The winter Annapurna team is ready for a final summit push as soon as conditions permit. But that may take a while.
They had considered to trying for the summit on their second foray up the mountain but the wind increased just as they headed to Camp 3. Until then, the weather had been quite good, for a Himalayan winter.
Alex Txikon had hoped to make the best of the early good conditions, fearing things could deteriorate in the New Year. Unfortunately for him, the wind came two days too soon, and the team faced strong gusts as they went up from Camp 2 (5,600m) to Camp 3 (6,400m). They didn’t spend a night there, but left their loads and retreated immediately back to Base Camp as night fell.
Txikon with a windy Annapurna behind. Photo: @navamuel.andres
Now, the weather is sunny in Base Camp, but the jet stream winds howl higher on the mountain, forcing patience.
“The wind at altitude will be around 100kph so we won’t go up for the moment,” Txikon wrote on social media.
