June 3: Annapurna

Annapurna was first climbed on June 3 1950. Here are ten facts about it.

1. Annapurna is a Sanskrit word which literally means “full of food”. Annapurna is a Hindu fertility goddess.
2. Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world at 26,545 feet (8,091 meters).
3. What we're talking about when we refer to Annapurna is actually Annapurna I, the highest point of a 34-mile-long range east of the gorge of the Kali Gandaki River, in Nepal, which is the world's deepest canyon.
4. The first people to climb it in June 1950 were Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, of France. This made it the first peak over 8,000 metres to be climbed.
5. Herzog wrote a book about the expedition, Annapurna, which sold over 11 million copies, making it the best-selling climbing book of all time.
6. During the climb, Herzog and Lachenal both suffered severe frostbite on their feet and Herzog on his hands after losing his gloves. Gangrene set in, forcing the expedition doctor to amputate fingers and toes in the field without anesthetic.
7. In 1970 the South Face of Annapurna was first climbed by Don Whillans and Dougal Haston, part of a British expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington.
8. In 1978 the American Women’s Annapurna Expedition, composed only of women, led by Irene Miller and Vira Komarkov, made the first American ascent of the mountain.
9. Annapurna is the most dangerous 8000-meter peak to climb, with an expedition fatality to successful ascent ratio of 38%. For Mount Everest, this ratio is 7.5%.
10. While Mount Everest has been climbed over 2,000 times, Annapurna had only been climbed 142 times by 2007.