Skalzang Rigzin First Indian To Summit Annapurna Without Bottled Oxygen

Skalzang Rigzin First Indian To Summit Annapurna Without Bottled Oxygen

Skalzang Rigzin becomes the first Indian to reach the summit of Mt. Annapurna without using bottled oxygen. He was able to accomplish this on Thursday, April 28th, 2022 with the expedition arrangements made by PeakPromotion. Even though Mt Annapurna is one of the most difficult and demanding mountains in the world, with a high fatality rate, Skalzang and other climbers succeeded in reaching the summit.

With the help of Kami and Urgen Sherpa, Skalzang was able to summit without the need for supplemental oxygen, and they in turn ascended the peak to open a path to the summit position. Bharath Thammineni, Palkesh Kalma, and Baljeet Kaur, among others, reached the summit on the same day as other climbers. Others have also claimed the prestigious title of summiting the mountain’s beast. At the age of 29, Tseng Ko-Erh aka Grace Tseng from Taiwan became the youngest female in the world to reach the peak of Mt Annapurna without using supplementary oxygen.

Annapurna Summit 

Annapurna Summit

Annapurna is a 55-kilometre-long Himalayan section in north-central Nepal. It is the world’s tenth highest mountain. The Annapurna range is one of the most beautiful mountain ranges to climb. With high altitude comes extreme weather, cold climate, and the risk of altitude sickness. All these factors combined make the Annapurna trek difficult level to strenuous. Being able to do so without any oxygen is a feat in and of itself.

A French expedition led by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal climbed Mt. Annapurna on June 3, 1950. In the world of climbing, Maurice Herzog’s Annapurna Expedition has been an absurdity. Its summit was the highest summit on Earth for three years, till the first victorious summit of Mount Everest. Since then, ascending Annapurna has been renowned for its high death toll and lesser number of ascents when compared to other higher summits. Climbing Annapurna is not for unskilled climbers, and it necessitates meticulous planning and strategy.

Annapurna Summit’s Difficulty

Climbing Annapurna is a massive task and many climbers’ worst dread. Even the most experienced climbers struggle to reach the Annapurna summit due to its rock composition and terrain. Other reasons for Annapurna’s fatal nature include a hostile environment and rising elevations. The peak’s winds are as strong as a storm, and despite its low elevation, conquering Annapurna is significantly more difficult than ascending Everest. At any season of the year, strong winds and blizzards can make climbing the top challenging. Several climbers perish as a result of this environmental condition, which can be fatal.

On Annapurna Mountain, cracks, steep slopes, and other tough terrain abound. The path is inclined upwards in places, with an inviting gorge that is far more difficult to navigate than it appears. Snowstorms, as well as massive icebergs and rocks falling from the mountain, are always a risk. These are just a handful of the dangers that can leave climbers gravely injured.  In terms of climbing, there are numerous risks, both geographical and climatic, that the climber must eliminate. 

One of every three climbers perishes on Annapurna’s steep slopes, according to the mountain’s frightening 33 per cent death rate. The chief factor as to why is Annapurna so threatening is the avalanche. Because of the ever-changing climate and steep terrain, the mountain is extremely susceptible to snow slides. It poses a risk to mountaineers, especially as the snow melts in warm weather. The Annapurna range, unlike many other mountains climbed by mountaineers, is solitary. As a result, getting treatment on time is difficult, especially if there is a health risk. As a result, climbing is highly risky, and many experienced alpinists have failed to reach the top. This has resulted in a shift in strategy, with many climbers opting for a wintertime ascent, ascending the peak early in the season when temperatures are milder and snow conditions are more stable.

How many have climbed Annapurna this year?

Annapurna climbers

As a massive group of climbers made a final peak attempt at the end of April, possibly conquering one of the ’s toughest peaks, a new Annapurna summit milestone was set.

As to Nepal’s Tourism department, six women ascended the world’s deadliest mountain, Annapurna, to become the first Nepali women to reach the 10th highest peak.

They became one of the first 68 mountaineers to summit the peak in almost two years.

 It’s also the most climbers to reach the summit in a single day, surpassing the previous mark of 32 sets on May 1, 2016. Annapurna was only summited 298 times before, a statistic that has risen dramatically while the mortality rate has decreased. With 18 women completing the trek, Friday’s summits saw the most female climbers reach their peak in the same year.

Recent trend For Himalayan Expeditions

Climbing to an elevation of 8,000 meters on a mass scale has arrived in the Himalayas, and it is here to stay. The objective is to get as many individuals to the top as feasible as quickly as possible while utilizing all resources available. The unending lines of climbers weaving their way to the peak bring in large sums of money. This was not a voyage to write an Alpine legacy, but rather a well-thought-out economic endeavor. The plan does not necessitate a miracle; all that is required is hard effort, a large Sherpa team, miles of rope, and enough oxygen to meet everyone’s demands.

 Instead of being an additional expenditure, the brief trip reduced the number of days spent leading and pottering climbers and servicing them along the hike. To keep expenses down, all of the fitters decided ahead of time to share the rope-fixing resources. And anyway, everyone was going to climb in the same direction as no one was planning an individual ascent by a different route. Development was so quick in this unusually warm year that the Sherpa rope-fixers didn’t have time to ascend earlier than the other climbers.