Annapurna IV??

[davebks]

Anyone know anything about climbing Annpurna IV???
Seems like a totally doable trip that doesn't cost and everest and a leg.
I'd love to hear some info if you have any!
Thanks

[davebks]

annapurna I holds the highest death rate. Sketchy, avalanches, rock falls, etc...
That's why I was wondering about IV. Especially since companies guide it.
Is it really doable? Worth getting excited over? Or a 5050 chance like I?

[davebks]

Yeah, I can't imagine they are even in the same league. Two peaks next to each other could be totally different.
Putting aside the craziness of AP1, I have been to Nepal and it was the best trip I ever took. We climbed Kala Patthar and Island Peak along with a trip to EBC and so on.
I would LOVE to get back there and do another peak.
It was weird, I felt very tightly wound in Peru climbing but totally relaxed in Nepal. So this could be a really good lifetime goal for a 7M peak.

I figured before I got too excited I would ask around if anyone has climbed it or had any beta on it. I will check out summitpost and such though.

[jbchalk]

For a few thousand more (OK, maybe 7K more), you can go on a guided trip of an 8000m peak. Also, for a few thousand less than a guided Annapurna IV climb, you can climb an 8000m peak unguided.

[davebks]

yyyyyyeah.... a few 7-8 thousand
Thats almost as much as IMG guides APIV for...ha!
Oh to have an endless supply of cash and time...

[Winter8000m]

Annapurna IV is being guided now? Depressing. Maybe it's just me but I get sick of it when more and more Himalayan peaks are getting guided. Everest is bad enough. It's a city up there. I go to the mountains to escape the city not travel to another. I understand guiding to a certain point but it's just too much these days, especially on Everest, Denali and others imo. Now it's spreading to many more of the peaks. Sad....Wish I could stop it! Maybe it's just not my scene. I would rather go explore on some other part of the mountain where my team is the only people I'll see on the whole climb....Sometimes I wish I was born a few years before all this guiding took place on Everest and the other big peaks.

Just what I prefer though.

[davebks]

no question about all of that. I totally agree its becoming a zoo, but... you know, I am still wondering about the climb
whether i go guided or not.

[Scott P]

Annapurna IV is being guided now? Depressing. Maybe it's just me but I get sick of it when more and more Himalayan peaks are getting guided.

Guided expeditions have been going to Annapurna IV since the 1970's. Also, Everest gets a lot of attention, perhaps skewing the perception. I could certainly be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that that many more mountains in the Himalaya are getting guided than there has been in the last couple of decdades. In fact many that used to be regularly guided (Nun Kun comes to mind) aren't so much anymore. It seems that most of the mountains being guided and where the big increases are with either the 8000 meter peaks and the official trekking peaks and indeed there has been a huge increase in guiding those. A few other famous peaks such as Ama Dablam, etc. have seen a huge increase as well. In other words, the amount of guided climbers and expeditions have increased hugely, but I don't know if the amount of mountains being guided is really that much greater.

man if I could just have a chance to climb in the Great Ranges even in the 80s, it'd be a different world. What a sad turn these ranges have taken in jsut a quarter century.

The Himalaya is full of thousands of peaks, many still unclimbed. Most other peaks have only been climbed a few times. The potential for new and untouched routes is huge and most areas sit empty.

Anyway, have you guys even been to the Himalaya? I mean this to be non-offence, but many, not all, of the people who make such comments either haven't been there or went and only stuck to the few popular routes that there are.

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Anyway, as far as difficulty Annapurna IV considered to be an "easy" mountain.

For example, John Cleare's book from 1979 says the following:

All the major peaks [in the Annapurna massif] have now been climbed several times; A-IV by seven expeditions for it is an easy summit passed closeby enroute for remote A-II.

Of course "easy" is relative. It's actually a spectacular looking summit. If I had the chance, I'd go for it.

[Winter8000m]

Annapurna IV is being guided now? Depressing. Maybe it's just me but I get sick of it when more and more Himalayan peaks are getting guided.

Guided expeditions have been going to Annapurna IV since the 1970's. Also, Everest gets a lot of attention, perhaps skewing the perception. I could certainly be wrong, but it doesn't seem to me that that many more mountains in the Himalaya are getting guided than there has been in the last couple of decdades. In fact many that used to be regularly guided (Nun Kun comes to mind) aren't so much anymore. It seems that most of the mountains being guided and where the big increases are with either the 8000 meter peaks and the official trekking peaks and indeed there has been a huge increase in guiding those. A few other famous peaks such as Ama Dablam, etc. have seen a huge increase as well. In other words, the amount of guided climbers and expeditions have increased hugely, but I don't know if the amount of mountains being guided is really that much greater.

man if I could just have a chance to climb in the Great Ranges even in the 80s, it'd be a different world. What a sad turn these ranges have taken in jsut a quarter century.

The Himalaya is full of thousands of peaks, many still unclimbed. Most other peaks have only been climbed a few times. The potential for new and untouched routes is huge and most areas sit empty.

I'm not saying there isnt a ton of territory yet to be explored. What I'm talking about is Everest, Denali, Cho Oyu, Acon....etc. It's a zoo....What I'm saying is that I don't want that to spread to any other peaks ....It's a virus almost. Yes...lots of exploring....I would have loved to be born before the zoo experience so I could experience those peaks in pure style NOT with 3G at base camp. Again, I'm not talking about the untouched peaks...The crowds and expeditions are bound to go to other beautiful historic mountains and ruin the experience in the future. It's not just going to stay on "Everest" is my point.

It's just disgusting at it's current state on those popular peaks.

[Scott P]

What I'm talking about is Everest, Denali, Cho Oyu, Acon....etc. It's a zoo....

I see what you are saying, but even on those mountains, it's only a zoo for those who choose it to be.

Everest is a great example. It may be a zoo, but only in May and only on two routes.

There are at least 18 routes on Everest:



While traffic on the two standard routes has been increasing expodentially, non-standard routes are actually getting less popular. So are off-season ascents. Even the post Monsoon season seems to be getting closer to abandoned every year and winter ascents are less common than they have been in the past. The Fantasy Ridge still hasn't been climbed. Several of the routes that have been done have never been repeated.

Everest is a big mountain and most of Everest is pristine. Even on the standard routes, the mountain sits untouched for the vast majority of the year.

The same could be said for all those mountains on the above list. Denali has many possible routes and the crowds are confined to one route for about 8 weeks a year. Cho Oyo has the spectacular South Face which has almost dropped off the radar. Aconcagua has the spectacular South Face which has been compared to two North Faces of the Eiger stacked one upon the other.

Those mountains can be zoos, but they can also not be as well. I think the same can be said for the Colorado 14ers. Grays Peak may be a zoo on Labor Day weekend, but that doesn't mean all of the 14ers are always a zoo. I've climbed many 14ers (in fact the majoirty of them) without seeing another soul outside our own group.

[Winter8000m]

What I'm talking about is Everest, Denali, Cho Oyu, Acon....etc. It's a zoo....

I see what you are saying, but even on those mountains, it's only a zoo for those who choose it to be.

Everest is a great example. It may be a zoo, but only in May and only on two routes.

There are at least 18 routes on Everest:



While traffic on the two standard routes has been increasing expodentially, non-standard routes are actually getting less popular. So are off-season ascents. Even the post Monsoon season seems to be getting closer to abandoned every year and winter ascents are less common than they have been in the past. The Fantasy Ridge still hasn't been climbed. Several of the routes that have been done have never been repeated.

Everest is a big mountain and most of Everest is pristine. Even on the standard routes, the mountain sits untouched for the vast majority of the year.

The same could be said for all those mountains on the above list. Denali has many possible routes and the crowds are confined to one route for about 8 weeks a year. Cho Oyo has the spectacular South Face which has almost dropped off the radar. Aconcagua has the spectacular South Face which has been compared to two North Faces of the Eiger stacked one upon the other.

Those mountains can be zoos, but they can also not be as well. I think the same can be said for the Colorado 14ers. Grays Peak may be a zoo on Labor Day weekend, but that doesn't mean all of the 14ers are always a zoo. I've climbed many 14ers (in fact the majoirty of them) without seeing another soul outside our own group.

I see what your saying but my point is only that I wish the scene was different during those few weeks each season. I by no means intend to join the party in the future but instead explore other options. I know there are many many options to each of the peaks as I've done too much research on each of them Just kind of annoyed of what its turned into. I'll avoid the crowds but in the meantime complain away about it What can you do though....nothing

[davebks]

First off, I love that map of Everest. It always amazes me how many routes there are on peaks like this. Especially after you have seen it in person. When I was in Nepal I thought to myself quite often, "someone went up THAT?!? and lived???"
Amazing places.
And yes, I agree it can be a zoo in general, especially some of the 14ers on weekends in the summer but there really is SO much to climb out there. Even when I climbed Island Peak and later in Peru we barely saw other people and the people we did see were really nice and inviting.
So who knows. Either way, I can't wait to get back out again.