo Guarachi, a 41-year-old mountain guide from La Paz, reached his high point on April 29 with Russian climber Anatoli Boukreev, who continued solo to just below the summit. On May 9, American climbers Steve Bain, Thor Kieser, and Neal Beidleman climbed to within 125 meters of the summit; Bain, using oxygen, continued alone to the base of the ice towers. Boukreev and Beidleman stayed on to repeat the Makalu climb in a speed ascent that they hoped to accomplish in under 24 hours. The two men left basecamp (5300m) at 6:30 pm on May 13, climbed through the night, reached C2 (7400m) at 4 am, and stayed there an hour before pushing to C3 (7700m) on the North Face, where they arrived at 6:15 am to find its tent flattened. The two spent several hours rebuilding the camp, brewing tea, and sleeping, before setting out for the top at 2 pm, but returned to C3 an hour and a half later, too lethargic for a summit attempt. They set out again at 8:30 am and 46 hours after leaving basecamp, gained the true summit at 4:15 pm on May 15.
Accidents None
Achievement 1st Russian ascent; 1st attempt by South American and Native American
Agency Above the Clouds
Commercial Route -
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2452472
Year 1994
Summit Success True
O2 Summary Used
Route (lowercase) makalu la-nw ridge

Members

13 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Martin Adams M 1949 USA Climber Ketchum, Idaho Retired stockbroker Details Other expeditions
Stephen A. (Steve) Bain M 1962 USA Climber Denver, Colorado Environmental consultant Details Other expeditions
Neal Jay Beidleman M 1959 USA Climber Aspen, Colorado Mechanical engineer Details Other expeditions
Anatoli Boukreev M 1958 Kazakhstan Climber Almaty (Alma-Ata), Kazakhstan Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Kevin Baptiste Duck M 1959 USA Climber Upland, California Telephone worker Details Other expeditions
George W. Fuller M 1952 USA Climber Lakewood, Colorado Computer software engineer Details Other expeditions
Bernardo Guarachi Mamani M 1952 Bolivia Climber La Paz, Bolivia Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Thor Kieser M 1958 USA Leader Denver, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Clay Landon M 1961 USA Climber Wilmington, North Carolina Businessman Details Other expeditions
Charles Ely (Charley) Mace M 1958 USA Climber Denver, Colorado Production manager Details Other expeditions
Alan McPherson M 1959 UK Exp Doctor Juneau, Alaska Physician Details Other expeditions
Stuart Ritchie M 1959 USA Climber Englewood, Colorado Electrical engineer Details Other expeditions
Mark E. Scott-Nash M 1962 USA Climber Lyons, Colorado Electrical engineer Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MAKA94101 AAJ Keiser, Thor - - 69:230-232 (1995) -
MAKA94101 HIGH - - - 144:37 (Nov 1994) -
MAKA94101 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199523003/Asia-Nepal-Makalu-Kangchungtse-and-Chomo-Lnzo - - -