Nicholas Rice is preparing for his expedition to Annapurna I (अन्नपूर्णा) for the Spring of 2010. Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world, at an elevation of 8,091 meters or 26,545 ft. It is located east of the great gorge cut through the Himalayas by the Kali Gandaki River, which separates it from the Dhaulagiri massif, which lies 34 km west of Annapurna I. Annapurna is the least climbed of the 8000m peaks and has a fierce reputation, second only to K2 in terms of the ratio of summiteers dying on descent to the successful climbs. It is also the 8000’er with the highest ratio of deaths to successful ascents: for every two climbers who reach the summit, one dies. These statistics explain why there has been no genuinely commercial expedition to the peak so far: the avalanche-prone north face and the difficult south and north-west faces are likely to ensure that there will be no change to this in the coming years; the first 8000’er to have been climbed remaining an elusive, committing summit. Dispatches

Annapurna Expedition 2010

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Photo Credit: Right: 2009 Kinga Baranowska