Annapurna South Expedition
Annapurna South (7,219 m) is the mountain that closes the western side of the Annapurna Sanctuary, and the one that fill
Flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara
$127 $115/person
Flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu
$127 $115/person
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Trip Overview
Annapurna South (7,219 m) is the mountain that closes the western side of the Annapurna Sanctuary, and the one that fills the view from Ghandruk and Pokhara on a clear morning. It was first climbed in 1964 by a Japanese team, and it has been climbed remarkably little since — a handful of expeditions in most decades, and long stretches with none at all.
The route is graded D: a heavily crevassed glacier, sustained ice at 50 to 55 degrees, and a long corniced summit ridge, with base camp inside the Sanctuary beneath the three-thousand-metre south face of Annapurna I. It is a hard, quiet, seldom-attempted 7,000 m peak in a place that thousands of trekkers walk through every season without ever looking up at it as an objective.
Trip Highlights
Summit Annapurna South (7,219 m): A rarely climbed 7,000 m peak first ascended by a Japanese team in 1964.
Base Camp in the Annapurna Sanctuary: A glacial amphitheatre ringed by Annapurna I, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Tarke Kang and Machhapuchhre.
A Grade D Route: Crevassed glacier, sustained 50–55° ice and a long corniced ridge, fixed by our own Sherpa team.
The Modi Khola Gorge Approach: Walk in through bamboo forest and a vertical-walled gorge from Chomrong — one of the finest approaches in Nepal.
One Climbing Sherpa Per Client: One-to-one high-altitude support on a mountain with no other team on it.
Itinerary
A 30-day expedition on Annapurna South (7,219 m) from a base camp in the Annapurna Sanctuary, with three camps on a grade D route, an acclimatisation rotation, rope fixed by our own team and three reserve days.
1Day 1Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.
Rest is the only item on today's schedule. Thamel's gear shops are a few minutes' walk away and stock most of what a climber discovers they have left at home.
Your climbing guide calls at the hotel in the evening to introduce themselves and confirm tomorrow's schedule. Overnight in Kathmandu.
2Day 2Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Climbing Briefing, Permits and Equipment Check
Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Climbing Briefing, Permits and Equipment Check
Your guide runs the full briefing at the hotel: the thirty-day plan, the acclimatisation profile, the summit day, and the decisions that get made on the mountain and by whom.
Then the equipment check. Boots are tried with crampons on, harnesses fitted over the layers you will actually climb in, and anything unsuitable swapped for rental kit here rather than discovered at altitude.
Our office lodges the climbing permit, the Annapurna Conservation Area permit and the TIMS card today, which needs your passport and photographs. The afternoon is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.
3Day 3Drive from Kathmandu (1,400 m) to Pokhara (822 m)
Drive from Kathmandu (1,400 m) to Pokhara (822 m)
West out of the Kathmandu valley on the Prithvi Highway, following the Trishuli river through gorge country with a lunch stop at a riverside restaurant.
The drive covers roughly 200 km and takes most of the day. If you would rather not spend it on the road, the 25-minute flight is available as an add-on.
Pokhara (822 m) arrives in the late afternoon on the shore of Phewa Lake, with the Annapurnas and the fishtail summit of Machhapuchhre standing over it. The crew does the final load sort here. Overnight in Pokhara.
4Day 4Drive to Siwai and Trek to Ghandruk (1,940 m)
Drive to Siwai and Trek to Ghandruk (1,940 m)
A two-hour drive north-west out of Pokhara through terraced farmland to the road head at Siwai, where the walking starts.
The trail climbs through rice terraces and bamboo into the Modi Khola valley, warm and green and full of birds — this side of the range is a world away from the dry Manang valley.
Ghandruk (1,940 m) is one of the largest Gurung villages in Nepal, a steep grid of slate-roofed stone houses with Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre filling the northern sky. Around 4 hours of walking. Overnight at Ghandruk.
5Day 5Trek from Ghandruk (1,940 m) to Chomrong (2,170 m)
Trek from Ghandruk (1,940 m) to Chomrong (2,170 m)
A day of stone staircases. The trail drops steeply to the Kimrong Khola, crosses it, and climbs just as steeply up the far side through terraced fields and rhododendron.
Nepali hill trails do not contour; they go down to the river and back up, and this is the day that teaches you that.
Chomrong (2,170 m) is strung down a hillside at the entrance to the Modi Khola gorge and is the last real village before the Sanctuary — the last ATM, the last shops, and by common consent the best apple pie in the Annapurnas. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Chomrong.
6Day 6Trek from Chomrong (2,170 m) to Bamboo (2,310 m)
Trek from Chomrong (2,170 m) to Bamboo (2,310 m)
Down the long stone staircase out of Chomrong to the Chomrong Khola, then up the other side to Sinuwa and into the gorge proper.
From here the valley closes in and the trail runs north between walls that rise a vertical kilometre on both sides. The forest is dense, wet and full of langur monkeys, and the light goes early.
Bamboo (2,310 m) is a handful of lodges in the bamboo thicket the place is named for. It is humid, green and about as unlike a climbing base camp as anywhere in Nepal. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Bamboo.
7Day 7Trek from Bamboo (2,310 m) to Deurali (3,200 m)
Trek from Bamboo (2,310 m) to Deurali (3,200 m)
North up the gorge through Dovan and past the shrine at Himalaya, climbing steadily as the bamboo gives way to rhododendron and then to birch.
This section of the gorge is avalanche country in spring and after heavy snow, and there are two or three places where the guide will move the group across quickly and without stopping. It is the reason this trail closes some winters.
Deurali (3,200 m) sits where the gorge finally begins to open. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Deurali.
8Day 8Trek from Deurali (3,200 m) to Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m)
Trek from Deurali (3,200 m) to Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m)
The gorge opens and the Annapurna Sanctuary reveals itself — a glacial amphitheatre ringed by Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Tarke Kang and Machhapuchhre, with no gap in the wall anywhere except the gorge you walked up.
It is one of the great arrivals in Nepal, and it happens in about twenty minutes of walking.
Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m) sits at the gateway beneath the fishtail summit, which is closed to climbing and has never been officially summited. Around 3 hours. Overnight at MBC.
9Day 9Trek from Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m) to Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m)
Trek from Machhapuchhre Base Camp (3,700 m) to Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m)
A short climb up the moraine into the heart of the Sanctuary, gaining 430 m in two to three hours on an easy trail.
Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m) stands directly beneath the south face of Annapurna I — three thousand metres of it, the wall Bonington's team climbed in 1970 and one of the great faces in the Himalaya.
The afternoon is spent acclimatising and looking at it, and at sunrise the whole ring turns pink at once. There is a memorial here to climbers lost on the mountain, including Anatoli Boukreev. Around 3 hours. Overnight at Annapurna Base Camp.
10Day 10Trek from Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m) to Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Trek from Annapurna Base Camp (4,130 m) to Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
A short day off the trekking trail and west across the moraine of the South Annapurna glacier, onto ground that carries no traffic at all.
Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m) is established properly today — mess, kitchen, storage and toilet tents alongside the sleeping tents — because this is home for the next three weeks.
The afternoon is spent reading the route: the crevassed glacier, the shelf where Camp 1 goes, the ice face above it and the long corniced ridge that finishes the climb. Behind you the south face of Annapurna I fills the northern wall of the Sanctuary. Around 3 hours. Overnight at base camp.
11Day 11Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (4,200 m)
Puja Ceremony and Settling In at Base Camp (4,200 m)
The puja is held this morning. A stone chorten is built, juniper is burned, and every piece of climbing equipment is stacked at the altar to be blessed. No Sherpa on the team will go onto the face before it is done.
The rest of the day is low effort: tents arranged, the mess routine established, radio schedules explained, and the water and charging arrangements sorted.
Prayer flags go up over the camp. Trekkers at Annapurna Base Camp are visible an hour away across the moraine, which is a strange sort of company for an expedition this isolated in every other respect. Overnight at base camp.
12Day 12Technical Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (4,200 m)
Technical Assessment and Training Day at Base Camp (4,200 m)
The day that decides who goes above Camp 1. On the ice above camp each climber is put through two-tool movement on steep ice, screw placement, jumaring on a loaded line over an edge, and abseiling from a hanging stance.
Rope-team travel and crevasse rescue get a second session, because the glacier below Camp 1 is heavily broken and is crossed roped in the dark on push mornings.
Your leader is assessing efficiency under fatigue rather than best-case technique. Anyone not satisfactory is told today. Meanwhile the Sherpas begin marking the glacier and fixing toward Camp 1. Overnight at base camp.
13Day 13Acclimatisation Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
An acclimatisation walk up the moraine toward 4,700 m and back, on ground that asks nothing technical.
The Sanctuary from up there is the whole argument for the place: Annapurna I, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna, Tarke Kang and Machhapuchhre in a complete ring, with the Modi Khola gorge as the only gap in the wall.
The afternoon is rest and packing for the rotation, and your leader goes through the season's line on the face with binoculars — on a mountain nobody has fixed, that conversation matters. Overnight at base camp.
14Day 14Acclimatisation Rotation to Camp 1 (5,300 m)
Acclimatisation Rotation to Camp 1 (5,300 m)
The first time on the mountain, and it starts in the dark. The route crosses the heavily crevassed glacier roped and on marked line — two to three hours of weaving between open holes — and then climbs fixed rope onto the shelf.
Camp 1 (5,300 m) sits above the glacier with the Sanctuary spread out below and the ice face rising directly overhead. Five to seven hours in total with a personal load.
The night here is the point of the rotation, and it gives your leader a proper look at how each climber performs on the route rather than on the practice ice. Overnight at Camp 1.
15Day 15Descend from Camp 1 (5,300 m) to Base Camp (4,200 m)
Descend from Camp 1 (5,300 m) to Base Camp (4,200 m)
Down the fixed ropes and back across the glacier in the cold of the morning, three to four hours, before the sun softens the snow bridges.
Descending to recover is deliberate: adaptation from last night's altitude consolidates far better at 4,200 m than it would higher, and the Sanctuary at that height is a comfortable place to do it.
The Sherpa team spends the day carrying loads and fixing the ice face above Camp 1 toward Camp 2. Overnight at base camp.
16Day 16Rest Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Rest Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
A genuine rest day. Eating past the point of appetite, four litres of fluid, an afternoon asleep and staying off the legs.
Equipment work fills the gaps: tools sharpened, crampons checked, harnesses inspected for wear after a day of jumaring, and boots dried in whatever sun the Sanctuary offers.
Some climbers walk the hour across to Annapurna Base Camp for a lodge meal and the novelty of other people, which after a week of expedition food is a reasonable use of a rest day. Overnight at base camp.
17Day 17Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (4,200 m)
Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (4,200 m)
The last day before the push, spent on the plan rather than the hill. Kit is split into what goes up and what stays, rope pairs are set, radios tested, and your leader briefs the five-day sequence stage by stage with timings.
The Sherpa team returns from the face with the report that matters: how the ice is taking screws, and whether the corniced ridge above Camp 2 is in condition.
The satellite forecast arrives in the evening and the go decision is taken on the two together. A hard turnaround time is set for summit day and is not renegotiated on the ridge. Overnight at base camp.
18Day 18Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (4,200 m) to Camp 1 (5,300 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (4,200 m) to Camp 1 (5,300 m)
Another pre-dawn start, and the glacier goes faster the second time — four hours or so for a crossing that took five or six on the rotation, on a line the team now knows.
Loads are light: the camps above are already stocked by the Sherpa team, so climbers carry personal equipment only.
Camp 1 (5,300 m) by mid-morning, with the rest of the day to lie down, drink and eat. Your leader confirms tomorrow's timings before dark. Overnight at Camp 1.
19Day 19Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,300 m) to Camp 2 (6,100 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,300 m) to Camp 2 (6,100 m)
The day the mountain shows its grade. Above Camp 1 the face steepens into sustained ice at 50 to 55 degrees on fixed rope, and it stays that way for six to seven hours.
There is no easy ground and nowhere flat to stop. Climbers front-point, clip past anchors and keep moving, and by the top of it most people understand why the assessment day mattered.
Camp 2 (6,100 m) is a handful of tents on platforms cut into the face, small and steep-sided enough that everyone stays clipped in. Overnight at Camp 2.
20Day 20Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,100 m) to High Camp (6,600 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 2 (6,100 m) to High Camp (6,600 m)
A deliberately short day — three to four hours of fixed ice to the shoulder, arriving by late morning so the team has most of the day lying down.
High camp (6,600 m) is two or three tents on the smallest usable ground on the mountain, directly beneath the summit ridge, and it is the coldest and least comfortable night of the expedition.
Dinner is early and minimal; appetite at 6,600 m is poor and forcing fluid matters more than food. Kit is laid out, rope pairs confirmed, and the turnaround time restated. Overnight at high camp.
21Day 21Summit Annapurna South (7,219 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,100 m)
Summit Annapurna South (7,219 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (6,100 m)
Moving by one in the morning, roped and on fixed line. Steep ice above camp leads within a couple of hours onto the feature that defines the route.
The summit ridge is long, narrow and corniced, taken one at a time with the Sherpas probing the crest ahead. It runs for hours and it is not hurried — this is where the turnaround time earns its place.
The summit (7,219 m) looks north across the Sanctuary to the south face of Annapurna I at close range, east to Machhapuchhre and Gangapurna, west toward Dhaulagiri across the Kali Gandaki, and south over the middle hills to the Pokhara valley — visible, and about six and a half thousand metres below.
The descent is a long sequence of abseils down the ridge and the face to high camp and then Camp 2. Fourteen to eighteen hours. Overnight at Camp 2.
22Day 22Descend from Camp 2 (6,100 m) to Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Descend from Camp 2 (6,100 m) to Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Camp 2 comes down and the whole face is abseiled, with the fixed rope stripped as the team descends. On a mountain this rarely visited, leaving rope behind is not an option — it stays for decades and helps nobody.
The crevassed glacier is crossed roped in the cold of the early morning for the last time.
Base camp (4,200 m) in the middle of the day, with thick air by comparison, a hot meal and the first unbroken sleep in five days. Seven to nine hours. Overnight at base camp.
23Day 23First Reserve Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
First Reserve Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
The first of three reserve days, and on a Sanctuary peak they are used often. This side of the range catches more weather than Manang, and a long corniced ridge is closed by wind that would be climbable on a shorter route.
If the summit was missed, the team rests today and goes back up tomorrow with the ropes still fixed. Your leader weighs the party's remaining reserves as heavily as the forecast.
If the summit went to plan, this is rest with the entire Annapurna amphitheatre to look at, which is not a bad way to spend a morning. Overnight at base camp.
24Day 24Second Reserve Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
Second Reserve Day at Annapurna South Base Camp (4,200 m)
The second reserve day. Three of them exist because the face and the ridge are condition-dependent on a timescale of days, and one day in hand frequently is not enough.
If a second attempt is running, the team is at Camp 1 or Camp 2 tonight rather than here.
If the expedition is finished, today is when the camps above come down — the high camp, Camp 2 and Camp 1 are stripped by the Sherpa team and everything comes off the face. Overnight at base camp.
25Day 25Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (4,200 m)
Third Reserve Day and Break Camp at Base Camp (4,200 m)
The last reserve day and the end of the expedition's margin. If it is not needed for the climb, base camp comes down today.
The waste management is done properly and it matters more here than in most places: the Annapurna Sanctuary is a conservation area walked by tens of thousands of trekkers a year, and what an expedition leaves in it is left in front of all of them. Everything goes out on porters.
The chorten from the puja stays with its prayer flags. A last evening with the ring of peaks turning pink at sunset, which is what the Sanctuary is famous for and what it delivers most days. Overnight at base camp.
26Day 26Trek from Singu Chuli Base Camp (4,300 m) to Bamboo (2,310 m)
Trek from Singu Chuli Base Camp (4,300 m) to Bamboo (2,310 m)
Off the moraine and back onto the trekking trail at Annapurna Base Camp, then down through Machhapuchhre Base Camp and into the gorge.
The descent is long and fast — nearly two thousand metres — and the vegetation comes back in stages: grass, then rhododendron, then birch, then bamboo, with the air thickening and warming all the way.
Bamboo (2,310 m) is humid, green and loud with the river, and after a fortnight above the treeline it feels tropical. Around 7 to 8 hours. Overnight at Bamboo.
27Day 27Trek from Bamboo (2,310 m) to Ghandruk (1,940 m)
Trek from Bamboo (2,310 m) to Ghandruk (1,940 m)
Out of the gorge to Sinuwa and up the long stone staircase to Chomrong, which is the sting in the tail of every Sanctuary walk out — five hundred steps up after two thousand metres down yesterday.
Chomrong has the apple pie, the ATM and the first proper shops in ten days, and most groups take longer over lunch than they intend to.
Then down to the Kimrong Khola and up the far side to Ghandruk (1,940 m), with Annapurna South and Machhapuchhre behind you for the last time. Around 7 hours. Overnight at Ghandruk.
28Day 28Trek to Siwai and Drive to Pokhara (822 m)
Trek to Siwai and Drive to Pokhara (822 m)
A short descent through rice terraces and bamboo to the road head at Siwai, where the jeeps are waiting.
The two-hour drive back to Pokhara (822 m) runs through terraced farmland and villages, and the transition from a glacier basin to a lakeside town in a single morning is one of the pleasures of the Sanctuary.
The afternoon is free: a hot shower, a proper meal and an hour by Phewa Lake, where on a clear evening the peak you climbed is visible over the ridge. Overnight in Pokhara.
29Day 29Drive from Pokhara (822 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Drive from Pokhara (822 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
A morning by the lake before the road, with the Annapurnas and Machhapuchhre reflected in it on a clear day.
The drive to Kathmandu takes most of the day on the Prithvi Highway, following the Trishuli east through gorge country with a lunch stop at a riverside restaurant. The 25-minute flight is available as an add-on if you would rather not spend the day on the road.
Back in Kathmandu in the evening. Your summit certificate is presented over dinner. Overnight in Kathmandu.
30Day 30Departure from Nepal
Departure from Nepal
The trip ends today. If your flight is a late one there is time for a last morning in Kathmandu — Boudhanath, Patan Durbar Square, or a slow breakfast on a roof terrace.
Our representative collects you from the hotel and drives you to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before departure.
If you are staying on in Nepal, we can arrange Chitwan, Lumbini or a Kathmandu valley tour. Safe travels — climbers who summit Annapurna South are generally ready for an 8,000 m peak, and Manaslu, Himlung and Annapurna I itself are the three that usually come up next.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Road transport to Pokhara and the Sanctuary road head, Kathmandu and Pokhara hotel nights, teahouse and full expedition camp accommodation, three meals a day throughout, the Department of Tourism royalty, ACAP and TIMS, an expedition leader and liaison officer, one climbing Sherpa per client, a cook crew, all group climbing equipment, progressive rope fixing, the rotation, emergency oxygen and satellite forecasts are included, while international flights, visa, alpinism-grade insurance, personal technical equipment, city meals, summit bonus and tips are not.
What's Included
Airport pickup and drop-off services in Kathmandu.
Private tourist bus or car from Kathmandu to Pokhara and back.
Private jeep transport between Pokhara and the Siwai road head in both directions.
Three nights of accommodation in Kathmandu with breakfast.
Two nights of accommodation in Pokhara with breakfast.
Accommodation in local teahouses on the approach and the walk out.
Full expedition base camp at 4,200 m with mess, kitchen, storage, communications and toilet tents, plus tented Camp 1 (5,300 m), Camp 2 (6,100 m) and high camp (6,600 m).
Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) throughout the trip.
Department of Tourism Annapurna South climbing royalty and permit, Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) and the Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) card.
Government-licensed expedition leader and a liaison officer, with all their equipment, wages and insurance.
One high-altitude climbing Sherpa per climber above base camp, with all equipment, wages, insurance and summit allowance.
Emergency supplementary oxygen with masks and regulators held at the high camps and base camp for medical use.
Group climbing equipment: fixed and main ropes, snow bars, ice screws, and anchors.
Garbage deposit and the Department of Tourism waste-management fee.
Group map, and a comprehensive first aid kit carried by the guide.
Full-time cook and kitchen crew at base camp for the duration of the expedition, with high-altitude food and fuel for the camps above.
A technical assessment and training day at base camp on steep ice, tool and screw work, fixed-rope movement and abseiling from hanging stances.
An acclimatisation rotation to Camp 1 with rest days at base camp before the summit push.
Progressive fixing of the glacier, the ice face and the summit ridge by our own Sherpa team, and stripping of the ropes on descent.
Daily satellite weather forecasts, base camp solar power and a Gamow hyperbaric bag.
A puja ceremony at base camp before the team goes onto the mountain.
Porter transport of all expedition equipment into the Sanctuary.
Summit certificate issued after a successful ascent.
All government taxes, permit fees, and service charges.
What's Excluded
International flight tickets to and from Nepal.
Nepal entry visa fees.
Travel insurance covering mountaineering to the height of this peak, including emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation.
Personal climbing equipment — harness, crampons, ice axe, ascender, descender, helmet and carabiners (available to rent as an add-on).
Personal trekking equipment and clothing, including boots and a sleeping bag.
Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu and Pokhara.
Snacks, bottled water, hot showers, Wi-Fi, charging fees, and alcoholic or soft drinks.
Personal technical equipment — boots, harness, crampons, ice tools, belay device, ascender and screwgates.
Personal satellite communication devices and airtime.
Personal expenses such as laundry, phone calls, and souvenirs.
Summit bonus for your climbing Sherpa, and tips for the expedition leader, base camp crew and porters.
Any additional accommodation, transport or expenses caused by weather, an attempt abandoned for conditions, or a departure cancelled by us because the face is unsafe.
Route Map
Explore the terrain map showing the trek route.
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Altitude Profile
Pricing
Transparent per-person pricing based on group size, covering the services listed in the itinerary with no hidden charges.
Add-ons
Customize your expedition with optional services such as porter support, climbing equipment rental and other personalized arrangements at an additional cost.
Best Time to Climb
April to May and October to early November. The Sanctuary is on the wet side of the range and holds considerably more snow than Manang, and the route needs cold and stability — the ice has to take screws and the summit ridge has to be free of soft cornices.
Autumn is the stronger season, with better-consolidated post-monsoon ice. The Modi Khola gorge between Dovan and Deurali is also genuine avalanche terrain after heavy snow, and there are winters when the approach itself is closed. We run one departure a year at most and will cancel rather than commit a team to a loaded face.
Climb Difficulty & the Route
Graded D. From base camp at 4,200 m in the Sanctuary the route crosses a heavily crevassed glacier — roped, marked and crossed in the cold hours — to Camp 1 at around 5,300 m.
Above it the face steepens into sustained ice at 50 to 55 degrees, fixed by our Sherpas, leading to Camp 2 (6,100 m) and a high camp at 6,600 m. Summit day follows a long corniced ridge taken one at a time, and runs twelve to sixteen hours with a full abseil descent. The technical crux is the ice; the real difficulty is doing all of it above 6,000 m on a route nobody else has fixed.
The rope techniques used on the climb are explained step by step in our guide to fixed rope and jumar skills.
Experience Required
We require a previous 6,000 m technical summit and, ideally, previous time at 7,000 m. You must be efficient on sustained steep ice at altitude, competent to abseil from hanging stances while tired, and comfortable on a long corniced crest.
Isolation is the other requirement. There will be no other expedition on the mountain, no established camps to inherit and no fixed rope but your team's. A climber used to arriving at a base camp where the route is already in place will find Annapurna South a different proposition, and we say so at enquiry rather than at the assessment day.
Travel Insurance
Insurance written for alpinism to 7,500 m, including steep ice, graded climbing and abseiling, is mandatory. General adventure travel cover is not acceptable and we reject it as a matter of course. A national alpine club policy or a specialist mountaineering insurer is the realistic option, and we verify the wording before permits are issued.
Emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation must be included. The Sanctuary is well served by helicopters from Pokhara and base camp is reachable in clear weather, which makes evacuation better here than on most technical 7,000 m peaks. Nothing above Camp 1 is reachable, and a rescue from the face would be a technical operation by the climbing team first.
Packing List & Personal Equipment
Double or triple mountaineering boots rated for 7,000 m, technical crampons, a pair of steep-ice tools, a -35°C sleeping bag, an insulated mat, a heavy expedition down jacket and down trousers, a full shell, technical gloves in three weights, a helmet, category 4 glacier glasses, goggles and two headlamps with lithium batteries.
The approach is wet, warm and humid for four days, so bring proper waterproofs and expect leeches in the gorge in spring. We supply all fixed and main ropes, ice screws, snow stakes, anchors and camp equipment, and our Sherpas fix the route progressively. Climbers bring their own tools, crampons, harness, belay device and screwgates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers to common questions about the Annapurna South Expedition.
1How often is Annapurna South climbed?
Very rarely — a handful of expeditions in most decades and long stretches with none. There is no trodden line, no established camp platforms and no fixed rope from other teams. Every expedition on it starts from nothing, which is a large part of why it costs what it does.
2Is this the mountain visible from Pokhara?
It is the one that dominates the view from Ghandruk and is prominent from Pokhara on a clear morning, immediately west of Machhapuchhre's fishtail. Thousands of trekkers photograph it every season and effectively none of them are looking at it as a climbing objective.
3How does it compare with Tilicho Peak?
Harder. Tilicho is AD+ with a wind problem; Annapurna South is grade D with sustained 50 to 55 degree ice, a heavily crevassed glacier and a longer corniced ridge, though it is 85 m higher only. Tilicho is the 7,000 m peak to climb first.
4What is the summit success rate?
Low and hard to quote meaningfully given how few attempts there are — under half of the expeditions that go for it summit. Conditions on the face and time on the ridge account for most turn-backs, and both are decided against a fixed turnaround.
5Can we visit Annapurna Base Camp?
You walk through it. The approach goes to ABC at 4,130 m and base camp is a short distance beyond on the moraine. Standing under the three-thousand-metre south face of Annapurna I is part of the trip whether or not the summit goes to plan.
6Is supplementary oxygen used?
No. Annapurna South is within the range a fit acclimatised climber handles without it. We carry emergency oxygen with masks and regulators at the high camps and base camp for medical use, along with a Gamow bag and a full medical kit.
7How many camps are there above base?
Three — Camp 1 at around 5,300 m, Camp 2 at 6,100 m and a high camp at 6,600 m. The expedition runs one full rotation through Camp 1 before the summit push, and the Sherpa team fixes and stocks progressively as the team rotates.
8How dangerous is the gorge approach?
The section between Dovan and Deurali is genuine avalanche terrain after heavy snow, and there are two or three places the guide will cross quickly and without stopping. In a bad winter the trail closes entirely. In a normal season it is one of the most beautiful walks in Nepal.
9Can Annapurna South be combined with Singu Chuli?
Not in one expedition — this is a full 7,000 m undertaking with a rotation and reserve days and it uses the schedule it has. Climbers wanting two Sanctuary summits are better served by our Tharpu Chuli and Singu Chuli itinerary.
10Do you run fixed departures?
At most one a season, and we are willing to cancel it if conditions are wrong or if the party that assembles is not strong enough. On a grade D route with no other team in the Sanctuary, a weak team is a serious problem and we would rather refund the trip.
Gallery
Explore authentic moments, camps and summit views from the Annapurna South Expedition.
Trekking Guides & Articles
Annapurna South Expedition: The Complete Guide — The mountain that closes the western side of the Annapurna Sanctuary and fills the view from Ghandruk.
Gangapurna Expedition: The Complete Guide — The mountain everyone in Manang looks at and almost nobody climbs.
Annapurna I Expedition: The Complete Guide — The first 8,000 m peak ever climbed, and by a wide margin the most dangerous of the fourteen.
Fix Departure
This expedition runs every week on the selected day through the climbing season. Choose custom dates for one-off departures.
Showing fixed departures in Oct 2026
Guest Reviews
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Get in Touch
Tell us the dates you have in mind and roughly what you want out of the trek — one of our guides will reply, usually within 24 hours.
Email Us
info@greencompasstreks.com
Call Us
+977 9864379436
Office
Lakeside, Pokhara, Nepal
Office Hours
Sunday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara
$127 $115/person
Flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu
$127 $115/person
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