Alex Txikon has called off his attempt on Winter Annapurna after losing a load of gear cached in Camp 3. The team had still seven weeks of winter left.
In a press release, Txikon said the mountain was in “exceptionally good, but at the same time committing and risky conditions” as the reason “to choose a guarantee of life and give up.”
Risky venture
In a longer report on his website, Txikon explains that he is not willing to climb up Annapurna’s avalanche-prone great couloir (between Camp 2 and Camp 3) again.
“We have already taken too many risks…Perhaps I lack the hunger for the summit, having reached the summit of Manaslu a year ago,” Txikon admitted.
Everest training for Fiamoncini
Moeses Fiamoncini of Brazil confirmed the end of the expedition and pointed to a long period of high winds expected on the mountain.
“The forecast is for very high winds,” he said. “After that, we would need to start the expedition again, which is something no one wants.
“There were many avalanches from breaking seracs,” the Brazilian climber added.
This was Fiamoncini’s fourth attempt on Annapurna. This spring, he plans to attempt Cho Oyu and Everest without bottled oxygen.
The whole group in Annapurna Base Camp. Photo: @navamuel.andres
