Champion mountaineer to take on southern wall of Annapurna

“There will be no setback. I will conquer the mountain without fail.”

Champion mountaineer Park Young-seok, 48, is hoping to open a new route on the southern wall of Annapurna (8,091 meters above sea level), one of the 14 highest peaks in the Himalayas.

The southern wall of Annapurna is one of the “Three Himalayan Southern Walls,” along with the southwestern wall of Mount Everest (8,850 meters) and the southern wall of Lhotse (8,516 meters). Annapurna`s section, however, is considered the most difficult to climb.

The difference in levels between the base camp at 4,200 meters above sea level and the peak amounts to as much as 3,891 meters. The difference between the base camp (5,364 meters) and the peak of the southwestern wall of the Himalayas is 3,486 meters.

On the southern wall of Annapurna, the last 600-meter section from 7,000 meters above sea level is so rough that it is considered a territory only for the world’s best climbers.

Park has three reasons for his latest challenge. The first is that his expedition will climb Annapurna through a route that nobody has done before. His squad plans to develop an alpine-style route, or climbing a mountain without assistance of porters or oxygen tanks. Climbers are not allowed to set up a frontline camp or fix rope.

In 2009, Park developed a Korean route on the southwestern wall of Mount Everest in his fifth attempt. He tried climbing the southern wall of Annapurna last year, but failed due to bad weather. This is his second attempt.

Sending an advance team Sept. 12, the climber departed Incheon International Airport for Katmandu, Nepal on Monday. He will embark on his journey on Oct. 4 and will aim to conquer the mountain late next month.

"I will conquer the mountain without fail. I will never return from the halfway point, which I did before. I will reach the peak no matter if it takes six days or 10 days,” said Park.

creating@donga.com