2017 | The Highs and the Lows - A Chronological Review
Dream Wanderlust | Dec 29 , 2017
There have been many ascents, many new records made, existing records broken and other significant events in the climbing and mountaineering world in 2017. The salient events have been compiled and presented in a chronological order.
French climber Elisabeth Revol and Ludovic Giambiasi abandoned their winter expedition to Manaslu due to heavy snowfall and strong winds.
Elisabeth Revol at Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: facebook.com/ElisabethRevolexpe/
Basque alpinist Alex Txikon called off his winter attempt on Everest without supplemental oxygen due to high winds.
Alex Txikon | Photo Courtesy: Alex Txikon
One of the greatest pioneers in rock climbing, Royal Robbins died in Modesto, California after a long illness at the age of 82 years.
Royal Robbins [1935-2017] | Photo Courtesy: Wikipedia
'Swiss Machine' Ueli Steck was killed in an accident on Nuptse while he was acclimatizing solo. He fell from an elevation of approximately 7000m on Nuptse.
Ueli Steck [1976-2017] | Photo Courtesy: Damiano Levati
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An 85 year old former British Gorkha, Min Bahadur Sherchan, died at the Base Camp, while trying to reclaim his title as the oldest mountaineer to summit Everest.
Italian couple Romano Bennet (55) and Nives Meroi (56) completed all the 14 eight thousanders without supplemental oxygen and Sherpa support. They became the first couple in the world to do so by summitting Mt. Annapurna. Meroi also became the 2nd woman climber to complete all the 14 peaks above 8000m without supplemental oxygen.
Romano Bennet and Nives Meroi with Alberto Zerain and Johnatan Garcia | Photo Courtesy: 2x14x8000.com
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Lhakpa Sherpa (44), a Nepali woman climber set a new record by scaling Mt. Everest (8848m) for the eighth time. She reached the peak from the Northern side of the mountain.
British climber Mollie Hughes (26) with climbing partner Jon Gupta reached the summit of Everest from the North side. She became the youngest Briton and European woman to scale the peak from both the North and South sides.
Mollie Hughes on the summit of Everest | Photo Courtesy: Mollie Hughes
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Slovak climbers Peter Hámor (52) and Michal SabovÄík (30) reached the summit of Dhaulagiri (8161 m) without supplemental oxygen. Peter Hámor became the 17th Climber in the world to have completed all 14 eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen.
Peter Hámor and Michal SabovÄík on the summit of Dhaulagiri | Photo Courtesy: peterhamor.sk
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Anshu Jamsenpa, an Indian Mountaineer from Arunachal Pradesh, scaled Mt. Everest for the fourth time, thus becoming the first Indian woman to achieve this feat.
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Anshu Jamsenpa set another record when she summited Everest for the 5th time.
Slovak climber Vladimír Štrba (50) passed away, atempting to summit Everest via SW Face.
Kilian Jornet reached the summit of Everest from the North side without supplemental oxygen, fixed rope or Sherpa help in a single climb within 26 hrs.
Italian Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger abandoned their Kangchenjunga Skyline Project of traversing the long ridgeline.
Simone Moro and Tamara Lunger | Photo Courtesy: facebook.com/SimoneMoroOfficial/
Spanish alpinist Kilian Jornet reached the summit of Everest again from North side without supplemental oxygen, fixed rope or Sherpa help within 17 hrs. He summited Everest twice in a week.
Kilian Jornet | Photo Courtesy: Kilian Jornet
Alpinist Adrian Ballinger and Photo Journalist Cory Richards reached the summit of Everest via North side. Adrian completed it without the help of oxygen and Cory had used oxygen for last 3 hrs to support Adrian.
Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards
Kami Rita Sherpa of Nepal summited Everest for the 21st time.
Kami Rita Sherpa
Spanish Alpinist Ferran Latorre (46) summited Everest from Nepal side, thus completing all 14 eight thousanders w/o supplemental oxygen or sherpa help.
Ferran Latorre on the summit of Everest | Photo Courtesy: Ferran Latorre
A little more than a year after they were left behind, high on the slopes of Everest, the mortal remains of Indian climbers Goutam Ghosh and Paresh Nath who were killed in 2016 were recovered and flown to Lukla. A team of five Sherpa carried out the brave recovery process from approximately 27,000 ft on Everest, considered to be one of the highest ever successful recovery expeditions.
Goutam Ghosh | Photo Courtesy: Phurba Sherpa
Alex Honnold (31) in a historic free solo climb summited El Capitan (3000ft), without rope or equipment to protect himself, leaving no margin for error.
Alex Honnold climbing El Capitan | Courtesy: National Geographic
Cancer patient Ian Toothill (47) summited Everest via North Col to raise money for cancer charity Macmillan. He became the first cancer patient to reach the summit.
Ian Toothill | Courtesy: Ian Toothill
Alpine Ski racer Katie Bono (29) of USA became the fastest woman climber in the world to climb Mt. Denali in extremely cold and stormy conditions.
Katie Bono | Courtesy: facebook.com/katie.c.bono
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24th JUN (Last known alive)
Alberto Zerain (55) and Mariano Galván (37) from Spain and Argentina respectively, went missing on Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth highest peak. They were last heard from on Saturday June 24th, 2017. The duo were attempting the difficult Mazeno Ridge in alpine style.
Alberto Zerain (Left) and Mariano Galván (Right) | Courtesy: 2x14x8000.com
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Korean amputee Kim Hong Bin and his Nepalese Sherpa Lakpa summited Nanga Parbat.
French mountaineer Alberto Iñurrategi, Juan Vallejo and Mikel Zabalza, who had abandoned their attempt to traverse Gasherbrum I and II in alpine style without descending to Base Camp, rescued Italian Valerio Annovazzi from Camp-3 of Gasherbrum II.
Spanish Alpinist Oscar Cadiach (64) completed all 14 eight-thousanders without the help of supplemental oxygen with the summit of Broad Peak. He became the oldest member of the 14X8000 club.
Twelve climbers reached the summit of K2. K2 witnessed summit success after three years.
K2 Expedition | Courtesy: Mingma G. Sherpa
Czech climbers Marek Holecek and Zdenek Hák summited Gasherbrum I (8080m) via a new route, on the South-West Face, they named "Satisfaction".
Marek Holecek and Zdenek Hák | Courtesy: Marek Holecek
Andrzej Bargiel declared that his incredible K2 Ski expedition was over because of avalanche.
Andrzej Bargiel | Courtesy: Andrzej Bargiel
Japanese mountaineer Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima successfully pioneered a new route in alpine style on the North-East Face of Shispare (7611m).
Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima | Photo Courtesy: UIAA
Czech climber Adam Ondra climbed the world's first 9C at Flatanger in Norway. This is a sport climb of Project Hard.
Adam Ondra climbing at Flatanger in Norway | Photo Courtesy: Pavel Blazek
Savannah Cummins, Lindsay Fixmer and Anna Pfaff explored and climbed through new routes in the remote Reru mountains in Zanskar Range, India. They summited Peak 5400, which they dubbed "The Gem", after climbing approximately 400 metre of unknown terrain of grade 5.10 technical difficulty.
Savannah Cummins, Lindsay Fixmer and Anna Pfaff | Photo Courtesy: Anna Pfaff
Norman Gunther Dyhrenfurth, a Swiss-American mountaineer and filmmaker who led the first successful American expedition in 1963 to Mt. Everest died.
Norman Gunther Dyhrenfurth [1918-2017] | Photo Courtesy: National Geographic
Aparna Kumar, a police officer from India, summited Manaslu and became the first Indian woman to do so.
Aparna Kumar on Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Aparna Kumar
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Fernanda Maciel (37) established a new female speed record on Mt. Kilimanjaro. She completed the 43 km round trip from Umbwe gate to the summit and then down to the Mweka Gate in 10 hours and 6 minutes, saving two hours and 52 minutes off the previous record, held by German runner Anne-Marie Flammersfeld.
Fernanda Maciel on Kilimanjaro | Photo Courtesy: Gabriel Tarso
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A Franco-Swiss climber, Sophie Lavaud summited Manaslu to help raise funds for her project 'Mahila'.
Sophie Lavaud on the top of Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Sophielavaud.com
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Spanish climber Carlos Soria (78) declared his expedition on Mt. Dhaulgiri (8167m) finished because of the presence of excessive snow on the mountain.
Carlos Soria on Dhaulagiri | Photo Courtesy: Carlos Soria
Italian mountaineer Riccardo Bergamini (41) summited Manaslu without supplemental oxygen.
Riccardo Bergamini on the top of Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Riccardo Bergamini
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Japanese woman climber Kyoko Iwata (41) summited Manaslu within six days.
Kyoko Iwata with Da Dendi Sherpa on the top of Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Da Dendi Sherpa
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Bulgarian mountaineer Boyan Petrov (44) summited Dhaulagiri without oxygen.
German Couple, Luis Stitzinger(48) and his wife Alix Von Melle(46) summited Mt. Manaslu without supplemental oxygen.
Luis Stitzinger and Alix von Melle on the summit of Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Luis Stitzinger and Alix von Melle
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Nepali climber Mingma G. Sherpa with Zhang Liang, A Zhong, Jing Xue, Phur Galjen Sherpa, Pasang Namgel Sherpa, Muhammad Ali Sadpara and Sirbaz Khan successfully summited Nanga Parbat and made the first ever autumn summit on this mountain. Muhammad Ali summited Nanga Parbat for the fourth time.
Nanga Parbat summit | Photo Courtesy: Mingma G. Sherpa and Muhammad Ali
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German alpinist Jost Kobush (25) summited Nagpai Gosum II, taking three days to reach the top, in a solo alpine climb.
Northern Irishman Noel Hanna and Naga Dorje Sherpa, Pemba Tshering Sherpa and Samden Bhote summited Burke Khang (6942m) for the first time.
Renowned climber Hayden Kennedy (2 times Piolet d'Or winner) committed suicide after girlfriend and fellow pro Inge Perkins, died in an avalanche.
Hayden Kennedy [1990-2017] | Photo Courtesy: Black Diamond
Italian mountaineer Cala Cimenti and Swiss friend Matthias Koenige summited Mt. Dhaulagiri without supplemental oxygen.
Cala Cimenti and Matthias Koenige on the summit of Dhaulagiri | Photo Courtesy: Cala Cimenti/Matthias Koenige
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Italian Simon Gietl and Austrian Vittorio Messini climbed Mt. Shivling (6543m), in the Indian Himalayas, by a new route.
Simon Gietl and Vittorio Messini on the summit of Shivling | Photo Courtesy: Simon Gietl/Vittorio Messini
The two Swiss Stephan Siegrist and Julian Zankerand and German Thomas Huber became the first climbers to ascend central North-West Face of the Cerro Kishtwar (6155m) in the Indian part of the crisis region Kashmir.
Stephan Siegrist, Julian Zankerand and German Thomas Huber on the summit of Dhaulagiri | Photo Courtesy: Siegrist/Zankerand/Huber
French alpinist Trio (Hélias Millerioux, Benjamin Guigonnet and Fred Degoulet), nicknamed as "Le Gang des Mustaches" summited Nuptse Nup-II via a difficult new route on the South Face in alpine style.
On the summit: Hélias Millerioux, Benjamin Guigonnet and Fred Degoulet (from left to right) | Photo Courtesy: Degoulet/Millerioux/Guigonnet
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Germans André Günzel, Manuel Möller, and Jürgen Schütz attempted the unclimbed West ridge of Chulu West (6419m). Günzel and Schütz, with Pasang Gomba and Dawa Gyalje, reached about 5,850m while Möller stopped at 5,700m.
Austrian Angela 'Angy' Eiter became the first woman to do a 9b route on the 'La Planta de Shiva' in Villanueva del Rosario, Spain.
Angela Eiter climbing 'La planta de shiva' in Villanueva del Rosario, Spain | Photo Courtesy: Redbull Contentpool/ E.Holzknecht
Russian mountaineer Yury Koshelenko and Aleksei Lonchinskii completed the first climb of Mt. Phungi (6538) in Nepal - SE Face direct.
Yury Koshelenko and Aleksei Lonchinskii on the summit of Mt. Phungi | Photo Courtesy: Koshelenko/Lonchinskii
Legendary North American rock climber, mountaineer and author Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey passed away.
Friedrich Wolfgang Beckey [1923-2017] | Courtesy: Wikipedia
The first successful Kanghchenjunga expedition summitter, Norman Hardie, passed away.
Norman Hardie [1924-2017] | Courtesy: stuff.co.nz
A famous Russian base jumper Valery Rozov (52) died while jumping from a height of 6,812 meters off Ama Dablam.
Valery Rozov [1964-2017] | Photo Courtesy: facebook.com/valery.rozov
Veteran Italian mountaineer Hans Kammerlander (60) and his partner Stephan Keck (44) abandoned their dream expedition to Manaslu due to huge snow deposition on the route. He would have completed his 13th eight thousanders without supplemental oxygen.
Hans Kammerlander on Manaslu | Photo Courtesy: Hans Kammerlander
South Korean Sung Taek Hong and the Spaniard Jorge Egocheaga abandoned the Lhotse South Face (8516m) expedition after second summit attempt.
Climbing on Lhotse South Face | Photo Courtesy: facebook.com/pioneeradventuretreks/
Elizabeth Hawley, made the "The Himalayan Database" free for all.
Awards
Piolets d'Or 2017
Jeff Lowe was presented with the 9th Lifetime Achievement award.
Jeff Lowe | Photo Courtesy: pioletsdor.net
Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden (UK) for the first ascent of the 1,600m North Face of 7046m South-East summit of Nyanchen Tanglha/Nyainqentangla in Tibet.
Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden | Photo Courtesy: Nick Bullock
Dmitry Golovchenko, Dmitry Grigoriev and Sergey Nilov (Russia) for the successful Thalay Sagar (6904m, India) North Face expedition.
Dmitry Golovchenko, Dmitry Grigoriev and Sergey Nilov | Photo Courtesy: up-climbing
Piolets d'or Asia 2017
Kazuya Hiraide and Kenro Nakajima(Japan) for Shispare (7611m, Karakorum) Northeast Face.
Harish Kapadia (India) was presented with the Piolets d'Or Asia Life Time Achievement Award. He has been made an Honorary Member of Korea Alpen Book Club.
Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature
"Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka" by Bernadette McDonald
Banff Mountain Book Competition Awards
1. Mountain Fiction & Poetry - "Rising Abruptly: Stories" by Gisèle Villeneuve
2. Adventure Travel - "The Names of the Stars" by Pete Fromm
3. Mountain Literature (Non Fiction) The Jon Whyte Award - "Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka" by Bernadette McDonald
4. Guidebook - "Chasing the Ephemeral: 50 Routes for a Successful Scottish Winter" by Simon Richardson
5. Mountain Environment and Natural History - "Tracking Gobi Grizzlies" by Douglas Chadwick
6. Mountaineering Article - "Threshold Shift" by Nick Bullock
7. Mountaineering History - "The Climbers" by Jim Herrington
8. Special Mention - "The Push: A Climber's Journey of Endurance, Risk, and Going Beyond Limits" by Tommy Caldwell
9. Mountain Image - "Racconto D'Inverno - Eine Wintererzählung" by Albert Ceolan
Winners of Banff Mountain Book Competition Awards | Photo Courtesy: banffcentre.ca
2017 National Outdoor Book Awards
1. Outdoor Literature - "A Fly Rod of Your Own" by John Gierach
2. Outdoor Literature - "On Trails: An Exploration" by Robert Moor
3. History/Biography - "Art of Freedom: The Life and Climbs of Voytek Kurtyka" by Bernadette McDonald
4. Instructional - "Backpacker Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike" by Liz Thomas
5. Instructional - "Big Walls, Swift Waters: Epic Stories from Yosemite Search and Rescue" by Charles R "Butch" Farabee
6. Outdoor Adventure Guidebooks - "Outdoor Adventures, Acadia National Park: Your Guide to the Best Hiking, Biking and Paddling" by Jerry and Marcy Monkman
Winners 2017 National Outdoor Book Awards
