Climbing History Of Dhaulagiri I

Most ascents have followed the Northeast Ridge route of the first ascent, but climbs have been made from most directions. As of 2007 there had been 358 successful ascents and 58 fatalities. Between 1950 and 2006, 2.88% of 2,016 expedition members and staff going above base camp on Dhaulagiri I died. On all 8,000 metre peaks in Nepal the death rate was 1.63%, ranging from 0.65% on Cho Oyu to 4.04% on Annapurna I and 3.05% on Manaslu.
  
Partial Timeline

• 1950 - Dhaulagiri I reconnoitered by a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog. They they did not see a feasible route and switched to Annapurna, where they made the first ascent of an 8000 m peak.
• 1953-1958 - Five expeditions attempt the North Face, or "Pear Buttress", route.
• 1959 - An Austrian expedition led by Fritz Moravec makes the first attempt on the Northeast Ridge.
• 1960 - Swiss/Austrian expedition led by Max Eiselin, successful ascent by K. Diemberger, P. Diener, E. Forrer, A. Schelbert, Nyima Dorje, Nawang Dorje on May 13. First Himalayan climb supported by a fixed-wing aircraft, which eventually crashed in Hidden Valley north of the mountain during an approach and was abandoned.
• 1969 - Americans, led by Boyd Everett, attempt the Southeast Ridge; seven team members, including Everett, are killed in an avalanche.
• 1970 - second ascent, via the Northeast Ridge by a Japanese expedition led by Tokufu Ohta and Shoji Imanari. Tetsuji Kawada and sherpa Lhakpa Tenzing summit.
• 1973 - American team led by James Morrissey makes third ascent via the Northeast Ridge. Summit team: John Roskelley, Louis Reichardt, sherpa Nawang Samden.
• 1975 - Japanese team led by Takashi Amemiya attempt Southwest Ridge (also known as the South Pillar). Six are killed in an avalanche.
• 1976 An Italian expedition makes the fourth ascent.
• 1977 An international team led by Reinhold Messner attempts the South Face.
• 1978, Spring: Amemiya returns with an expedition which puts five members on the summit via the Southwest Ridge -- the first ascent not using the Northeast Ridge. One team member dies during the ascent.
• 1978, Autumn - Seiko Tanaka of Japan leads successful climb of the very difficult Southeast Ridge. Four are killed during the ascent. A French team attempts the Southwest Buttress (also called the "South Buttress"), only reaches 7,200 m.
• 1980 - Four man team consisting of Polish climbers Voytek Kurtyka, Ludwik Wiczyczynski, Frenchman René Ghilini and Scotsman Alex MacIntyre climbed the east face, topping out at 7,500 m on the northeast ridge. After a bivouac they descended in a storm. One week later they climbed the mountain via the northeast ridge.
• 1981 - Yugoslavian team reaches 7,950 m after putting up the first route on the true South Face of the mountain, on the right side, connecting with the Southeast Ridge. They climbed in alpine style but suffered four days of open bivouacs and six days without food before returning. Also, Hironobu Kamuro of Japan reaches the summit alone, via the normal route.
• 1984 - Three members of the Czechoslovakian expedition (J. Simon, K. Jakes, J. Stejskal) climb the West Face to the summit. J. Simon died during the descent.
• 1985 A Polish expedition including Jerzy Kukuczka climbs Dhaulagiri in Winter via the standard route, summiting January 21.
• 1986 A mostly Polish expedition puts up a second South Face route, on the left side of the face connecting with the Southwest Ridge route. They go above 7,500 m but do not summit.

• 1988 Y. Moiseev and K. Valiev in cooperation with a Slovak Z. Demjan succeeded in climbing the south-west buttress. This 3,000 metre ascent with difficult technical climing at 6,800-7,300m was acknowledged as the year's best achievement at the UIAA Expedition Commission Conference.
• 1990 Dhaulagiri becomes the first mountain higher than 8,000 m to be climbed by a Lithuanian. Dainius Makauskas disappears on the descent.
• 1993 A Russian-British team puts up the Direct North Face Route.
• 1998 French climber Chantal Mauduit dies in an avalanche on Dhaulagiri.
• 1999 On October 24 British climber Ginette Harrison dies in an avalanche on Dhaulagiri. Days later, Slovenian Tomaz Humar climbs the South Face solo but does not reach the summit. His ascent ended at 7,300 m due to by a 300 m band of rotten rock. Humar traverses to the dangerous SE ridge, re-enters the face briefly and exits c. 8000 m for a descent on the NE ridge. Dhaulagiri has never been summitted from the South Face , which remains one of the greatest remaining challenges in alpinism.
• 2007 - Eva Martínez becomes the first Mexican woman to ascend the Dhaulagiri with a Spanish team in which two colleagues died.

Posted in: Eight Thousanders Of Himalaya,List of Mountains in Asia