Annapurna
was first climbed by
a French expedition in 1950.
Fewer climbers have reached the summit of
Annapurna
than any other 8000m
peak in Nepal.
By the end of 2002 only 96 climbers from 106 expeditions
had reached the summit, 52 climbers having died on the mountain.
In
1950 a French expedition led by Maurice Herzog
explored the Kali
Gandaki valley.
After deciding that Dhaulagiri was too difficult,
they
turned there attention to climbing Annapurna.
Hampered by inaccurate
maps,
they spent considerable time and effort
finding a way to the foot
of the mountain.
They eventually ascended via the Miristi Khola to the
North Face
and made the first ascent of any 8000m peak.
Annapurna
was not climbed again until 1970,
when a British army expedition
followed essentially the same route
as Herzog and at the same time
Chris Bonington
led a successful British expedition
to the steep
and difficult South Face.
