The 1955 French Makalu expedition was the first to successfully climb Makalu, the Himalayan mountain to the southeast of Mount Everest, on the border between Nepal and Tibet. At Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-thousander.
The expedition, led by , approached the mountain from the south through Nepal and then wound around into Tibet, to reach the summit from the north face. Thanks to good snow conditions and weather, as well as good leadership, the entire team of mountaineers and one of the Sherpas reached the summit – Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray on 15 May 1955, followed next day by Jean Franco, Guido Magnone and Gyalzen Norbu; and then Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux and André Vialatte on 17 May.
Background Topography Makalu is, after Mount Everest and Lhotse, the highest mountain on a ridge running east from Everest itself. The east-west Kangshung Glacier and the Kama valley in Tibet lie to the north of the ridge and the Barun Glacier and Barun River in Nepal flow along the southern flank. The high mountains Pethangse, Chago and Kangchungtse (also known as Makalu II) are also on the ridge between Everest and Makalu. At Makalu is the fifth-highest mountain in the world and an eight-thousander. Chomo Lonzo (), is on a ridge northeast of Kangchungtse and due north of Makalu.
Makalu is generally in the shape of a four-sided pyramid with its faces scooped out in vast cirques. Of its four ridges, two – the southeast and northwest – form the Tibet–Nepal border and a third ridge, the southwest, slopes down to the Barun Glacier. The west cirque forms the face between the southwest and northwest ridges down which flows the Makalu Glacier and high up beside this glacier lies the smaller northwest cirque.
Exploration and climbing history
When the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition was exploring the Kama valley to discover whether it afforded a route to Everest from the east, Makalu dominated the southern view. A party led by Charles Howard-Bury on a side excursion reached a peak on the ridge between Makalu and Pethangtse and photographed the scene. Local inhabitants thought Makalu was higher than Everest because it is much more visible than Everest which is obscured by the surrounding high peaks. In 1933 after two aircraft had flown over Mount Everest and aerial photographs had been taken of the region, The Times published a special supplement with a full-page photograph on the first page entitled "the awe-inspiring summit of Everest as seen slightly from the north-west" – in fact the photograph was of the northwest ridge of Makalu. In 1951 and 1952 two British reconnaissance expeditions in Nepal assessed the west face of Makalu from a climbing perspective.
In 1954 the first American party to Himalaya, led by William Siri and with Ang Tharkay as sirdar, attempted the mountain from the Barun Glacier via the northwest and southeast ridges. On the latter route they reached . At very much the same time a party led by Edmund Hillary also examined the northwest ridge.
Following the French triumph on Annapurna in 1950, Nepal had granted France an opportunity for climbing Everest in 1954 but this became a less prestigious prospect after the British success in 1953. French mountaineers' ideas turned to Makalu because it was an attractive and challenging peak which had not been attempted previously. Exploration as well as mountaineering would be required. They were granted slots for autumn 1954 and spring 1955. So, the same French party that was to reach Makalu's summit in 1955 carried out a reconnaissance expedition in 1954 that reached Makalu Col, just below Kangchungtse on Makalu's northwest ridge. From there they reached the summits of Kangchungtse () and Chomo Lonzo and ascended to about on the northwest ridge towards the top of Makalu itself.
Preparations Expedition members In 1954 the climbers were: Jean Franco, leader; Jean Bouvier (supplies); Jean Couzy (specialised equipment including oxygen); Pierre Leroux; Guido Magnone (technical repairs and development) and Lionel Terray (filming) together with Jean Rivolier (doctor) and Pierre Bordet (geologist). In 1955 Serge Coupé and André Vialatte (transport and liaison with Gyalzen Norbu) also took part as climbers and Michel Latreille was a second geologist. André Lapras replaced Rivolier as doctor. search for Exped ID "MAKA-551-01"
Gyalzen Norbu was the chief Sherpa (sirdar) and Pasang Phutar the head porter (replaced in 1955 by Kindjock Tsering, on leave from the Brigade of Gurkhas). The nine Sherpas in 1954 were Ang Tsering; Da Norbu; Eila Namgyal; Gyalzen II; Mingma Tsering; Pa Norbu; Pemba Norbu; Pemba Tenzing and Tashi. In 1955 there were 23 Sherpas: Aila; Ang Bao; Ang Phutar; Ang Tsering (cook, known as Panzy); Ang Tsering IV; Chotaree; Chumbee; Da Norbu; Dagang Norjee; Eila Namgyal; Gunden; Gyalzen II; Mingma Tsering I; Mingma Tsering II; Mingma Tenzing; Nim Temba; Nim Tenzing; Pa Norbu; Pasang Dawa; Pemba Norbu; Pemba Tenzing; Tashi and Wongdi.
In 1954 there were 180 porters, mostly men but some women, taking 6.5 tons of baggage to Base Camp and in 1955 this was increased to 315 porters and 11 tons of baggage.
Techniques and equipment Franco, the team leader, liaised with Maurice Herzog, leader of the 1950 Annapurna expedition. Acclimatisation issues were discussed with Griffith Pugh of the 1953 Everest expedition and Couzy developed acclimatisation and supplementary oxygen procedures. Magnone dealt with procuring suitable oxygen equipment. The 1952 Swiss Everest team, based on their own experience, advised using the autumn 1954 opportunity to mount a reconnaissance effort, followed in 1955 by a full-scale attempt on the summit.
Open-circuit oxygen equipment was to be used by the climbers above Camp IV and Sherpas above Camp V. An improved type, using a lighter metal alloy and able to hold a higher pressure of oxygen, was shipped out separately once the equipment was ready in January 1955. Unfortunately the new oxygen regulators were often faulty but Magnone was able to improve them and he also enabled an increase in maximum flow by adding a second valve. They took French radio sets for receiving weather forecasts from Calcutta and for communications between camps. These they found light, simple to use and reliable.
1954 reconnaissance
The reconnaissance in 1954 involved finding a suitable approach route up the line of the Arun River and, as well as appointing Sherpas from Sola Khumbu and Darjeeling, they hired local porters in Biratnagar and Sedoa. This approach was successful and was also used in 1955. Equipment was tested and, in particular, lightweight crampons with long spikes were found to be a good innovation. The Sherpas' feet were found far too short and wide for their boots to fit satisfactorily so they took templates for boots to be specially made for the following year. Unfortunately, the French manufacturers could not believe feet could be this shape and so made them the same as before.
Peaks climbed, 1954 Camp Altitude search for Exped ID "MAKA-543-01" Date occupied(1954) metres feet Base Camp 4,700 15 September Chago 6,893 search for Exped ID "CHAG-543-01" 9 October Pethangtse 6,739 search for Exped ID "PETH-543-01" 10 October Kangchungtse(Makalu II) 7,678 search for Exped ID "MAK2-543-01" 22 October Chomo Lonzo 7,797 30 October High point 7,800 30 October They investigated the two most likely routes to the summit – the southeast and northwest ridges – and climbed the neighbouring peaks of Chago, Pethangtse, Kangchungtse and Chomo Lonzo both for acclimatisation and to get a good view of Makalu's topography. This decided an approach up the Makalu Glacier in the west cirque leading to the upper northwest cirque and then a traverse beneath Kangchungtse leading to a steep climb up to the Makalu Col. They made an attempt for the summit along the northwest ridge but did not reach above about . To avoid the difficult northwest ridge in 1955 they planned to cross the Col and move onto the north face for the topmost .
It was shown from experience that it was seriously counterproductive to spend more than ten days at Camp III or above.
1955 expedition Departure from France and march-in March-in route(4 images) The expedition flew from Orly Airport and arrived in Calcutta on 12 March. Most of the equipment had been sent on ahead. However their oxygen sets were mistakenly transported to Rangoon rather than Calcutta so Couzy had to fly out there to sort things out while Coupé waited behind for him in Dharan with a contingent of porters to catch up the main expedition. From Calcutta the party flew to Biratnagar in Nepal where they met their Sherpas from Darjeeling. They had to deal with custom officers when entering Nepal – the previous year there had been no customs formalities. Gyalzen Norbu could not speak French and had difficulty with English but in Nepalese he was very effective in dealing with matters and organising the Sherpas and porters. A very bumpy road led them by lorry to Dharan – in the 1954 monsoon they had taken three days to cover the thirty miles but this time the journey only took a few hours. Here they met the Sherpas hired from Sola Khumbu together with over a hundred porters from there who had trekked for 15 days across Nepal in the hope of being employed.
The student geologists Bordet and Latreille departed on their separate expedition. On 20 March the trek towards Makalu began from Dharan where the Ganges plain starts to rise to become the Himalayan foothills. On the approach march the climbers did not carry loads and Sherpas only started carrying at Base Camp so the porters were left to labour under loads of . The porters from Sola Khumbu had plaits and wore long coats and multi-coloured boots whereas those from Darjeeling, with greater contact with Western culture, were more smartly dressed but looked less picturesque. The local porters wore loincloths and went barefoot. Panzy, the cook, had been on the French Annapurna expedition but since then he had been cook on several British expeditions and had developed a cuisine that did not suit the French palette.
The route passed through a tropical afforested region to Dhankuta then went via Legua Ghat and on north beside the Arun river. Approaching the village of Num the Arun gorge was so deep the track had to leave the line of the river. At Num their trail had to cross the river on a rope bridge above the water – the bridge had been repaired specially for them. Now able to see Makalu, they passed through the last inhabited places of Etane and Sedoa. The little village of Sedoa, set on the side of a mountain at and far from the road north to Tibet, was where the Biratnagar porters were paid off after nine days' march. In turn 100 men from Sedoa were hired for the onward carry. It was here that mountaineering equipment was issued to replace lightweight clothing.
On 30 March the party left Sedoa with additional auxiliary porters to support the Sherpas, chosen from among the most capable of the Sola Khumbu and Darjeeling porters. The trail rose to and, in the wind and snow and with the temperature falling to at night, the porters had hardly any clothes and only emergency tarpaulins to cover them at night when they resorted to huddling together in groups of 10 to 15. Two sheep they had been taking with them for food died of cold and fatigue. The previous autumn leeches had been a big difficulty but this year, in colder, dryer conditions, they were much less of a problem.
A runner brought news that Couzy had successfully retrieved the oxygen sets from Rangoon and was following five or six days behind Franco's party. In the event he arrived at base camp only two days after Franco.
Base camp