Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing Moving Along

The Autumn Himalayan climbing season continues to progress without a lot of drama or fanfare. The supply situation on Manaslu seems to have been corrected and overall, the weather is cooperating this September. There are no teams on Everest this autumn.

Cho Oyu

The world’s sixth highest peak at 26,907’/8201m is the second most popular 8000er after Everest with over 3,500 summits. Everest now has over 8,000 summits.

Adventure Consultants has a nice team there and reports progress to Camp 1, similar to many of the other groups. They plan to spend 2 nights at C1 then 2 nights at top of the ice cliffs at what they call C1.5.

Another real and honest Facebook post from Caroline Gleich climbing with Alpenglow:

After four days at advanced base camp, my cough got worse and worse. I was losing strength. It became difficult to do simple tasks like walk to the bathroom. I almost stopped peeing all together. My oxygen saturation was low, and after a really rough night, we knew it was time for me to descend. I was so weak, @rob.lea did all the packing while @solitude66 and @topomena organized logistics, and I went on supplemental oxygen. I felt so embarrassed walking out of camp, but sometimes you have to hold your head up high and let go of your pride. We are only human. I even made up an alter ego for my oxygen mask face: baby Darth Vader. It helped me feel more badass in that low moment, and gave me strength for the hike back down to basecamp.

When I got down, @adrianballinger reminded me that sometimes, altitude sickness just happens. It has nothing to do with fitness, preparation or experience. I’m trying not to be too hard on myself during this time.
I’ve been resting now for a few days at basecamp. Tomorrow, I’m going to go back up to abc. I’m a little scared from what happened, but I’m going to give it another go and take it one step at a time. Huge thanks to Rob and the team for taking such good care of me while I was sick!

They are right that altitude sickness can hit anyone – and I mean anyone – without notice regardless of their previous experience. The only “cure” is to get lower as quickly as you can. Hopefully she will start feeling better and continue her climb.

Manaslu – 250++ climbers

This 8000er, Manaslu in Nepal, has the most climbers this season with over 250 reported by the government. No big news to report as most teams seem to be shy this year about posting updates.

Dhaulagiri

Dhaulagiri fully located in Nepal is becoming a popular 8000er. This season there will be an attempt to ski from the summit by German climber Herbert Hellmuth and Russian Sergey Baranov. FTW, they do have an official “Ski Permit” from the government!

Billi Bierling posted on Twitter that she is now at base camp and will begin her acclimatization with a trip to C1. She is with Kobler & Partner.

Also Catalan mountaineer Sergi Mingote is attempting the double 8000er, Manaslu and Dhaulagiri with no Os. This past spring he summited Broad peak then K2, back to back. He hopes to get three doubles in one year. After this autumn climbs, he will embark to Everest and Kachenjunga next spring. He has summited Cho Oyu in 1998, Shishapangma in 1999, and Everest twice – north side in 2001, and south in 2003 according to his website.

Elsewhere Around the Climbing World

Climbing is a year-round global sport so a few other notables that caught my eye this week.

27 August 2018 Swiss guide Andreas Steindl  meet a speed record on the Matterhorn. He went from  Zermatt church to the summit of the Matterhorn and back in 3h 59min 52sec. A fun video of his climb:

Female French alpinist Liv Sansoz) said she has now summited all 82 of the 4,000-meter peaks in the Alps.

My friend Laszlo Pinter has a nice interview with Denia Urubko about his plans to return to K2.

Alex Honnold received permission to climb the exterior of a 69 story New Jersey apartment building. He stopped at the 24^th floor.

Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything