Image Courtesy of Brad Clement

From: James McKee
Boulder, CO USA, October 4, 2008

Team Begins Descent of Annapurna IV After a Summit No-go

On October 4, Brad and Tonya called via satellite phone from a location of 6,705 meters (22,000 feet) on Annapurna IV. They announced that they would be descending Annapurna IV. They weren’t able to summit due to weather, tricky terrain, and health risks.

Brad reported that he felt fine about the decision, and pointed that they are acclimated and ready to move over to the base of Annapurna I within the next several days.

Tonya spoke briefly, though due to interruptions in the satellite feed, the last portion of her report had to be edited out. Despite sounding a bit sad about having to turn around, she knows it was the right choice. A point to remember is that the team attempted to summit Annapurna IV in May 2007. They turned back just hours from the summit due to a potentially dangerous pre-monsoon blizzard.

Though it’s always a bittersweet when deciding to come off the mountain when so close to the top, both Brad and Tonya feel it was the right choice. They will be moving over to begin from base camp of Annapurna I within the next week.

Postcards from the Field: Annapurna

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