Inaki Ochoa: What Really Happened on Annapurna?

There has been a lot of talk going on in regards to the recent events on Annapurna.  Inãki Ochoa, one of the premier climbers in the world, tragically perished.  Once it was learned that Inãki Ochoa was in trouble, a massive effort was undertaken to rescue the fallen climber.  He was stranded high in the deathzone, with only his climbing partner, Horio Calabasanu by his side.

During the hours and days that followed, many of the world’s top alpine climbers would make a heroic effort to reach Ochoa and bring him down to safety.  Up to this point, there has not been much information as to what actually took place between Horio Calabasanu’s first call for help and the death of Inãki Ochoa de Olza.  That is, until now.

The Hardware Sessions Blog, the adventure blog from the Mountain Hardware Team, has recently put up a piece written by Edi Erstermannn who goes in to the details of what actually transpired on Annapurna just a couple of weeks ago.  It should be noted that Ueli Steck, who was able to reach Ochoa on Annapurna is sponsored by Mountain Hardware and was recently awarded the Eiger Award, in part for his efforts in this rescue attempt.  Steck should not be the only one recognized for the incredible effort to reach Inaki Ochoa as Simon Anthamatten, Horio Calabasanu, Denis Urubko, and Don Bowie all put up a heroic effort to save a friend in need.

I am going to warn you, the Hardware Sessions piece is quite emotional, but to truly understand the events that took place, you need to hear from those who were there.  For the first time, most of the participants speak out and let us in to a miraculous attempt that unfortunately ended in tragedy.  A special thanks needs to go out to Patricia Bamert and Cynthia Houng for translating this wonderful piece.  Click below to read the article.

On Annapurna

Inaki Ochoa’s Death On Annapurna Sparks Letter From Ochoa’s Family

The recent death of world-class climber Inaki Ochoa has sent fans around the world mourning for the fallen legend. After getting in to trouble once he summited Annapurna and began his descent, Inaki Ochoa’s situation would spark a huge high-altitude rescue effort that would include many of the top climbers currently in the Himalayas. Ueli Steck made it to Inaki. It was reported that Inaki Ochoa, after a couple of scary days at Camp 3 with no help, could not move or talk. He could eat and drink though, and this had many people who read the first reports optimistic. That feeling would soon fade as his tragic death was quickly spread around the internet and the world on May 23. There was nothing no one could do. Inaki Ochoa was gone.

I covered this incident as it began to unfold here at The Adventurist. Other sites done the same. The Adventure Blog and ExplorersWeb both tuned in to the events as well. UKClimbing, Alpinist, Summitclimb Forums–the list goes on and on. Most of us thought it was going to happen the way we picture it in our heads. Like a movie, almost always with a happy ending. That would not be the case this time.

Today, ExplorersWeb received a letter from Inaki Ochoa’s family. I am not going to print the whole thing here, but I will share a paragraph:

By noticing the help you all wanted to bring him right in front of death, you allow us to believe and feel that there are reasons not to forget his joy, and to hope that his style helps others to build their own love for freedom.

You can read the rest by clicking HERE.

I do have to say that for a family that has been through so much in recent days, this message is mostly a heartfelt thank-you from his family for the care and kind words that people sent to Inaki. That would be tough, but it does give you a glimpse of the kind of people that made Inaki who he was.

I never met the man, but many of us knew him through his personal thoughts and interviews when they would surface. We would hear the name and recognize it–think “cool he topped out on another huge peak. That’s great.” Then move on. Here is just a suggestion. Go back and read some of his interviews. Experience part of his personality. In order to understand why thousands of people are currently mourning the loss of a great climber, you have to understand a bit of who the man was. ExplorersWeb has followed along with him on numerous climbs. They have done a great job at getting some very good interviews with him–go read a bit, then tell me what’s not to like about the way he wanted to live his life. It was always an adventure to him. It was never a matter of ‘IF’ he could do something, but when. I think there is a lesson there for all of us. He will be missed.

Legendary Climber Inaki Ochoa Dies on Annapurna, Ueli Steck By His Side–May 23, 2008

Heroic efforts to rescue climber Inaki Ochoa, unfortunately were not enough. Inaki Ochoa passed away at 12:30 pm local time. Ueli Steck, who was in the process of helping to carry out a high-altitude rescue on Ochoa, was with him and continued to try to revive him until the very end.

Sorry guys. I am a bit choked up. I think many of us believed that the rescue efforts would be a success, but unfortunately, today, that was not the case. Over the past couple of days, as this rescue effort played out, many people had been watching, hoping, and praying for Ochoa, one of the leading mountaineers in the world. His struggle on Annapurna began with no warning, and ends quite the same. I think many of us are shocked. My heart goes out to Inaki Ochoa’s family, friends, and associates. Let’s not forget Ueli Steck, who made an amazing effort to rescue the struggling climber. Even if the rescue did not come out as we all hoped, Ueli Steck and the other individuals who were struggling to get up Annapurna to rescue Ochoa–quite frankly, they should be treated as heroes for their personal ethics in helping a fallen comrade.

I will have a bit more information and make another post later on today. In the meantime, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments–prayers for Inaki Ochoa, all involved in these efforts, and for Inaki’s family.

To catch up on news and information, you can read my previous posts on this rescue effort HERE, HERE, and HERE. For the latest Update, head over to ExplorersWeb.

Once again, Inaki Ochoa has died on Annapurna–May 23, 2008

Rescue on Annapurna: Ueli Steck HAS REACHED Inaki Ochoa –Updated

BREAKING NEWS

I have recently been following a high altitude rescue attempt that is taking place on Annapurna. If you will remember back a few days ago, word had been sent out that climber Inaki Ochoa, who has previously summited 12 8,000 meter peaks–was in trouble. In days previous, Inaki was trying to top out on Annapurna. His attempt was unsuccessful. He was turned back a few meters from the summit due to frostbite and runing out of rope. Things went downhill from there. Inaki called his wife and family from Camp IV and said he was tired and had received some frostbite during his climb. A half hour later, Inaki Ochoa was vomiting violently, then went in to an almost comatose state.

A call for help was put out for climbers in the area. Inaki Ochoa needed some fast help. Unfortunately there was no one around, other than his climbing partner, who could not bring him down by himself. A couple of days later, Ueli Steck has stepped up to the plate and taken it upon himself to try the high-altitude rescue.

News has come out today that Ueli Steck has reached Inaki Ochoa at Camp IV and is currently administering medicine to the fallen climber. Many people thought that Inaki Ochoa would not survive the night, when this first began to take shape. He has survived and is surviving and now has the help and aid of Ueli Steck. Other climbers are currently headed to Inaki, as well. Hopefully they can get him down from Camp IV and back where he can get some much needed medical attention. Let’s hope this rescue goes as planned. You can never tell on these things, but luckily there are individuals out there like Ueli Steck, who will jump to help in a heartbeat. Let’s keep these guys in our thoughts today as this high altitude rescue continues on Annapurna–I will keep you updated. Also, if anyone else runs across more information, send me a tip at theadventurist@cliffhanger.com.

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SECOND UPDATE  Posted 3:33 pm May 22, 2008

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ExplorersWeb has just updated the above information.

As most of you guessed, the Swiss rescuers are Ueli Steck and his climbing mate Simon. Ueli has now reached Iñaki in camp 4, after two days climbing in bad weather.

Literally running up next is Denis Urubko, sleepless since he found out about Ochoa while in Kathmandu. Russian Serguey Bogomolov should be in a hospital, nursing frostbites he suffered on the wall two weeks ago. Instead, he’s leading rescue team number 2, of Denis and Don Bowie who has volunteered to help as well, in spite of leaving the team earlier due to differences between the climbers.

There is also news that a third rescue party is waiting in back-up if the first two can not extract Ochoa from Annapurna.  Ochoa is said to be unable to walk or speak, but can eat and drink.  At least that is a bit of hope, he isn’t totally incapacitated, although in high-altitude that is about as close as you can get.

More from ExWeb:

Artur Hajzer has provided route details and Javier G. Corripio is providing special weather reports. Climbers’ friends and home teams, mountaineering websites such as RussianClimb and ExWeb, team sponsors and Inaki’s family have all been working around the clock from all corners of the world over the different time zones to save the men on the south face of Annapurna - in one of the most difficult rescue operations ever in the Himalayas.

I will update more as I get word.  Keep the fingers crossed!

Photo of Inaki Ochoa Courtesy of ExplorersWeb

The Adventurist: A Call to All Outdoor Writers and Photographers!

I have just put the finishing touches on a new “Submit & Contact” Page here at The Adventurist.  I am hoping that this new feature will be accepted and used by all of my great readers.

This page goes into detail about a few things I am looking for here at The Adventurist–and ways you might be able to get involved.

Do you love Adventure Writing or perhaps Great Outdoors Photography?–Help me share your incredible talents with a much bigger audience!

Head on Over to the “Submit & Contact” Page, found on a tab right up above this article, and Share your Adventures with the World!

Also, if you are looking to put me to work, there is info there as well….

Cheers-

J. Alan Hendricks, Editor

The Adventurist Goes Primitive—Camping That Is..

Well, many of you have probably been wondering where I have been over the past week and a half.

My wife and I recently took a “vacation” to southern Tennessee or “Down in the Hills” as they call it…

We decided to do some “Primitive Camping” at the David Crockett State Park near Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.

Now when I say Primitive Camping, I am talking no water, no electricity..we didn’t even bring a watch.  We wanted to get away, do some exploring and lose track of time for a week…and we did.

First off, I need to mention that the place we put up camp was amazing!  We placed our tent at the head of two rivers converging..and right across the river was a 300 foot Rock Cliff straight up!  Beautiful scenery.

Over the course of a week we done a fair share of hiking straight into the wilderness.  As some of you may know, I am based in Indiana–so I was looking forward to seeing th wildlife and scenery around southern Tennessee and experiencing it first hand.  Had some nice animal encounters with probably the best being a large Golden Eagle not 10 feet away from us–some how we snuck up on it without it taking off–but then of course it seen us.

We also followed the river one day and ran across a couple of River Otters eating and playing–another first for me in the wild.  There were plenty of Deer and Wild Tukeys, A Sneaky Raccoon that we played flashlight tag with one night..and even an Armadillo–which I am told is very rare there.  It was definately an Armadillo though, I grew up with them in Texas.

Another day, I strolled the Riverbed for rocks and fossils for my daugher’s collection and began finding Geodes…large rocks filled with crystals..I brought maybe 30 nice sized ones back.  I also found my first arrowheads..a nice Native American Axe Head, some “Indian Money” which is essentially beads that the natives would wear around their necks and use to trade with, and a nice large shard of pottery.  This Riverbed seemed to be an untapped resource for the fossil and rock collector.  I also found a few fossilized shells, a mammal tooth fossil, as well as quite possibly two Dinosaur Teeth–which I am still researching to see if my assumptions stand.

Another item of interest, we ran across 3 different Painted Turtles laying eggs in the woods.  Must have hit the prime time for that.

Overall it was in the 90’s for most of the week…not bad unless you were embarking on a 10 mile hike up and down the big hills of Tennessee…

We made a special trip to the Natchez Trace Scenic Byway, kind of stumbling upon an old pioneer cemetary..that had of all people, Meriweather Lewis, from the Lewis & Clark Expedition, buried there.  I say we stumbled upon the cemetary because my wife seen the first gravestone.  She has an interest in Geneology and wanted to stop.  Her family is from this area many years ago.  We had no idea Lewis had killed himself at this spot and was buried here..we simply found it off of a trail.  On Another cool note, she did find a distant relative’s gravestone there as well..

It was definately a memorable trip.  On the way home we decided to stop in at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky.  This was my second time, her first…but the 50 degree temperaure definately made it a nice pit stop before heading home…even though the 500 steps we descended and then climbed out of the cave was a little harsh.

Upon leaving the Caves, there were a few billboards advertising Mike’s Rock Shop, the Biggest in the Midwest.  I told her I wanted to see what this guy had and try to figure out what I had brought back with me.  All I could say was Wow…

Most of you will not find Rocks to interesting, but Mike’s had some great Geodes, standing close to 4 feet tall and selling for $3900 per half…(these rocks are split in half to show the crystal detail, some of nature’s own Bling-bling).  The ones I had found were priced from $20-$40 each, not bad, but I am not planning on getting rid of my finds..haha.

We had a great time, everything went well..didn’t see no Rattle Snakes or Bears, but we did get to fall asleep in our tents to the Who’s of a large Owl and wake up to the rushing of the River for 7 days straight.  I would like to say I am refreshed and ready to go back to work, but you know how that is…we are already planning our next excursion.

Dhauligiri Summiter, Jorge Egocheaga, Evacuated from Basecamp

The Second Dhauligiri Summiter this season, Jorge Egocheaga, has been medically evacuated from Dhauligiri Basecamp.  His evacuation came about after he was hit by an avalanche and subsequently fell into a crevasse while descending.

The Avalanche and the fall into the crevasse wasn’t the reason for the Medic Evac though.  It seems that during his journey down Dhauligiri, Egocheaga recieved a pretty bad case of frostbite.

His partner and the First summiter of Dhauligiri this season, Inaki Ochoa, is also suffering from a much lesser case of frostbite as well.

For more on this story, head on over to ExplorersWeb.  Ochoa talks about their conditions and the subsequent medical Evacuation of his partner Jorge Egocheaga.

Spanish Climber Inaki Ochoa claims Dhaulagiri Summit, Himilayan Summit Push is On!

Spanish climber Inaki Ochoa claimed the first summit of Dhaulagiri this season with his partner climber Jorge Egocheaga claiming the second, thirty minutes later.  Romanian climber Horio Colibasanu was traveling with the pair but had to descend due to health reasons.

The two set off yesterday from BC and had made their summit by 3 pm local time today.  Dhaulagiri marks Ochoa’s 12th  8,000 meter peak with Annapurna next on his list in the foreseeable future.

Other teams on Dhaulagiri are also lining up to make a summit bid, but they are waiting till the snow and high winds die down before making their attempt.

The team had actually retreated down Dhaulagiri a couple of days ago due to bad weather setting in, but a slight break yesterday made them reevaluate the situation and perform a speed summit attempt.