Nilgiri North gave Japanese Tatsuya Aoki and Takuya Mitoro no chance: They had to retreat from 6,600m.
The climbers were attempting a new alpine-style route up the west face of the 7,061m peak in Nepal’s Annapurna region. The pair reached base camp at the end of September. It is not clear what pushed the climbers back, although before the summit push, Aoki mentioned he had stomach problems. They will update once they return home.
The Japanese base camp, with Dhaulagiri in the background. Photo: Tatsuya Aoki
Nilgiri North is the highest peak of the Nilgiri Himal. Legendary alpinist and Annapurna pioneer Lionel Terray and two Dutch partners first climbed it in 1967. In the 1970s, Japanese expeditions made the first ascents of Nilgiri South and Nilgiri Central. We will post a story about the massif’s fascinating climbing history this weekend.
