The 8,163-meter-high Manaslu in western Nepal (in 2007)
“Goodbye, dear Manaslu,” writes Simone Moro in his Instagram story today. “I can’t wait much more than some weeks and I don’t want to change my style to be welcome one day on your summit .” Two days ago, Simone had already announced that it was time to abandon the expedition: “The weather didn’t play in our favor and for the next two weeks on Manaslu there will be winds up to 150 km/h which makes it impossible for an alpine style summit push.”
The Italian had wanted to climb the eighth-highest mountain in the world together with the Nepalese Nima Rinji Sherpa and the Pole Oswald Rodrigo Peirera in one push, without bottled oxygen, without fixed high camps and without the support of high porters. So for the time being, the fact remains: never has an eight-thousander been summited in winter in alpine style.
Not without Alex
Sajid Ali Sadpara (r.) and Alex Txikon (end of November in Khumbu)
The winter expedition on the eight-thousander Annapurna I, not far from Manaslu, has also come to an end. The main reason given by the Pakistani Sajid Ali Sadpara for abandoning the expedition was that the Spaniard Alex Txikon, the initiator of the expedition, had to undergo an operation for acute appendicitis and give up the project.
“With our leader and winter specialist unable to continue, we made the collective decision to call off the expedition,” Sajid wrote on Instragram. “We had completed rotations, and our incredible Sherpa brothers had fixed the ropes high on the mountain. But climbing isn’t just about summits – it’s about the safety and camaraderie of your team.”
Commercial team on Makalu at 7400 meters
Previously, as reported, the German mountaineer Jost Kobusch had also abandoned his solo winter expedition on Mount Everest early. This leaves only the commercial team of the operator Makalu adventure, which – with the Iranian client Abolfazl Gozali – is attempting Makalu, the fifth highest mountain on earth: in conventional expedition style and with bottled oxygen. According to the company, expedition leader Sanu Sherpa announced that the team had reached Camp 3 at 7,400 meters yesterday, but had then descended again due to the strong winds. They now want to wait at base camp until the gusts subside.
