Tawoche | 2015 N Buttress (up), SE Face (down)

A USA expedition to Tawoche in 2015 via N Buttress (up), SE Face (down), led by Justin Griffin. Summit reached on 14th November 2015. 2 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 8964
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID TAWO15301
Peak ID TAWO
Year 2015
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 N Buttress (up), SE Face (down)
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Justin Griffin
Sponsor American Tawoche Expedition Autumn 2015
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 2015-11-07
Summit Date 2015-11-14
Summit Time -
Summit Days 7
Total Days 8
Termination Date 2015-11-15
Termination Reason 5
Termination Notes Abandoned at 6380m on summit plateau due to crevasses and avalanche danger
High Point (m) 6380
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 2
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 1
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 -
Campsites BC(07/11),Biv1(09/11,5000m),Biv2(12/11),Biv3(13/11),xxx(6380m,14/11)
Route Notes From Alpinist (posted November 20, 2015): On November 14 at approximately 1:30 pm, Justin Griffin slipped and fell 100 meters to his death while descending from the summit plateau of Taboche (6541m; also called Tawoche) in Nepal's Khumbu Himal region. Griffin and Skiy DeTray, a former para-rescueman with the US Air Force, had just completed a new route up the demanding peak's North Buttress over five days. Note by DeTray: At 6 am on November 14 we crested the North Buttress onto the summit plateau. The sun shined, the sky was blue and there was no wind. After topping the technical difficulties, we failed to realize the true summit of Taboche was another twelve-hour slog up crevasse-riddled avalanche slopes. Justin and I looked at each other and knew our climb was over. We descended unroped most of the way down the peak's East Face gully. We were both tired and our ice axes were worn to a nub from all the dry tooling. Then, less than 100 meters from taking our harnesses off, I saw Justin turn around to downclimb an easy Grade 2, bullet-hard, slippery ice step. He lost his footing and was gone.
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Shangri-La Nepal Treks
Commercial Route False
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2460931
Year 2015
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) n buttress (up), se face (down)

Members

2 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Justin Tyler Griffin M 1980 USA Leader Bozeman, Montana Architect-builder Details Other expeditions
Skiy Winfield DeTray M 1976 USA Climber California Professional search and rescue operator Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
TAWO15301 - - http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web15y/newswire-accident-taboche-north-buttress - - -
TAWO15301 HCN - - - 33:10-13 (Jan 2016) -
TAWO15301 AAJ DeTray, Skiy Into the Light - 90:344-346 (2016) -
TAWO15301 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201213870/Tawoche-Northeast-Buttress-Into-the-Light - - -