There is no question that Ueli Steck's solo ascent of Annapurna is the boldest climb of the year. News of his amazing feat has captivated the mountaineering community for the past few weeks as we've all waited to hear more about the expedition. Now that he is back home, Ueli sat down with the folks from EpicTV for an interview to discuss his latest adventure in the Himalaya. Part 1 of that interview can be found below, where you'll learn – amongst other things – that Steck feels a bit "empty" following his return from Annapurna.

Last Friday ExWeb broke the news that a team of French climbers had successfully climbed Annapurna along the very difficult South Face. As we all know, any summit of Annapurna is always an impressive one, but this one was especially so thanks to the heavy snows that have fallen in the Himalaya following Cyclone Phailin making landfall a few weeks back. At the time, we knew very few details of the climb other than that Yannick Graziani and Stephane Benoist were able to top out after spending  a week on the mountain. We were also waiting for news on their successful descent, which still hadn't happened the last time we had an update.

Yesterday, ExWeb reported that Yannick and Stephane actually had to be evacuated from Annapurna after suffering frostbite on the descent. The details still remain scant but it appears that they struggled on the way back down but were able to reach Base Camp. Once there, it was determined that they would need medical attention and the duo were flown back to Kathmandu, where they are reportedly being treated now.

ExWeb speculates that the injuries weren't particularly serious, although it is sometimes difficult to tell with frostbite, particularly early on. Hopefully Yannick and Stephane won't be losing any digits and they'll be back in the mountain soon. Considering how dangerous Annapurna can be, they should feel fortunate they got away with just a little frostbite.

They are due to return to France sometime in the next couple of days.

It seems I've been a little quick to write off the fall climbing season in the Himalaya. The arrival of Cyclone Phailin a couple of weeks back brought copious amounts of snow to the region and effectively put an end to several expeditions on the big mountains. But apparently not everyone gave up their climbs when the heavy snows arrived as ExWeb is reporting that there has been a pair of successful summits on Annapurna and once again they came from the difficult South Face.

According to the story, climbers Yannick Graziani and Stephane Benoist topped out yesterday morning local time after spending approximately a week on their summit push. The duo arrived in Nepal in late September and spent some time acclimatizing on smaller peaks nearby before heading over to Annapurna Base Camp. They arrived on the mountain late last week and almost immediately launched their attempt. They had expected to make the push in four days time, but it ended up taking them the entire week instead, although they were finally able to reach the top yesterday.

There is no word yet on whether or not they have gotten back down safely and we all know that is a big question mark on Annapurna. The mountain is known for being very difficult and prone to avalanches. Considering the amount of snow that has been dumped on the Himalaya recently, lets keep our fingers crossed that Yannick and Stephane get back to Base Camp safely.

This was the second attempt on Annapurna for this team. They made a previous go at climbing the mountain back in the fall of 2010. That attempt was thwarted by bad weather and excessive snow on the upper slopes of the mountain.

This is of course the second time this fall that climbers have successfully negotiated the South Face of Annapurna. Swiss climber Ueli Steck made his epic solo summit, in just 28-hours no less - a few weeks back along the same route. Conditions were a bit different then however as Ueli's summit took place before the arrival the cyclone.

Congratulations to the French climbers on a successful expedition. Well done! Now get home safe.

Over the past week or so, we've all been astounded by the news and details of Ueli Steck's solo summit of Annapurna along the South Face. You've no doubt heard me and others use a host of superlatives in an attempt to convey just how impressive this climb is. But to truly get a sense of what Ueli accomplished you'll want to watch the video below. It is a 55-minute long documentary from 1970 that tells the tale of the first ascent of the mountain along this route. The team that accomplished this feat is filled with climbing legends from the U.K., including Sir Chris Bonington, Dougal Haston, Don Whilians and more. The film is a real slice of mountaineering history and well worth your time if you have an  hour to kill. It'll give you an appreciation of what this team accomplished and provide more insight into what Ueli faced as well.

Climbing an 8000-meter peaks is always a significant challenge. It requires skill, dedication and a considerable amount of luck as well. There are 14 mountains on our planet that reach above that lofty height and to date only 31 people have managed to summit them all. Most of those who have climbed these difficult mountains have taken several years to accomplish that feat. Now, once climber hopes to do all of them in just two years time.

47-year old Nick Cienski has announced Mission 14, which he has dubbed "the World's Toughest Expedition." Beginning in 2014 he will launch his attempt to climb all of those big peaks in just 24-months, including Everest, K2 and the always tricky Annapurna. He will begin his quest next winter, although which mountain he'll start with remains to be seen. Nick will  climb using supplemental oxygen and he hopes to set several records along the way, including a new speed record on Everest, which currently stands at 8 hours, 10 minutes and was set by Permba Dorje Sherpa in 2004.

The expedition will be of a truly epic scale. The budge is in excess of $5.6 million and 3780 porters will be used to carry gear, establish camps and fix ropes so that Nick can climb these mountains. No one has ever topped out on more than five 8000-meter peaks in a year. He'll have to do that twice!

Cienski is launching this undertaking not just for setting records however. His goal is to raise awareness of human trafficking in places like Nicaragua and take steps to stamp out that awful activity. He hopes to raise funds for nonprofits that combat the illegal slavery trade.

So, what do you think? Can he do it? It seems like an extremely ambitious expedition, particularly when you have to rely on the always-fickle weather that we find in the Himalaya and Karakoram. One bad storm could put an end to Nick's plans. Considering how temperamental conditions have been on a number of the 8000-meter peaks in the past few years, I'd say he has quite a struggle on his hands.

Stay tuned for more on Mission 14 in the months ahead. If things go according to plan, we should be hearing Nick's name a lot over the next two years. 

Each year, about this time, there is a lot of talk in the media about how dangerous it is to climb Everest and to a lesser extend the other 8000 meter peaks. Typically we're coming of another spring climbing season in the Himalaya and the non-climbing public is shocked to hear that 8 or 10 people have died on Everest. It makes good headlines for the mainstream media that is looking to drum up traffic, even if the stories ignore the fact that hundreds of people successfully summit.

With that in mind, yesterday The Economist published an infographic that compares each of the 14 8000-meter peaks in terms of the number of successful summits vs the number of deaths. You can find that graphic below and I think it speaks quite clearly for itself.

Some of the numbers are surprising and some are sobering, particularly when you look at K2 and Annapurna.

While the trek to Everest Base Camp is probably the most popular hike in Nepal, most people will tell you that the Annapurna Circuit is more scenic and interesting. Filmmaker (and reader!) Gerardo Segovia recently spent five weeks walking that iconic route, shooting more than a terabyte of digital video footage in the process. That footage was edited together to create this spectacular video that truly gives you a sense of how amazing this trek really is. Simply beautiful.


Trekking the Annapurna Circuit from Gerardo Segovia on Vimeo.

Sad news from France today, where we've received word that Maurice Herzog has passed away at the ripe old age of 93. If his name is familiar, it is because he was the first man, along with climbing partner  Louis Lachenal, to successfully summit an 8000 meter peak.

Herzog and Lachenal climbed their way into the history books back on June 3, 1950 when they made the first successful attempt up Annapurna, the tenth highest peak in the world at 8091 meters (26,545 ft). Even more remarkable, considering the time, they actually made the ascent without the use of supplemental oxygen. The climb was not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination however, as the summit team, along with two companions, spend a night camped out in a crevasse on the descent. They had one sleeping bag between the four men and as a result, they suffered severe frostbite. Herzog himself had lost his gloves on the way to the summit and ended up having all of his toes and several fingers amputated in the field.

Ironically, Annapurna was the first of the 8000 meter peaks to be summited, but is now considered to be amongst the most challenging of those 14 mountains to climb. It wouldn't be successfully conquered again until 1970.

After his harrowing climb, Herzog published a book about the adventure entitled Annapurna: The First Conquest of an 8000-Meter Peak, which has gone on to be one of the best selling mountaineering books of all time. The book has been translated into 40 languages and has sold over 12 million copes across the globe, inspiring generations of mountaineers that followed. He also served as the Commissioner of Youth and Sport in France and was the mayor of Chamonix from 1968-1977.

A legend of the mountaineering world has passed but his legacy will certainly live on.

Thanks to Lou-Phi for sharing this news.