1955 French Makalu expedition

The expedition, led by Jean Franco [fr], approached the mountain from the south through Nepal and then wound around into Tibet, to reach the summit from the north face.

A party led by Charles Howard-Bury on a side excursion reached a 6,600-metre (21,500 ft) peak on the ridge between Makalu and Pethangtse and photographed the scene.

[8] 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.

[9][10] 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.

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.

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.

[19][note 6] 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.

[24] 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.

[26] 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.

To avoid the difficult northwest ridge in 1955 they planned to cross the Col and move onto the north face for the topmost 910 metres (3,000 ft).

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.

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.

On 20 March the trek towards Makalu began from Dharan where the Ganges plain starts to rise to become the Himalayan foothills.

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.

[36] The route passed through a tropical afforested region to Dhankuta then went via Legua Ghat and on north beside the Arun river.

[38][note 7] The little village of Sedoa, set on the side of a mountain at 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and far from the road north to Tibet, was where the Biratnagar porters were paid off after nine days' march.

[42][40] 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.

[59] Acclimatisation training continued during this time and Franco identified Terray and Couzy as likely lead candidates for the summit but he felt happy to have a very strong team around him.

There the tents were set in 0.91 metres (3 ft) deep platforms dug into the glacier and by 10 May the camp held sufficient supplies and equipment for a summit attempt.

The route upward would be made suitable for Sherpas with heavy loads and eventually over 760 metres (2,500 ft) of fixed rope were set in place.

Pairs of climbers each accompanied by a few Sherpas would carry loads up each day and would immediately drop down to Camp III or below to make way for a subsequent team.

[64] Camp IV was at a place they called the balcony, high on the back wall of the northwest cirque and between two couloirs, and to reach there high-altitude clothes were used by climbers and Sherpas alike.

[73][note 11] Lapras, the doctor, ascended to Camp III and Vialatte was to be temporarily in charge of the expedition until Franco himself returned safely.

[78] On 13 May Couzy and Terray reached the Col while Franco and his team gained Camp IV where, unusually, the wind had dropped completely and overnight the temperature had fallen to −26 °C (−14 °F).

Franco accidentally let his camera slip and it fell down the south face beyond a line of rocks about 18 metres (60 ft) below.

[85][86] They all celebrated back at Base Camp by firing their unused distress flares into the air as a violent wind blew monsoon clouds across the sky.

[86] The American Alpine Journal thought Franco deserved high praise for his excellent organisation supported by splendid equipment.

Writing presciently in 1956 he continued, "It is an irony of history to think that in fifty years' time the Makalu expedition will have sunk into almost complete oblivion when contrasted with Annapurna".