Category: 8000ers

While teams summited Cho Oyu, the world’s sixth-highest peak, a fifty-year-old American skied down the North Face of Mt. Everest. An Everest 1953 legend has passed away.

The recent heavy snowfall across both sides of Everest created a host of false and poorly written and researched articles about “stranded climbers on Everest.” The only climbers on Everest were the NatGeo ski team and they were never stranded. Many teams of seasonal trekkers were stranded in Tibet’s Kama (or Karma) Valley, east of Mount Everest, but all were rescued by local villagers and SARs teams. Bottom line is there was drama but nothing to get seriously worked up over.

As the Himalayan season winds down climbing action picks up on Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid on the island of New Guinea, Kilimanjaro, Antartica’s Vinson Massif and around the New Years, Argentina’s Aconcagua.

Somewhat surprisingly for this time of year, a massive snowstorm hit Southern Tibet, stranding tourists but not climbers. However, one climber died on a Nepal trekking peak. The storm moved on, allowing climbers to continue. Prior to the storm, excellent weather enabled hundreds of Manslu summit and nice progress on the other peaks. There is a ski attempt on the north side of Everest.

With excellent weather and hordes of climbers with massive support, records are being broken across the Himalayas. First, there was a no O’s ski descent from Everest’s summit, then multiple speed and the youngest summits on Manaslu. Climbing continues across the 8000ers. So far, 457 climbers from 47 expedition teams—including 347 men and 110 women—have received permits. On Manaslu, at least 170 members were supported by 187 Sherpas, totalling 357 summits, with more to come.

The Autumn Himalayan season is well underway with minimal impact from the violence and protest that occurred in mid-September in Kathmandu.