Annapurna III
Annapurna III is a 7,555-meter (24,787-foot) mountain in the Annapurna Himal of central Nepal. Rising between Gangapurna and Annapurna IV, it forms one of the major summits of the enormous Annapurna massif and dominates the skyline above the Manang Valley.
The mountain has approximately 703 meters (2,306 feet) of topographic prominence, making it substantially more independent than neighboring Annapurna IV but still closely tied to the greater Annapurna ridge system.
Annapurna III was first climbed on May 6, 1961, by M. S. Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi during an Indian expedition. The climbers approached from the Manang side, negotiated a dangerous icefall, crossed the East Col and high northern shelf, and eventually reached the summit in worsening weather.
Later generations discovered that Annapurna III had a far more difficult personality on its southern side. John Whittock and Linda Rutland climbed the south face in 1979 after enduring fourteen consecutive bivouacs. Kenton Cool, Ian Parnell, and John Varco completed the southwest ridge in 2003.
Yet one feature remained famously unclimbed: the enormous southeast ridge. First seriously attempted by Nick Colton and Tim Leach in 1981, the ridge resisted numerous strong teams for four decades.
That changed in 2021, when Ukrainian climbers Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko completed the ridge by their 2,950-meter route Patience, spending 19 days on the mountain. Their ascent was recognized with a Special Jury Award by the Piolets d’Or.
⚡ Fast Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Continent | Asia |
| Country | Nepal |
| Province | Gandaki Province |
| Mountain Range | The Himalayas |
| Subrange | Annapurna Himal |
| Mountain Massif | Annapurna Massif |
| Elevation | 7,555 m / 24,787 ft |
| Prominence | Approximately 703 m / 2,306 ft |
| Isolation | Approximately 13.48 km / 8.38 mi |
| Key Col | West of Gangapurna, approximately 6,852 m |
| Nearest Higher Terrain | Annapurna II area |
| Coordinates | Approximately 28.5846° N, 83.9896° E |
| Protected Area | Annapurna Conservation Area |
| First Ascent | May 6, 1961 |
| First Ascenders | M. S. Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi |
| First-Ascent Expedition | Indian Annapurna III Expedition |
| Expedition Leader | M. S. Kohli |
| First-Ascent Approach | Manang side via East Icefall and East Col |
| South Face Ascent | November 6, 1979 |
| South-Face Climbers | John Whittock and Linda Rutland |
| Southwest Ridge First Ascent | October 2003 |
| Southeast Ridge First Ascent | November 6, 2021 |
| 2021 Route | Patience |
| 2021 Climbers | Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko |
| Terrain | Glacier, steep snow and ice, rock, mixed terrain, corniced ridges, and avalanche slopes |
🏔️ Where Is Annapurna III?
Annapurna III rises in central Nepal, near the middle of the Annapurna massif.
Gangapurna lies immediately west of the mountain, while Annapurna IV rises to the east. Farther east stands Annapurna II, while the massif extends westward through Gangapurna and a series of high ridges toward Annapurna I.
The mountain’s northern slopes rise directly above the Manang Valley, one of the best-known high-altitude landscapes along the Annapurna Circuit.
Its southern side faces a much wilder landscape of deep valleys, glaciers, enormous rock walls, and isolated ridges descending toward the Seti Khola drainage.
The contrast between these two sides has strongly influenced the mountain’s climbing history.
The first ascent came from the north, where the mountain presents comparatively broad glacier terrain.
Many of its greatest later climbing challenges have been on the much steeper south and southeast sides.
📏 How High Is Annapurna III?
Annapurna III reaches 7,555 meters (24,787 feet) above sea level.
The figure is consistently used by modern topographic mapping, the Himalayan Database, Nepalese government expedition statistics, and contemporary climbing literature.
The original 1961 expedition used a figure of 24,858 feet, reflecting the maps available to climbers at the time.
Improved surveys later established the present 7,555-meter measurement.
Although Annapurna III is hundreds of meters lower than the highest mountains of the massif, it is still among the world’s great 7,000-meter peaks.
It exceeds the elevation of every mountain outside Asia.
Its height is particularly striking when viewed from Manang, where the summit rises roughly four vertical kilometers above the inhabited valley.
📐 Prominence and Isolation
Annapurna III has approximately 703 meters (2,306 feet) of topographic prominence.
Its key col lies west of Gangapurna at approximately 6,852 meters (22,480 feet).
That gives Annapurna III considerably greater independence than Annapurna IV, whose summit rises only about 205 meters above its key saddle.
Its topographic isolation is approximately 13.48 kilometers (8.38 miles).
Although it does not qualify as an ultra-prominent mountain, Annapurna III is clearly a substantial independent summit within the Annapurna massif.
Its position near the middle of the range also gives it enormous visual presence when viewed from both the Manang Valley and the southern valleys below its technical faces.
🏔️ Annapurna III in the Annapurna Massif
The Annapurna massif is not a single mountain but an enormous collection of high peaks connected by ridges and glaciers.
Annapurna I reaches 8,091 meters and forms the highest point.
Annapurna II rises to approximately 7,937 meters on the eastern side.
Annapurna III occupies a more central position at 7,555 meters.
Annapurna IV lies to its east at 7,525 meters, while Gangapurna rises westward to 7,455 meters.
Farther south and west are Annapurna Dakshin and other major summits.
The entire massif forms a huge barrier between the wetter southern foothills of Nepal and the much drier Manang and Mustang regions to the north.
📝 What Does Annapurna Mean?
The name Annapurna comes from Sanskrit.
It is associated with the Hindu goddess Annapurna, a manifestation of Parvati connected with nourishment, food, and abundance.
The name is commonly interpreted as something close to “full of food” or “giver of nourishment.”
The Roman numerals attached to the major Annapurna summits developed through modern mapping and mountaineering convention.
Annapurna III is therefore not a traditional individual mountain name in the same sense as Gangapurna or Machapuchare.
Instead, it identifies one of the principal summits within the larger Annapurna mountain group.
📜 A Mountain Once Considered Almost Inaccessible
Before the first ascent, Annapurna III had received very little direct exploration.
British mountaineer H. W. Tilman, who examined the Annapurna region during the late 1940s and early 1950s, regarded the mountain as exceptionally difficult.
Its ridges appeared crowded with gendarmes and cornices.
When Indian climber M. S. Kohli began planning an expedition in 1960, reliable information about possible routes was scarce.
Kohli contacted climbers who had explored the region.
Tilman suggested the Manang side might provide the best possibility, although he had never considered the route particularly inviting.
Jimmy Roberts, who had recently led the first-ascent expedition to Annapurna II, had also examined Annapurna III but reported no obvious line.
The Indian team would essentially have to discover its own route.
🇮🇳 The 1961 Indian Expedition
The expedition was led by Lieutenant Commander M. S. Kohli of the Indian Navy.
His team included several experienced Indian climbers.
Among them was Sonam Gyatso, who had climbed Cho Oyu and reached high on Everest during India’s 1960 expedition.
Other members included A. B. Jungalwala, P. C. Chaturvedi, V. S. Shekhawat, and K. P. Sharma.
The expedition also included Sherpa climbers and support staff.
Unlike modern expeditions that arrive with detailed satellite imagery and decades of route information, Kohli’s team had to conduct extensive reconnaissance after reaching Manang.
At first, the mountain seemed to confirm Tilman’s pessimistic assessment.
🧊 The Great North Icefall
The expedition initially examined a huge icefall rising above Base Camp.
Kohli called it the Great North Icefall.
The icefall rose for thousands of feet and was repeatedly swept by avalanches.
The climbers could see and hear avalanches almost hourly.
Annapurna III itself was partly hidden behind another mountain feature.
The team climbed surrounding ridges and lower peaks to study the terrain from different angles.
Eventually, they identified a second icefall farther east.
Although still dangerous, it appeared more manageable than the Great North Icefall.
This became the key to the mountain.
🏕️ Moving Base Camp
The expedition moved Base Camp to improve access to the newly discovered route.
This also eased an unexpected cultural difficulty.
Local residents of Manang believed the original camp was too close to a sacred spring associated with a White Lion revered by local religious figures.
The expedition therefore shifted away from the area.
From the new Base Camp, the climbers established Camp I at approximately 15,400 feet and Camp II at about 17,400 feet.
Above Camp II stood the steep approach toward the East Col.
The route involved deep snow, ice, crevasses, and exposure to falling rock.
Progress was slow.
🧗 Reaching the East Col
The East Col lay at approximately 18,500 feet.
It took the climbers hours to gain only around 900 vertical feet because of deep snow.
Beyond the col they climbed a series of ice terraces and established an advance camp around 18,800 feet.
The expedition had initially assumed that reaching the East Col would solve most of the technical problems.
Instead, another surprise awaited.
A broad glacial trough separated the climbers from Annapurna III’s northern slopes.
The only practical way around it required a long traverse several kilometers eastward.
At more than 6,000 meters, that detour was exhausting.
Camp IV was eventually established at approximately 20,800 feet.
🏔️ The North Shelf
Above the lower icefalls lay a broad elevated feature the expedition called the North Shelf.
The shelf provided access toward the high summit terrain.
Further camps were established progressively higher.
The climbers made an initial summit attempt, but deep snow slowed progress dramatically.
One climber fell more than 150 feet during the effort but was held by the rope and escaped serious injury.
By mid-afternoon the team remained hundreds of feet below the summit.
They turned around rather than risk being caught high on the mountain after dark.
The setback was discouraging, but the route was now known.
After several days of rest, Kohli reorganized his summit teams.
🏆 First Ascent — May 6, 1961
The decisive party consisted of M. S. Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi.
On May 5 they moved their highest camp upward to approximately 22,300 feet despite deep snow.
They intended to leave at 3 a.m. the following morning.
Snowfall delayed the start until around 6 a.m.
Two Sherpas helped break trail for the first few hours before turning back exhausted.
Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi continued toward the east saddle beneath the summit ridge.
It took them nearly seven hours just to reach the saddle.
Around 800 vertical feet remained.
🧗 The Final 800 Feet
Conditions became steeper above the saddle.
Soft snow gave way to hard ice, and the slope steepened to roughly 70 degrees in places.
Snow began falling again.
The climbers moved slowly, belaying one another as they gained altitude.
Eventually they climbed around a gendarme and reached what appeared to be the summit.
It was a false top.
The true summit remained about 300 feet farther along a gently rising ridge.
Exhausted, the three continued.
At approximately 4:15 p.m. on May 6, 1961, Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi reached the true summit of Annapurna III.
🌨️ A Stormy Summit
The weather was deteriorating rapidly.
Clouds obscured much of the surrounding landscape.
For brief moments, the climbers saw Annapurna II, Annapurna IV, and Machapuchare.
They raised Indian and Nepalese flags, an Annapurna III pennant, and the Indian Naval ensign.
Sonam Girmi placed Buddhist prayer flags on the summit.
There was little time for celebration.
Snowfall was increasing, daylight was disappearing, and their ascent tracks were already beginning to vanish.
The three descended through poor visibility and thunderstorm conditions.
They finally reached their highest camp shortly after 7 p.m.
Annapurna III had been climbed.
🇬🇧 The South Face — 1979
The mountain’s next great challenge lay on its southern side.
In 1979, a British expedition from Cumbria arrived intending to climb the previously unclimbed south face.
The team included Ron and Linda Rutland, John Whittock, Spider Penman, Alan Deakin, Robin Whittam, and Peter Melling.
They chose to climb without high-altitude Sherpas or supplemental oxygen.
The style was dramatically different from the multi-camp first ascent.
Rather than prepare an entire route in advance, the climbers intended to move in a relatively lightweight manner through the face.
The wall proved enormous.
🧱 Fourteen Consecutive Bivouacs
The south-face climbers encountered steep snow, ice, and exposed terrain.
Eventually Linda Rutland and John Whittock became the summit pair.
They spent night after night bivouacking high on the mountain.
Near the summit, food was almost gone.
At one point their supplies consisted of only a few crushed digestive biscuits.
The two eventually reached the summit area after fourteen consecutive bivouacs in sub-zero conditions.
They were only about 100 feet below the top when darkness and bitter wind forced them into one final exposed bivouac.
The following morning they completed the last section.
🏆 South-Face Ascent — November 6, 1979
On November 6, 1979, Linda Rutland and John Whittock reached the summit.
The final cornice was extremely unstable, preventing them from moving freely around the highest point.
After photographing the summit area, they began descending.
Both climbers suffered second-degree frostbite.
Their ascent represented a remarkable example of lightweight Himalayan climbing for the period.
The contrast with the 1961 first ascent was dramatic.
Kohli’s expedition had established a long chain of camps and prepared the northern route.
Rutland and Whittock instead survived two weeks of continuous high-altitude bivouacs on a previously unclimbed face.
🧗 The East Ridge
Another route was climbed from the Manang side around 1980.
Swiss climbers approached terrain slightly north of the 1961 Indian route.
Jean-Pierre Rieben and Temba Sherpa gained the high plateau and then followed the long east ridge.
They reached the summit after roughly eight and a half hours of climbing from their high camp.
Rather than descend their exact ascent route, they used part of the original Indian northeast-face line before returning to their camp.
The climb further demonstrated that the northern side offered several possibilities.
Yet increasingly, elite climbers were looking toward Annapurna III’s more dramatic southern ridges.
🧱 The West Face
American climbers also explored Annapurna III’s west face during the late 1970s.
A team led by Steven Van Meter established a new line through the wall.
The climbers reached approximately 24,000 feet, where their route joined a previously climbed summit ridge.
Only about 800 vertical feet remained.
By this point, however, the team was exhausted and frostbite was becoming a real concern.
They decided that continuing was not worth risking fingers or toes and descended.
Although they did not reach the summit, their climb opened substantial new terrain on Annapurna III’s western side.
The west face later became particularly important during the dramatic descent from the 2021 southeast-ridge ascent.
🧗 The Southeast Ridge
Annapurna III’s southeast ridge eventually became one of the most famous unclimbed lines in the Himalayas.
The feature is extraordinary.
A huge buttress rises roughly 3,000 vertical meters from the valley below.
The lower half contains slabs, rock towers, mixed terrain, and snow ridges.
Higher up, the crest becomes frighteningly narrow.
The steep buttress eventually merges with the south ridge at approximately 7,100 meters.
Even from that point, another 450 meters of climbing remain before the summit.
The line is visually obvious from the southeast.
For decades, that obviousness only made its repeated failures more compelling.
🇬🇧 Colton and Leach — 1981
British climbers Nick Colton and Tim Leach made the first serious attempt on the southeast ridge in 1981.
Their lightweight attempt reached approximately 6,500 meters.
That elevation became an important benchmark.
The pair had climbed much of the lower technical terrain but were still facing the hardest and most exposed sections of the ridge.
For decades afterward, strong teams repeatedly failed to climb significantly higher.
The southeast ridge gradually acquired a reputation as one of Nepal’s great remaining technical problems.
Its difficulties were not confined to the climbing.
Even reaching the foot of the ridge through the deep Seti Khola gorge could be dangerous.
🥾 A Difficult Approach
The southeast side of Annapurna III is radically different from the comparatively accessible Manang side.
The Seti Khola cuts through steep and unstable terrain.
Landslides, cliffs, dense vegetation, river crossings, and poor trails complicate access.
Several later expeditions found the approach so dangerous that they never reached the mountain.
Porters sometimes refused to continue through sections considered unacceptably hazardous.
This logistical problem helped preserve the southeast ridge long after many technically comparable Himalayan routes had been climbed.
In modern years, some expeditions have used helicopters to bypass the approach, although this has generated debate within the mountaineering community about environmental impact and climbing ethics.
🇬🇧 The 2010 Attempt
British climbers Nick Bullock, Matt Helliker, and Pete Benson traveled to Annapurna III in 2010.
They initially hoped to attempt the southeast ridge.
After examining the lower route, they concluded that rockfall and dangerous hanging seracs made the entry unacceptably hazardous.
They switched to the long east ridge.
The ridge extended for more than six kilometers.
The climbers established a snow cave around 6,000 meters and made several excursions above it.
Strong winds repeatedly battered the ridge.
They eventually reached approximately 6,200 meters before abandoning the expedition.
The southeast ridge remained untouched above the old Colton-Leach high point.
🇦🇹 David Lama, Hansjörg Auer, and Alex Blümel — 2016
An exceptionally strong Austrian team arrived in 2016.
David Lama, Hansjörg Auer, and Alex Blümel targeted the southeast pillar.
Before committing to the main route, the climbers made several acclimatization trips on the east ridge, reaching approximately 6,000 meters.
They then began an alpine-style attempt on the southeast pillar.
Conditions were poor.
Cold temperatures made the climbing unusually demanding, and the team sometimes resorted to aid on technical rock.
After three bivouacs they reached approximately 6,550 meters.
A bad weather forecast forced them down.
Their high point was roughly comparable with, or perhaps slightly above, the position reached by Colton and Leach 35 years earlier.
🇺🇦 The Ukrainian Dream
Ukrainian climbers Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko became fascinated by the southeast ridge.
They made an attempt in 2019 but were turned back.
Rather than abandon the project, they studied the route and prepared to return.
The trio came back to Nepal in 2021.
They first acclimatized on neighboring Annapurna IV, reaching its 7,525-meter summit.
This gave them valuable adaptation to extreme altitude before committing themselves to the much more technical ridge.
More than a week later they were ready.
They carried packs weighing approximately 22–24 kilograms and enough food and fuel for around 12 days.
The expedition would last much longer.
🧗 Patience — October 2021
The climbers crossed the bergschrund at the base of the southeast ridge on October 22, 2021.
Their route began at approximately 4,600 meters.
Despite a promising forecast, weather remained unsettled.
The mountain was also drier than during their previous attempt.
That reduced some snow hazards but exposed more difficult rock.
The trio climbed slowly upward through mixed terrain.
At approximately 6,250 meters, they encountered one of the route’s major technical cruxes: a steep, crumbling rock chimney.
They climbed it in crampons, eventually overcoming difficulties around 6a and A3.
Above lay the psychologically intimidating heart of the route.
⚔️ The Knife-Edge Ridge
At approximately 6,500 meters, the Ukrainians reached terrain near the high point achieved by Colton and Leach in 1981.
Beyond lay a fantastically narrow snow ridge.
The crest extended for roughly 70 meters and offered almost no reliable protection.
At one point the ridge dropped sharply before rising again.
The snow was too soft or unstable to simply walk along.
The climbers spent hours digging and reshaping the ridge, effectively excavating a passage through the crest.
This section became the psychological crux of Patience.
The route name would prove appropriate.
Days continued passing as the team fought slowly upward.
🧊 Above 6,900 Meters
The technical difficulties did not disappear higher on the mountain.
Near 6,900 meters, the climbers encountered steep ice and another vertical rock barrier.
Fomin suffered a frightening fall when the spike of an ice tool pulled free.
The rope caught him roughly ten meters lower.
Polezhaiko took over the lead.
The trio then climbed an ice gully and a bizarre vertical tunnel formed between snow and ice formations.
Sometime after midnight they finally emerged onto the crest at approximately 7,100 meters.
They had completed the technical southeast buttress.
The lights of Pokhara were visible far below.
Yet 450 vertical meters remained to the summit.
🌬️ Extreme Winds on the South Ridge
The upper route was less technically difficult but physically punishing.
Temperatures fell toward approximately -35°C.
Powerful winds swept the ridge.
At times the climbers were forced onto all fours, driving their ice tools into hard snow to avoid being knocked over by gusts.
They established another bivouac near 7,400 meters.
Their food was nearly gone.
By now they had spent more than two weeks on the mountain.
The summit, however, was finally within reach.
🏆 Southeast Ridge First Ascent — November 6, 2021
On November 6, 2021, Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko reached the summit of Annapurna III.
They had spent 16 days climbing from Base Camp to the summit.
The route was named Patience.
It measured approximately 2,950 meters and was graded around:
6a, A3, M6, 80° ice, and 90° snow.
The climb ended four decades of attempts on one of the most famous unclimbed ridges in the Himalayas.
Reaching the summit, however, solved only half the problem.
The team still had to find a way down.
⚠️ An Unknown Descent
The Ukrainians originally intended to descend their ascent route.
As they climbed higher, they realized that this would be extremely dangerous.
Loose rock could trap rappel ropes or send debris onto the climbers.
Their second plan was to traverse the mountain and descend toward Manang by terrain associated with the 1961 first-ascent route.
Severe winds made the long traverse impractical.
That left a third option.
They looked down the unknown west and southwest side of Annapurna III and decided to descend there.
None of the three had a route description or detailed photograph of the terrain below.
🧗 Three More Days
The first part of the descent was straightforward snow.
Lower down, the wall steepened dramatically.
The team encountered icefalls, rock barriers, and sections requiring repeated rappels.
At one point a rappel rope became jammed in steep rock, creating another serious problem after more than two weeks of climbing.
Food had run out.
Fatigue was extreme.
The climbers continued downward for three additional days.
On November 9 they finally reached lower terrain beneath the southwest face and were evacuated.
Each man had lost approximately 12 kilograms or more during the 19-day journey.
🏅 Piolets d’Or Special Jury Award
The first ascent of the southeast ridge was widely regarded as one of the most important Himalayan climbs of recent years.
The Piolets d’Or recognized Patience with its 2022 Special Jury Award.
The distinction rather than a standard Piolet d’Or reflected a debate over helicopter use.
The team had used helicopter transport for access to the remote southeastern side of the mountain.
Piolets d’Or praised the quality, commitment, difficulty, and historical importance of the climbing but expressed concerns about the environmental implications of routine helicopter access in the Himalayas.
The climbing achievement itself was described as exceptional.
Four decades after the first attempt, the southeast ridge had finally been completed.
🏔️ Why the Southeast Ridge Was So Difficult
The ridge combined almost every form of Himalayan difficulty.
Its overall height was nearly three vertical kilometers.
The lower mountain contained unstable rock and mixed terrain.
Higher sections became narrow, corniced, and difficult to protect.
Technical climbing continued above 6,500 meters, where low oxygen drastically reduces speed and recovery.
The ridge was also extraordinarily committing.
Once high on the route, retreat would require descending enormous quantities of technical terrain.
Weather added another problem.
Annapurna III’s southern side frequently receives storms and strong winds even when conditions elsewhere in the range are comparatively stable.
The result was a climb requiring technical skill, endurance, patience, judgment, and luck in almost equal measure.
🧊 Glaciers and Terrain
Annapurna III is heavily glaciated.
The northern side contains broad glacier shelves and icefalls descending toward the Manang Valley.
These glaciers provided the route used during the first ascent.
The south and southeast sides are very different.
Huge rock buttresses rise from glacier basins, interrupted by narrow ice gullies, snow ridges, seracs, and mixed terrain.
The southwest side contains a complicated system of glaciers and faces descending toward the central Annapurna valleys.
Avalanches remain one of the mountain’s principal objective hazards.
Fresh snow can rapidly overload steep slopes, while warming conditions increase the danger of falling ice and rock.
🌦️ Climate and Weather
Annapurna III lies directly across one of Nepal’s sharpest climatic transitions.
Its southern slopes receive substantial moisture from the South Asian monsoon.
The Manang Valley immediately north of the massif lies in a pronounced rain shadow.
This produces a dramatic contrast between relatively dry inhabited valleys and heavily glaciated mountains towering above them.
The principal climbing seasons are generally spring and autumn.
Even during these periods, weather can deteriorate quickly.
The first ascenders reached the summit during snowfall and thunderstorm conditions.
The 2021 team endured extreme cold and strong winds despite beginning with a generally favorable forecast.
At more than 7,500 meters, such weather is especially dangerous because reduced oxygen makes movement and decision-making much slower.
🌿 Flora and Fauna
Annapurna III lies within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal’s first conservation area and its largest protected area.
The protected landscape covers approximately 7,629 square kilometers and spans environments ranging from subtropical valleys to permanent snow above 8,000 meters.
Studies have documented more than 1,700 species of vascular plants across the conservation area.
Lower and middle elevations contain forests of oak, pine, fir, birch, juniper, and extensive rhododendron communities.
The dry Manang side supports more open woodland, alpine shrubs, grasses, and cold steppe vegetation.
Vegetation disappears entirely on Annapurna III’s upper mountain, where glacier ice, snow, and exposed rock dominate.
🐾 Wildlife
The Annapurna Conservation Area supports a remarkable range of Himalayan wildlife.
The snow leopard inhabits remote high-altitude terrain.
Blue sheep, or bharal, graze on alpine slopes and are an important snow-leopard prey species.
Other mammals include Himalayan tahr, musk deer, Himalayan black bears, and numerous smaller species.
Birdlife includes the Himalayan monal, Nepal’s national bird, along with blood pheasants, koklass pheasants, choughs, and mountain raptors.
Most wildlife occurs far below Annapurna III’s summit, but the glaciers and seasonal snowfields feed rivers supporting the ecosystems and human communities of the valleys below.
🥾 Annapurna III and the Annapurna Circuit
Annapurna III is one of the major mountains visible from the Annapurna Circuit.
The mountain becomes especially prominent around Manang and Braga.
From these settlements, Annapurna III and Gangapurna rise dramatically above the southern side of the valley.
Trekkers can see enormous glaciated slopes without approaching the technical climbing routes.
Manang is commonly used as an acclimatization stop before trekkers continue toward Yak Kharka and Thorong La.
Short walks around the village provide excellent views of Annapurna III, Gangapurna, Annapurna IV, and the surrounding high ridges.
🏘️ Manang
The village of Manang sits at roughly 3,500 meters on the northern side of the Annapurna massif.
Its landscape is much drier than the southern side of the mountains.
Stone villages, Buddhist monuments, cultivated fields, pine and juniper vegetation, and barren high slopes characterize the valley.
Manang played a central role in the 1961 first ascent.
The expedition’s relationship with local residents was sometimes difficult, particularly when camps interfered with places regarded as religiously significant.
The episode provides a reminder that Himalayan expeditions enter landscapes that are not wilderness in a cultural sense.
Mountain valleys have long histories, sacred places, local ownership, and community traditions extending far beyond mountaineering.
🪨 Geology
Annapurna III formed through the continuing collision between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
India’s movement northward compresses, folds, faults, and uplifts the Earth’s crust along the Himalayan arc.
The Annapurna massif contains complex sequences of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that have been uplifted from deep within the crust.
Erosion has shaped that uplift into today’s dramatic mountains.
Glaciers carved the deep valleys and cirques surrounding Annapurna III.
Freeze-thaw cycles fracture exposed rock, contributing to the poor and unstable climbing conditions encountered on the southeast ridge.
Landslides and river erosion continue to reshape the deep Seti Khola and Marsyangdi valleys.
The mountain remains part of an active tectonic landscape where earthquakes periodically produce large-scale changes.
🏔️ Nearby Mountains
Annapurna IV rises immediately east of Annapurna III to 7,525 meters.
Gangapurna stands west of Annapurna III at 7,455 meters.
Annapurna II rises farther east to approximately 7,937 meters.
Annapurna I dominates the greater massif at 8,091 meters.
Annapurna Dakshin rises on the southwestern side of the range.
Machapuchare stands south of Annapurna III and reaches 6,993 meters. Its distinctive double summit makes it one of Nepal’s most recognizable mountains.
Together, these summits create one of the highest and most complex mountain groups in the Himalayas.
🧭 Can Annapurna III Be Climbed Today?
Yes. Annapurna III remains open for permitted mountaineering expeditions in Nepal.
Government expedition statistics continue to list the mountain at 7,555 meters, and permits are administered through Nepal’s Department of Tourism.
It receives very little climbing traffic compared with Everest, Manaslu, Ama Dablam, or even Annapurna I.
There is no heavily commercialized normal route.
The northern routes involve complicated glaciers, avalanche terrain, and extreme altitude.
The south, southwest, and southeast routes are substantially more technical.
The southeast ridge in particular remains an elite alpine objective despite now having one successful ascent.
A modern attempt requires extensive Himalayan experience, advanced rock and ice skills, excellent acclimatization, careful avalanche assessment, and the ability to operate independently in very remote terrain.
⭐ Why Annapurna III Is Remarkable
Annapurna III has played two very different roles in Himalayan climbing history.
Its 1961 first ascent belongs to the era of national expeditions, long caravans, multiple camps, route preparation, and extensive teamwork. M. S. Kohli’s Indian team arrived with almost no useful knowledge of the mountain, discovered a possible route through dangerous icefalls, solved the high northern terrain, and eventually placed three climbers on the summit in a snowstorm.
The south face ushered in another era.
Linda Rutland and John Whittock climbed it in 1979 after fourteen consecutive bivouacs, without high-altitude Sherpa support or supplemental oxygen.
Then came the southwest ridge and the great southeastern problem.
For forty years, the southeast ridge repelled some of the strongest climbers of their generations. Nick Colton and Tim Leach, David Lama, Hansjörg Auer, Alex Blümel, and others tried and failed.
Finally, in 2021, Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko spent 19 days climbing and descending the mountain to complete Patience.
The name could hardly have been more appropriate.
Annapurna III is not the highest peak of its massif and rarely receives the public attention given to Annapurna I. Yet its combination of elevation, enormous relief, technical faces, historic ascents, and one of the most famous ridges in modern alpinism gives it an exceptional place in Himalayan mountaineering.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How high is Annapurna III?
Annapurna III rises to 7,555 meters (24,787 feet).
Where is Annapurna III?
It is located in Gandaki Province, Nepal, near the center of the Annapurna massif.
Is Annapurna III part of the Annapurna massif?
Yes. It lies between Gangapurna and Annapurna IV within the Annapurna Himal.
Who first climbed Annapurna III?
M. S. Kohli, Sonam Gyatso, and Sonam Girmi made the first ascent.
When was Annapurna III first climbed?
The summit was first reached on May 6, 1961.
What route did the first ascenders use?
They approached from the Manang side, climbed through the East Icefall and East Col, crossed the high northern shelf, and gained the summit ridge from the east.
How prominent is Annapurna III?
It has approximately 703 meters (2,306 feet) of topographic prominence.
How isolated is Annapurna III?
Its topographic isolation is approximately 13.48 kilometers (8.38 miles).
Who climbed Annapurna III’s south face?
John Whittock and Linda Rutland reached the summit by the south face on November 6, 1979 after fourteen consecutive high-altitude bivouacs.
When was the southwest ridge first climbed?
Kenton Cool, Ian Parnell, and John Varco completed its first ascent in October 2003.
Why is the southeast ridge famous?
The southeast ridge rises roughly 3,000 vertical meters and combines difficult rock, ice, mixed terrain, unstable snow, knife-edge ridges, extreme altitude, and serious commitment. It resisted repeated attempts for 40 years.
Who first attempted the southeast ridge?
Nick Colton and Tim Leach made the first serious attempt in 1981, reaching approximately 6,500 meters.
Did David Lama attempt Annapurna III?
Yes. David Lama, Hansjörg Auer, and Alex Blümel attempted the southeast ridge in 2016 and reached approximately 6,550 meters before retreating because of worsening weather.
Who finally climbed the southeast ridge?
Nikita Balabanov, Mikhail Fomin, and Viacheslav Polezhaiko completed the ridge in 2021.
When did the Ukrainians reach the summit?
They reached Annapurna III’s summit on November 6, 2021.
What is Patience?
Patience is the 2,950-meter route used for the first ascent of the southeast ridge. It was graded approximately 6a, A3, M6, 80° ice, and 90° snow.
How long did the 2021 climb take?
The climbers spent 16 days reaching the summit and 19 days total on the mountain, including their descent of previously unexplored terrain on the west side.
Did Patience receive a Piolet d’Or?
The climb received the 2022 Piolets d’Or Special Jury Award.
Can Annapurna III still be climbed?
Yes. Nepal permits expeditions to Annapurna III, but the mountain remains a serious and rarely climbed high-altitude objective.
🔗 Related Articles
- Annapurna
- Annapurna II
- Annapurna IV
- Annapurna Dakshin
- Gangapurna
- Machapuchare
- The Himalayas
- Highest Peaks of the Himalayas
- Mountains in Nepal: Highest Peaks, Himalayan Ranges, and Trekking Guide
📚 Sources
- Peakbagger — Annapurna III
- Himalayan Club — Annapurna III, 1961
- Himalayan Club — The Annapurna Adventure, 1961
- Himalayan Club — Club Proceedings, 1961–62
- Himalayan Club — Annapurna III, South Face
- American Alpine Club — Annapurna III West-Face Attempt
- American Alpine Club — Annapurna III, 1980
- American Alpine Club — First Ascent of the Southwest Ridge
- American Alpine Club — Annapurna III East-Ridge and Southeast-Ridge History
- American Alpine Club — Southeast Ridge Attempt, 2016
- American Alpine Club — Patience: First Ascent of the Southeast Ridge
- Piolets d’Or — Annapurna III Southeast Ridge, 2022 Special Jury Award
- National Trust for Nature Conservation — Annapurna Conservation Area Project
- National Trust for Nature Conservation — Floristic Diversity of the Annapurna Conservation Area
- Nepal Tourism Board — Annapurna Conservation Area
