Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summits, Missing Climber, Skiing Lhotse
This last week has been the pinnacle for the 2018 autumn climbing season across the Himalayas in Tibet and Nepal. Sadly a Czech climber is missing after summiting Manaslu and the long-coveted ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir is apparently completed but not confirmed. Big Picture – Weekend Update This week will wrap up the volume teams leaving a few small, mostly independent climbers still attempting their peak. One point about this season I’ve noticed is that there are many, many, many small teams lead by Sherpas out of Nepal. The old-guard of western guides are here and there but most of the volume include Chinese and Indian climbers supported by Nepali companies. All of this is a continuation of a trend that stared over five years ago of local climbers – throughout the world – establishing credible guide services to cater to the growing demand. Often they compete on price but that is also changing with many local guides charging the same as long-time western outfits. In any event, it has become more and more difficult to track 30 teams with 5 people each than 10 teams with 15 people each. I do the best I can but will certainly miss mentioning some climbers and guide services. As a follow-up to the regulator issues experienced by several teams on Everest this past spring, Summit Oxygen tells me that there have been no failures since that event in May on other 8000-meter peaks. Garett Madison told me his SO kit performed fine on K2 in July. Shishapangma- Summits and a New Record for 8000ers 7 Summits Club‘s Sergey Larin, guide and head of their expedition on Shishapangma from Tibet noted their summits “Today at 8:30, Sergei Larin, Zygmunt Berdychowski and Igor Smirnov, that is, all members, as well as all the Sherpas climbed to the top of Shisha Pangma” It’s unclear if they made the true summit as that is rare to cross the extremely dangerous and heavily corniced summit ridge. Seven Summits Treks claimed more summits on 29 September 29 with 1 Spanish climber, 2 from Chile and 3 Sherpas. Luo Jing Cheng who became first Chinese to summit all 14 8000-meter peaks in a record time of 6 years, 11 months and 25 days breaking South Korean Kim Chang Ho time of 7 years, 10 months and 6 days. She summited Shish with Norbu Sherpa” She comes the 41st person to compete the 8000ers according to Wikipedia. This is a nice interview with her in China Daily. Congratulations to her! UPDATE: According to this report no one reached the true summit of Shish so they cannot claim to have summited all 14 of the 8000ers. Its a shame they felt they needed to name such a false claim when there were other climbers who video them turning back. It brings into question many of this tam others summit claims. Cho Oyu – Summits 7 Summits Club‘s Lyudmila Korobeshko noted summits on Cho-Oyu on September 28. Their team included: Dmitry Ghinkulov, Irina Zisman, Lyudmila Korobeshko and three Sherpas. They noted about the Sherpas and weather “without whom the expedition would have been much more difficult. In principle, we were lucky with the weather. Although not everything was so simple. The wind was strong, it was cold. And also we got a night in a traffic jam due to the large Chinese team. ” Tracee Metcalfe summited Cho Oyu along with Namgyal Sherpa and Phurba Tashi. You may recognize Phurba as being the long time Sidar for Russell Brice, who didn’t run a trip this autumn under his Himalayan Experience company. Rene Bergsma and Hirohisa Suzuki also summited. Their trip was run by Active Mountain‘s Shinji Tamura As I reported last week, many other teams summited Cho including Climbing the Seven Summits lead by Tendi Sherpa. Mountain Madness had summits, apparently scoring a rare summit all to themselves. Also, on 25 September Adventure Consultants summited. IMG said they had 12 people on the summit on September 29 saying “it was a perfect day with clear skies and very little wind.” Alpenglow made the summit with a small team and posted “Cant express how much I love what these guys are feeling right now! alpenglowexpeditions first team of the season just summited Cho Oyu, the 6th tallest mountain in the world! It was a perfect day with no wind and huge views of #everest from the summit. Now comes team 2, trying for the summit (and maybe a little ski) today! Stay tuned and congrats to all.@estebantopomena” It also looked like Caroline Gleich who climbed with Alpenglow, got a Two-fer with a summit and a husband! She posted “ “He said yes at 26,906 ft./ 8201m on the summit of Cho Oyu, with Everest and Lhotse in the background! It takes a strong man to support a woman like me. I knew you were husband material before this trip, but sharing this expedition sealed the deal. Rob Lea, you are so patient and kind, especially when you took care of me when I got sick, never complaining about the possibility of abandoning your summit attempt to make sure I was ok. I knew you were a keeper when you emptied my pee bottle and carried down the wag bag we shared. Sharing a month long expedition with your significant other is one of the most intimate experiences. There are highs and lows, and you get to see a person’s true colors. Rob, I’m so happy for our journey ahead!” Kobler reports they had summits on September 29 “the night was clear and not very cold, which suited us very accommodating. Only shortly before the summit got us a wind showed us how cold it could be at this level. About nine o’clock in the morning, seven of the nine participants were standing on the summit of the 8201 meter high Cho Oyu. Six participants conquered the summit with oxygen and defeated the summit without oxygen. Unfortunately two participants had to turn at an altitude of 7800 m. The performance of these two participants must be respected but in spite of everything, because they were
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summits All Over
One of the best moments in climbing on the Himalayan is when you reach the summit of an 8000-meter, or lesser peak only hear a Sherpa screaming into his radio “Summmmmiiiitttt” with the energy of a World Cup Football announcer. You almost can’t help but smile. This scene is being repeated on Manaslu and Cho Oyu this week with summits being reported on both 8000ers. Cho Oyu – Summits Climbing the Seven Summits team reported they summited: “We are thrilled to announce the entire CTSS team is currently standing on the summit of Cho Oyu in perfect weather.” Tendi Sherpa lead the trip. As did Mountain Madness with a Tweet “Cho Oyu Team just checked in from the top of the sixth highest peak in the world” Kobler reports they are also leaving for the summit on 25 Sept as was Adventure Consultants who posted “We have just received a satellite phone call from Expedition Leader Dean Staples sounding remarkably fresh after a successful summit of Cho Oyu!” Alpenglow made the summit with a small team. No update from Kobler yet Manaslu – Summits The rope team from Seven Summits Treks made the summit on September 25, 2018. They were Gyaljen Sherpa of Solukhumbu, Mingma Tenjing Sherpa, Tenjing Chhimbi Sherpa and Temba Bhote of Sankhuwasabha. Tagging behind them were Brazilian Moeses Fiamoncini and Spainish Sergi Mingote who said he was climbing with no Os, alpine style. He summited Broad Peak and K2 a few months ago and is off to Dhaulagiri now. On September 216, Arnold Coster, part of the 7ST gang posted “Good News! All Arnold Coster Manaslu team members and Sherpas summited Manaslu today around 6:15 am.” Its reported that 12 people summited – 6 Sherpas and 6 members. 7ST posted today, 27 September that their “international” team summited – no word on how many that was but they regularly have 20,30,40 or even 50 climbers plus the same number of support Sherpas. Mingma Sherpa running one of the many, many Sherpa lead large teams reports in: Manaslu update:Benjamin from usa, simond from uk with suman, anup and prakash made summit at 12:30pm. Benjamin also skied from below the summit. Remaining team member will depart tonight for final summit push. Dhaulagiri – Progress with Snow 79-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan reported that they are at C1 hoping to spend a few nights at C2. He seems hopeful he will make the summit, now that this is his 10th and last effort. Billi Bierling has a very nice write up posted a few days ago on her Dhaulagiri experience and the tragic death of a Sherpa fixing rope. She is with Kobler. Polski Himalaizm Zimowy 2016-2020 im. Artura Hajzera reported a small earthquake but no damage. Lhotse Ski Descent Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, climbing with a team of Sherpas, are fighting to get the route in but are reporting all is well. Annapurna Ski Descent Two Russian climbers/skiers, Vitaly Lazo and Anton Pugovkin, are hoping to ski down Annapurna I at 8,091-meter/26,545-feet. The have reached C2 at 5,600-meters/18,372-feet. They report a lot of fresh snow requiring time to settle, Shishapangma- Arrival at BC 7 Summits Club out of Russia has just arrived at their base camp for this great peak. The noted “We are preparing to make the second acclimatization rotation with overnight at Camp II at the height of 7100, we expect that ropes to be fixed.” Congratulation to all and best of luck for the rest Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Summit Pushes Begin
Pretty much on schedule, multiple teams will be starting their summit push this week, if they haven’t already. The weather continues to be decent but fresh snow on Dhaulagiri and Annapurna will require a couple days to settle. Cho Oyu Climbing the Seven Summits team reported they left for the summit today, Monday Sept 24 2018: “Their plan is to head up to Camp 1 today and on to Camp 2 tomorrow. We are looking at an excellent weather window coming our way with low winds and dry conditions. We will keep watching the forecast like hawks as they make their way up the mountain but so far, so good.” Kobler reports they are also leaving for the summit as is Adventure Consultants who posted “The time has come ! All the preparation, training, acclimatisation is done and tomorrow we begin our accent of Cho Oyu.” Alpenglow will leave BC on the 26th. Could be a bit crowded on the route. Manaslu – Rain and Snow Apparently there has been wifi problems out of Sama Goan – a 1st world problem – that has hampered comms from Manaslu but we do know that there has been rain at Base Camp, and snow up high. I’ve seen reports of 1.5 meters or 5-feet of new snow above C2. In other words, a normal season on Manaslu. A summit window around September 26-29 is emerging that will attract most all of the teams. On Manaslu, you climb when the weather allows, waiting is a poor option. The vast majority of the estimated 200 climbers will take the standard route but a couple of teams will attempt to climb alpine style via the pinnacle and several will ski from the summit – a popular option in recent years. According to my friend Hugues Duplantier, who is climbing Manaslu, there is a Nepal climber who plans to paraglide from the summit. Mingma Sherpa running one of the many, many Sherpa lead large teams reports in: Imagine Nepal Manaslu Expedition consists of 10 foreign members, 4 cooking staffs and 10sherpa. All members and Sherpa slept at camp1, camp2, camp3 and returned back to base camp. Now the team will take few days rest in base camp and will make final summit push by end of September. Sergi Mingote is reported to have left C3 with no Os for an alpine climb of Manaslu. He summited Broad Peak and K2 a few months ago. Polski Himalaizm Zimowy 2016-2020 im. Artura Hajzera reported a small earthquake but no damage. Dhaulagiri – Slow Progress with Snow 79-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan has done one rotation and is back in Base Camp. They conducted their puja today. Weather has stalled a lot of progress on this peak this season similar to this past spring. Recent fresh snow has required teams to pause for a couple of days to let it all settle but the sun is now out. Billi Bierling has a very nice write up posted a few days ago on her Dhaulagiri experience and the tragic death of a Sherpa fixing rope. She is with Kobler. This is a brief excerpt but I encourage you to read the entire post: Third rotation: After two more days, we were once again on the long path to camp 1. of entry into the route requires extreme concentration, because this leads in the middle of the so-called “Eiger” – when you stand before it, you know immediately why this big boulder Wearing that name. It is true that there is a feeling of a smaller version of the famous eiger north face. This time we needed “only” 8 hours and 20 minutes for the rise, which was the record so far. ” I’m pulling the hat in front of my teammates and I have no idea how they found the way past the countless crevasses,” says billi. ” I am very grateful to you.” in nice weather we made it comfortable in the already established tents and waited for the opening of the next day, because then it should be in camp 2 to CA. 6.400 m. We broke comfortably at 8.30 and saw the sherpas of the other expedition that pinned the way to camp 3 When we reached our three sherpas at about 6.000 M, we learned about the misfortune. AN AVALANCHE WAS OVER CAMP 2 and tore three of the seven sherpas. Two were able to escape from the snow, but young dawa gyal Jen disappeared into the snow and could no longer be found. The team went off. We did it and returned to camp 1 ” I think we should not continue to rise out of respect and the suboptimal conditions on the mountain,” informed us Andreas – a decision we all agreed with. In the afternoon we heard the helicopter that was looking for the young sherpa, but unfortunately only a backpack could be found – he himself will remain in eternal ice. After another night at camp 1, we were on the next day at 5.30 out of the bags and again rose in the sunshine direction 2 where our three sherpas had already set up a tent. However, since the weather forecast is unfavourable for the next two days, we decided on the same day. Lhotse Ski Descent Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, climbing with a team of Sherpas, are fighting to get the route in but are reporting all is well. Annapurna Ski Descent Two Russian climbers/skiers, Vitaly Lazo and Anton Pugovkin, are hoping to ski down Annapurna I at 8,091-meter/26,545-feet. The have reached C2 at 5,600-meters/18,372-feet. They report a lot of fresh snow requiring time to settle, Chinese Fight on Manaslu Sadly, this headline made the rounds last week. I choose to bury it as it is a shame to see such behavior on the mountains. Anyway, it appears two Chinese climbers with different teams got into a verbal dispute about a business dealing back home. The argument escalated when one of the protagonists kicked the other in his chest
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing: Sherpas Dies on Dhaulagiri
Team after team are wrapping up their acclimatization rotations so look for summit pushed to begin as early as this weekend or early next week. The weather is looking poor for next couple of days but then returning to nice autumn conditions, albeit with rain around Manaslu and snow on Dhaulagiri – which seems to be the norm for those peaks. Sherpa Death on Dhaulagiri As happens regularly when climbing the world’s largest peaks, a death has occurred. This time he was Dawa Geljen Sherpa of Makalu rural municipality – 2, Sankhuwasabha on Dhaulagiri. Apparently he was part of a seven-person rope fixing team when an avalanche slab below them released carrying the Sherpas downslope. Dawa Geljen didn’t survive. He was employed by Seven Summits Treks and supporting a team that included 79-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan. There were between Camp 2 at 6,400-meters/20,997-feet and Camp 3 at 7,400-meters/24,278-feet. 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. Most teams have spent nights as high as Camp 2 at 7,100-meters/23,293-feet – a bit higher than Aconcagua. This year the commercial teams include. Adventure Consultants IMG 7 Summits Alpenglow Kobler reports they are at “6500 M, have built a depot with tents, ropes, cooker and gas, and slept two nights at camp 1 in 5.800 m. The Acclimation is progressing.” Caroline Gleich climbing with Alpenglow has been posting about her difficulties adjusting the altitude, but now she seems fine. Manaslu – 250++ climbers Similar to Cho Oyu, Manaslu is regarded as attainable and in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in traffic with the closures and avalanches on Cho Oyu. However, some foreign guide companies refuse to guide on Manaslu feeling the avalanche risk is too great so they focus on Cho Oyu. Most of the communication coming from Manaslu says that their rotations are on schedule and they are optimistic about summiting soon. Dhaulagiri – Carlos’ last Time 79-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan has done one rotation and is back in Base Camp. Also Kobler is running a trip on Dhaulagiri this year and they report in all is well expect for the Sherpa’s death which has hit the entire camp hard. Lhotse Ski Descent Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, partially sponsored by The North Face will attempt a ski descent from the summit of Lhotse this autumn. They have established the route to Camp 2 on the Western Cwm Annapurna Ski Descent Two Russian climbers/skiers, Vitaly Lazo and Anton Pugovkin, will attempt ski down Annapurna I at 8,091-meter/26,545-feet. Movie: Dawn Wall Lastly, I saw the movie The Dawn Wall last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is showing in limited release but if you a chance, take it. In January, 2015, American rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson sent a route on Yosemite’s El Capitan almost everyone said simply couldn’t be done. The movie takes us through their lives, their friendship and struggles on the Wall. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Autumn 2018 Himalayan Climbing Begins
If it is early September, it must mean a migration to the big mountains of Tibet and Nepal. After being closed to climbing last year, Tibet is open and the usual suspects will be busy. Reports have it that more than 350 foreign climbers supported by over 300 Sherpas will be on the five Nepal and Tibet 8000-meter peaks commonly climbed in Autumn: Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Lhotse, Shishapangma and Cho Oyu. Also look for teams on Ama Dablam and Cholastse. Usually the autumn climbing season is quiet compared to Everest or K2. The climbs are never “easy” as advertised by many company’s but they are “achievable.” People die every year on these peaks. Cause range from latent health issues brought out by altitude to avalanches to falls in crevasses, so like any climb, take nothing for granted. 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. For many years, the Chinese government has made getting to Cho Oyu a gamble with random border closures and unannounced bans on climbing due to fears of protests involving Tibet. Cho Oyu is generally regarded as one of the most “attainable” 8000 meter peaks with a straightforward climb to a huge flat summit and a dramatic view of Everest. It is often used as a climber’s first 8000 meter climb or as prep for Everest the next year. For 2018, many commercial teams will be there as it is a regular offering when the Chinese cooperate. This year the commercial teams include. Adventure Consultants IMG 7 Summits Alpenglow Kobler There are many Nepali guide companies as well but it is difficult to track them. I will report on them as I can find credible information. Manaslu – 250++ climbers Similar to Cho Oyu, Manaslu is regarded as attainable and in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in traffic with the closures and avalanches on Cho Oyu. However, some foreign guide companies refuse to guide on Manaslu feeling the avalanche risk is too great so they focus on Cho Oyu. According to the Himalayan Times, 250 foreigners are expected this year from 18 teams including Adventure Peaks, Adventure Consultants, 7 Summits Club, Seven Summit Treks, Summit Climb, Satori Adventures, Mountain Experience, Climbalaya Treks, Ascent Himalaya, Himalayan Guides and Snowy Horizon Treks. With almost the same number of Sherpas and support staff as foreigners, it will be quite crowded once again in 2018. In 2017 Seven Summits Treks, the dominant Nepali owned and based guide service, posted they had 50 members and 50 Sherpas for the 2018 season including a large Chinese team. Himalayan Experience is scheduled to run a trip in 2018 along with several other western companies. Himex has been guiding Manaslu since 2008. Dhaulagiri – Carlos’ last Time 79-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan will be on Dhaulagiri trying to complete his quest to summit all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks. He has been stopped nine previous times, mostly by weather or avalanche conditions . He says this is his last attempt, #10. He is self funding this tine as all his sponsors pulled out. He is supported by Seven Summits Trek’s sub company 14 Peak and is climbing with Luis M L Soriano. He attempted Dhaulagiri in the spring of this year but was turned back by weather. If he summits Dhaulagiri, he will only have Shishapangma, the only 8000er fully located in Tibet, to summit. Also Kobler is running a trip on Dhaulagiri this year. Lhotse Ski Descent – updated Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison, partially sponsored by The North Face will attempt a ski descent from the summit of Lhotse this autumn. I had reported the team was from Aplenglow and included Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington, as originally planned and promoted but AB contacted me to say they had to pull out. Best of luck to all this autumn season. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: First Summits and Heavy Snow Ahead
The rope fixers reached the summit of Manaslu while other teams across the Himalayan continue to establish high camps enjoying good weather with one exception, those on Dhaulagiri saw their summit bid stopped cold. Dhaulagiri – summit stopped 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan on Dhaulagiri saw his first summit attempt stalled after they went up the wrong gully to reach the summit. By the time they had discovered their mistake, the conditions turned cold, windy and snowy so they have returned to base camp to regroup and will hopefully give it one more try. Carlos is trying to complete his quest to summit all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks. He has Dhaulagiri and Shishapangma remaining. On this climb he is teaming with Luis Carcavilla (Spain), Luis Mifuel Lopez (Spain) & Boyan Petrov (Bulgaria). Carlos’s team posted on Facebook: One of the keys to the dhaulagiri is to choose the corridor correctly, about 100 m, which gives access to the Royal Summit. In this season we were the first group to go to the top, so we did not have any reference to previous ascents. We also found the conditions of the final part of the mountain very changed, with regard to last spring. We decided to start ascension by a first runner, who finally did not turn out to be the right one. We walked at the foot of the final stripe looking for the right route, but the fog, which was increasingly present, made it difficult for us to work. We went to the foot of what could be the path that gives access to the top, but the great cornices that were at the end of the corridor, and that we had not appreciated on other occasions, did not make this option very clear. We had only a hundred feet of fixed rope for the final attempt, without having a clear enough choice. Time went on, and we didn’t want to get too late. Despite finding us so close to the top, the most coherent decision was to descend and try again in a few days with everything much clearer. The descent was long and hard to Field III. We decided to rest one more night in field I, to hydrate and recover a little more before we get to base camp. We can only rest for a few more days in the base camp, to recover from these days on the mountain which, more than an attempt, has been even harder than ascension to a summit of eight meters, making it all clearer. We need to look for another opportunity for the next few days and try for the second time the top of this mountain that every day we know more. Manaslu – crowded at all camps The route is fixed to the summit by Sherpas from Seven Summits treks and Phurba Tashi Sherpa from Himex who is tied for the most Everest summits at 21. It is significant that he was on the rope team as he has fixed this route many times and does it well. I followed him to the summit on 2013. Conditions are reported fairly normal thus far. The mountain is crowded with over 500 climbers, including Sherpas. Seven Summits posted on 18 September: Rope fixing team made first Summit of Manaslu – 2017. Local time (9:57am) : The team of rope fixing from Seven Summit Treks has made the first successful summit of Mt. Manalsu (8,163m). Karma Gyalzen Sherpa informed to basecamp by walkie talkie communication that they fixed the rope to the summit of world’s 8th highest peak. The team was followed and assist by two sherpas including Phurba Tashi Sherpa and two climbing members of Himex. The members of fixing team from SST Nga Tashi Sherpa, Damai Sarki and Dawa Chiring also made the summit of Manalsu. It is unclear if they fixed to the true summit or the fore summit this year, 2017, as reaching the true summit is often dangerous and difficult as it’s a corniced edge that can easily give way. Many climbers have reached the fore summit, much lower, and claimed the true summit. The Adventure Peaks team is depending on others to set the route, fix the ropes and mark the path. This strategy has left them wanting as they were forced to return to base camp after losing the trail: The followed day we decided to head up to Camp 3. To explain, as soon as we had reached the edge of the glacier en route to Camp 1, there have been fixed rope to clip into and follow. So, in reality, it is impossible to ‘get lost’. However, above Camp 2, the rope stops and you have to follow bamboo wands, and where the fixing team of Sherpa’s deem necessary they put in rope. So we left Camp 2 with the cloud rolling in and out just enough to see the 200m spaced bamboo until we got to another steepening and then we were back on the fixed rope. At the top of this, the rope stopped and we are back on the bamboo wands. This in reality is quite unnerving since when the cloud rolls in and you enter the white room, think about walking in a white out on the Cairngorm plateau with huge, and we are speaking about huge, crevasses that are just waiting for you to plop into to never be seen again. Having stretched our legs for the morning, we decided to return to camp 2 and wait for the fixing team to continue marking the route. Adventure Consultants reports good weather but has only made it to Camp 1: The team has all made it to Camp 1 for the night. The weather has been perfect, there are lots of people but fortunately plenty of room at this camp. The great thing about acclimatising is it generally gets easier each time you go up, so we got to Camp 1 just before lunch in under 4
Autumn Himalayan Climbing: Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, Lhotse
The autumn Himalayan climbing season is well underway with Manaslu, located entirely in Nepal, dominating the numbers but not the challenge. Let’s look at the more interesting climbs first. Lhotse – South Korea back for 5th time South Korean, Sung Taek Hong at age 51 is back for the 5th time to attempt Lhotse’s South Face. The only time this route has been climbed was in October 1990 by Russian climbers Serguey Bershov and Vladimir Karataev according to the Himalayan Database. Sung Taek has attempted this route in each of the previous four years. This year he has Spanish climber Jorge Egocheaga at age 49 with him. Jorge has summited all 14 of the 8000ers but has some controvesery in his past. The pair had wanted to attempt Lhotse this past Spring but the Chinese refused to give the permits due to a political clash between China and South Korea. Dhaulagiri – 7 Climbers 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan is back on Dhaulagiri trying to complete his quest to summit all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks. He has spent several nights above base camp as he acclimatizing. He posted on Facebook: In the morning we had an early breakfast, at 5:30 a.m. and started the descent towards the base camp. The weather improves and we only have to be careful with the numerous cracks that are in this route and that have been covered with the last snowfall. The final part of the road, composed mainly of stone and mud, makes the descent a bit heavier. “ He attempted Dhaulagiri in the spring of this year but was turned back by weather. If he summits Dhaulagiri, he will only have Shishapangma, the only 8000er fully located in Tibet, to summit. Carlos has set the age record for many of the 8000ers: K 2 (aged 65), Broad Peak (68), Makalu (69), Gasherbrum I (70), Manaslu (71), Lhotse (72), Kangchendzönga (75) and Annapurna (77). He is joined on this climb organized by Seven Summits Treks by Luis Carcavilla (Spain), Luis Mifuel Lopez (Spain) & Boyan Petrov (Bulgaria). Boyan is after his 10th 8000ers. Dhaulagiri Skiing! According to my friend Laszlo Pinter, an Italian-Swiss duo is trying to climb and ski/snowboard Dhaulagiri. Davide Gerlero, Carlo Alberto Cimenti and the Swiss Matthias Koenig have already arrived in Nepal. They want to dedicate the descent to their late friend Luca Borgoni, 22, who fell off the Matterhorn this July and died. He was presumably training/skyrunnig and slipped. He was the one who initiated the expedition, and got money for it by winning the Mountopia video contest. The oney was passed on to Gerlero. This would be the first full descent of the mountain from summit to BC. The Czech David Fojtik skied it in 2009, but missed the top 20 metres, plus another 500 metres between C3 and C2. Manaslu – 270 climbers! The route is fixed to Camp 3 and conditions are reported fairly normal thus far. The mountain is crowded to be sure. Manaslu is advertised as “easy” by guides trying to lure climbers into attempting the world’s 8th highest peak. They fail to mention that it has a death to summit ratio higher than Everest and Cho Oyu at 82 deaths with 1,134 summits or 7.2%. Cho Oyu is 1.4% (the safest of the 8000ers) and Everest is 3.7%. According to the Himalayan Times, there are 135 foreigners with permits this year from 11 teams including Adventure Peaks, Adventure Consultants, 7 Summits Club, Seven Summit Treks, Summit Climb, Satori Adventures, Mountain Experience, Climbalaya Treks, Ascent Himalaya, Himalayan Guides and Snowy Horizon Treks. Seven Summits Treks with a huge 60 members posted about their Sherpas fixing the route to Camp 2. They cater to the low cost members from India and China and provide basic support. This formula has been very successful for them thus far. Nga Tashi, Ngima Dorchi, Damai Sarki, Lakpa Temba, Vinayak Jung Malla & Tenje Chumbi Sherpa successful fixed the rope up to an altitude of 6,800m approx. (Camp 3) via standard NE Route and planning to go higher in fews days as all climbers will soon arrive to the basecamp. This year Seven Summit Treks have 60 individual climbers who will be attempting to the summit among them 22 climbers (Chinese, Iranian, Indian and South Korean) reached to the Sama Gaon today by Heli flight. #dhaulagiri The team of Carlos Soria has descend down to Basecamp of Mt. Dhalulagiri I after acclimatizing for couple of days between CI and CII. (Ming Temba Updated) Stay connected for further updates. Himalayan Experience is also running a trip in 2017 along with several other western companies. Himex has been guiding Manaslu since 2008. They have combined their base camp with Adventure Consultants but are climbing separately on the the mountain. In spite of Brice saying he was no longer going to base camp for his Himex’s climbs, he is at Manaslu this Autumn. Brice comments on crowds and conditions: But around us, there are many new camps that we do not normally see here, so hundreds of Sherpas have been busy building tent platforms in new locations. So it would appear that it is indeed going to be a busy season. It is rumoured that there is at least 300 western climbers and about the same number of Sherpas here this season, although there are only a few of these climbers here at BC at the moment. I am sure there will be a big influx of climbers in the coming days. Looking at conditions I see less avalanche activity than normal, and what headwalls that are visible are only about 1m deep, which would indicate that there was not much snow up high on the hill during the monsoon season. But there are many more runnels in the snow up to about C2 (6,300m) which would tend to indicate that it has been raining a lot up to this altitude. The small glacier just behind the BC is even smaller and is now
Autumn Himalayan Climbing Begins
If it is early September, it must mean a migration to the big mountains of Tibet and Nepal, however for 2017, the Tibetan high peaks will be quiet. The Chinese have closed climbing throughout Tibet due to a “meeting” being held in the area. As usual the real reason remains elusive adding to the uncertainty to climbing in Tibet on any mountain in any season. Cho Oyu The world’s sixth highest peak at 26,907’/8201m, closed for 2017, is the second most popular 8000er after Everest with over 3,500 summits. Everest now has over 8,000 summits. For many years, the Chinese government has made getting to Cho Oyu a gamble with random border closures and unannounced bans on climbing due to fears of protests involving Tibet. Cho Oyu is generally regarded as one of the most “attainable” 8000 meter peaks with a straightforward climb to a huge flat summit and a dramatic view of Everest. It is often used as a climber’s first 8000 meter climb or as prep for Everest the next year. Manaslu – 270 climbers! Similar to Cho Oyu, Manaslu is regarded as attainable and in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in traffic with the closures on Cho Oyu. According to the Himalayan Times, there are 135 foreigners with permits this year from 11 teams including Adventure Peaks, Adventure Consultants, 7 Summits Club, Seven Summit Treks, Summit Climb, Satori Adventures, Mountain Experience, Climbalaya Treks, Ascent Himalaya, Himalayan Guides and Snowy Horizon Treks. With almost the same number of Sherpas and support staff as foreigners, it will be quite crowded once again in 2017. In 2016 Seven Summits Treks, the dominate Nepali owned and based guide service, posted they had 130 members and Sherpas for the 2016 season including a 60 member Chinese team. This is astounding in that the largest year ever, 2011, Manaslu saw 140 total summits. Since 1956, Manaslu has had 980 total summits. Himalayan Experience is also running a trip in 2017 along with several other western companies. Himex has been guiding Manaslu since 2008. Rain on Manaslu I summited Manaslu in 2013 and can attest that it is one of the most rainy/snowy base camps in all the Himalayas. An excellent update from the small Adventure Peaks team at bae camp: There has been a theme the past few days – drizzle, rain, persistent rain, driving rain, wet rain, proper rain and most recently snow. It has rained consistently for 4 days now and today is the first time that we have ventured outside our little camping area. Having explored the lower valley, it was finally time for us to make the hike up to base camp. We were pretty lucky because we had an early start so it only mizzled on us as we trekked up to base camp and it was only after lunch it properly started to rain. The overhead conditions were better than the underfoot conditions. Mud. In Fact mud and a combination of yak and horse poop. We were caked in it by the time we got to base camp. A pair of wellie boots were probably more appropriate if the truth were known. Despite both overhead and underfoot conditions, the trek to base camp was fantastic. Initially through the rhododendrons and then up the steep slopes and ridges which took us to base camp. Base camp is big – which is probably a very good thing judging by the amount of teams that will be attempting Manaslu this season. We didn’t really see much the first couple of days due to the low cloud and rain (have I mentioned that?) and today has been the first opportunity to explore camp. We are somewhere in the middle and every hour it is changing, with tents being erected left, right and centre. We have yet to see the sun and we are yet to see Manaslu. We are just passing time to be honest, letting our bodies acclimatize. Phil is already on his 4th book and Roberto, who says that he never sleeps back home, has done nothing but sleep. Nothing has happened above base camp as far as we are aware so our progress is hampered until the weather clears up and the mountain can start to be worked upon. Until that happens, we’ll just be chilling out to the best of our abilities. Dhaulagiri – 7 Climbers 78-year-old Spanish climber Carlos Soria Fontan will be on Dhaulagiri trying to complete his quest to summit all 14 of the 8000 meter peaks. He posted on Facebook: The rains have finally stopped in the dhaulagiri! The #expedicióncorreos has gone out today to [camp] 1 AND 2 to spend three days of acclimatisation. Here you are preparing the high food, an important task, because you have to choose well; because in addition to providing the maximum energy you also have to motivate and raise your appetite, because, with height, this one loses a little . He attempted Dhaulagiri in the spring of this year but was turned back by weather. If he summits Dhaulagiri, he will only have Shishapangma, the only 8000er fully located in Tibet, to summit. His seven person team is the only team on Dhaulagiri this autumn. Everest/Lhotse – ?? climbers There are reports of Lhotse attempts this season but no reported teams attempting Everest from Nepal but I never say never when it comes to Everest. As I previously mentioned China has closed all climbing in Tibet, this includes Everest for that side. Best of luck to all this autumn season. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 4 – Bad Weather, Summits Soon
My last update spoke of the legendary excellent autumn weather but predictably, teams are now experiencing heavy snow that has any thoughts of summit pushes on hold … for a few days. Most teams have spent multiple nights high above their base camps and feel ready to make their summit pushes when the conditions allow. Also a new First Ascent attempt was announced by Bill Burke and a new route on Manalsu is underway. But before I do an update on the various mountains, some extremely sad news to report as the Sherpa and Spanish climbing communities both lost members this week. Apparently a landslide off the steep hillsides that surround the trek to Manaslu gave way. This area was hit very hard by the spring 2015 earthquake. The Nepali Times reported: The deceased Nepalis have been identified as 30-year-old Tsering Sherpa, 35-year-old Dorje Lama of Kathmandu and 32-year-old Ranjana Basnet of Okhaldhunga. The name and nationality of the foreigner who died along with the three Nepalis are yet to be confirmed, according to Gorkha’s Chief District Officer Narayan Prasad Bhatta. Dorjee Lama Sherpa was well-known throughout Nepal as he was the President of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA). My sincere condolences to all their friends and families. Cho Oyu The world’s sixth highest peak at 26,907’/8201m is always popular attracting hundreds of climbers each autumn season. It is the most summited, after Everest, of all the 8000 meter mountains with 3,331 summits thru 2014 according to the Himalayan Database. UPDATE: Cho Oyu was hit with heavy snow the past few days causing many teams to stay put in base camp or even return quickly from their high camp rotations. Ben Jones of Alpine Ascents gives us a good idea of what is happening. They are now back in base camp waiting out the weather. Lapka Rita, mentioned in Ben’s update, was with me on K2 in 2014 an amazingly strong and kind person: Yesterday was a hard day getting to Camp 2. We actually made great time at a slow but consistent pace. Slow is a relative term at these altitudes. We also have the added benefit of at least a foot or more of new snow in the last few days. For the most part the trail was broken by many Sherpa and some climbers ahead of us, but it was windy so most of the trail was filling back in as we climbed. Lakpa Rita Sherpa and our three other Sherpa’s (Kami, Ang Nuru, and Nima Tenzing) were working hard carrying loads and breaking trail. As the day went on and the conditions deteriorated, and when most other Sherpa’s had decided to turn around, Lakpa Rita Sherpa was there once again to lead the way and to show the safe way up slopes that were being loaded with snow. Lakpa Rita is one of the strongest people I have ever seen in the mountains and always a pleasure working with him. Once I arrived to Camp 2 with our climbers Lakpa had plenty of hot water waiting for us. Exhausted he still had a smile on his face, really the only thing you can do after a long tiring day in the mountains at altitude. Ben posted this picture on his Facebook page: Manaslu Similar to Cho Oyu, Manaslu is regarded as attainable and in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in traffic. Seven Summits Treks, the now dominate Nepali owned and based guide service, posted they have 130 members and Sherpas for the 2016 season including a 60 member Chinese team. This is astounding in that in the year ever, 2011, Manaslu saw 140 total summits. Since 1956, Manaslu has had 980 total summits. UPDATE: Teams are reporting they have completed their acclimatization rotations during the previous period of good weather. Now they are holding tight as this current front passes by, but leaving a fair amount of snow up high. Look for summit pushes starting a few days. Meanwhile, Russell Brice is not very happy with the performance of other teams on manaslu this year per this update in his recent newsletter: There are many teams here who have no Sherpas and are attempting to climb independently, but I see very few of these climbers actually contributing to any work on the route that we are all using. Actually I see that many of these teams do not have any communications (radios or satellite phones) they have no weather forecasting, and very little medical equipment. Of course they are all climbing Manaslu without Sherpa assistance, and no oxygen. But I notice that they do not hesitate to come asking us for weather forecasts, medical assistance from my Doctor, to use our satellite communications and even our heaters. They also all come to us complaining about the rope fixing. New Route on Manaslu Alberto Zerain & Mariano Galván are attempting a new route on Manaslu. According to Desnivel, “it is a line that ascends a spur on the left of the direct route of Urubko and Samoilov” They have completed their acclimatization and are ready for their summit push, weather permitting. Dhaulagiri From early repots Altitude Junkies reamins the only team on this 8000er this autumn season. At 26,794’/8167m, Dhaulagiri was considered to be a hard peak to climb but nowadays is considered as in the lower half of the 8000er list. The normal route has some short technical sections and some avalanche danger, but overall it’s a quite straight forward climb. 469 climbers have reached the summit thru 2014. UPDATE: Phil Crampton reports that conditions continue to be excellent but no updates since the last front moved thru: The Sherpas tried to fix the ropes up to Camp 3, but due to such a dry season, there are several large crevasses which have opened up. There is little snow and the glacier is melting. We have 6 ladders coming from Kathmandu and our porters will have to bring them up from Marpha. Shishapangma Shish is the world’s lowest 8000 meter peak at 8027 meters or 26,335 feet. It is also the only 8000er totally within Tibet.
autumn Himalayan Climbing Update 3 – Great Weather
Finally the legendary excellent autumn weather has arrived on the world’s highest peaks. Team and climbers alike are reporting “bluebird” days with clear skies and no wind. This makes even the hardest acclimatization day a joy. Most commercial teams focus on Everest in the spring because it is usually a two month event and takes advantage of ever increasing longer days and little to no precip as the calendar advance towards summer. But autumn is a different scenario with ever shorting days and the potential for heavy snow always a possibility. However, just like the last two weeks of May, the last week of September and early October usually see fantastic conditions in the Himalaya. The Himalayan Times‘s Rajan Pokhrel reported that the Nepal Ministry of Tourism issued 277 climbing permits for 19 Nepali mountains this autumn with Manaslu dwarfing the others with more than 148 climbers representing 16 expeditions. I suspect this portends that Everest will be overwhelmed next spring (2017) as many use Manaslu and Cho Oyu as training for Everest. So with that, lets do a run down on who is where in Nepal and Tibet. Tenzing and Hillary Peaks Canadian Elia Saikaly and Pasang Kaji Sherpa are attempting a first ascent on two recently opened points along the ridge between Cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang. They were previously called Ngozumba I and III but renamed Tenzing Peak (7,916 m) and Hillary Peak (7,681 m) and opened for climbing. Update: They are moving towards their base camp now. Saikaly is filming the attempt for an 5 part series that is showing online. Cho Oyu The world’s sixth highest peak at 26,907’/8201m is always popular attracting hundreds of climbers each autumn season. It is the most summited, after Everest, of all the 8000 meter mountains with 3,331 summits thru 2014 according to the Himalayan Database. UPDATE: Cho Oyu is enjoying a period of great weather. I see that teams are now putting in a Camp 1.5 – that is a camp between the traditional C1 and C2. Have not heard the reason for this as the distance is not that far for an 8000er. Adventure Consultants comments on the two sections of Cho that give some people problems: There are two technical cruxes to the standard route on Cho Oyu; The Ice Cliff at about 6800m and the Yellow Band, a prominent rock layer that bisects the Himalaya at about 7500m. In 1951 Edmund Hillary tried an (illegal) ascent of Cho Oyu that was stopped by the Ice Cliff. One of our Italian friends described the ice cliff “as ten minutes of terror”. Our arrival at the ice cliff coincided with a member of another team losing control on rappel and going upside down. Another member of the same team then got stuck descending on the yellow rope, which is the up line. I tried to instruct a Frenchman on how to rappel – while his Sherpa was without question the most amicable and friendly guy on the hill. Fun and games and all the while we progressively climbed up looking for the daunting crux that never came. Of course we had the advantage of a top rope. The steep terrain sure is hard work on what was another record breaking altitude day for Kai and Roxane. Ben Jones made this outstanding video introducing his Alpine Ascents (AAI) team. Simply put, I love this. Well done Ben!! II cannot show it on my site but visit this link Manaslu Similar to Cho Oyu, Manaslu is regarded as attainable and in recent years has seen a dramatic increase in traffic. Seven Summits Treks, the now dominate Nepali owned and based guide service, posted they have 130 members and Sherpas for the 2016 season. This is astounding in that in the year ever, 2011, Manaslu saw 140 total summits. Since 1956, Manaslu has had 980 total summits. UPDATE: The Seven Summits Treks team is looking at summiting the first week of October – right on schedule. Arnold Coster notes they had some snow at C1 a couple of days ago and held tight to let it settle. This a picture I took in 2013 of the Himalayas as we made our summit push – it is stunningly beautiful up there. Dhaulagiri From early repots Altitude Junkies reamins the only team on this 8000er this autumn season. At 26,794’/8167m, Dhaulagiri was considered to be a hard peak to climb but nowadays is considered as in the lower half of the 8000er list. The normal route has some short technical sections and some avalanche danger, but overall it’s a quite straight forward climb. 469 climbers have reached the summit thru 2014. UPDATE: Phil Crampton reports in that conditions continue to be excellent: The weather has been fantastic and insane. Yesterday, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and absolutely no wind. It was one of the weather days I have ever had in 20 or so years in the Himalayas. It felt however about 125 degrees F on the glacier. On the 17th, we went up to Camp 1. On the 18th, we went up to Camp 2. Some of the group stayed overnight, others came back down. Our Sherpas are still fixing rope on higher camps and trying to finish before any bad weather sets in. We are now still doing load carries on the hill. Our goal will be to try to summit sometime between the 25th and 30th of September. Shishapangma Shish is the world’s lowest 8000 meter peak at 8027 meters or 26,335 feet. It is also the only 8000er totally within Tibet. It is one of the 8000ers with a checkered history of people claiming the summit but only reaching the fore-summit. The last bit is across a sharp ridge that is avi prone so some people call it good at the fore-summit. RMI has a team on Shisha this season and is putting in the work now: Our second rotation begins tomorrow with a move to Depot Camp, followed by a return to Camp 1 at 20,000’, and finally up to Camp 2 near