Manaslu (l.) and Pinnacle East (r.)
Winter expeditions on eight-thousanders are no walk in the park. In addition to the extreme physical challenges due to the extreme cold of sometimes minus 30 degrees Celsius or even lower and the usually low air pressure, the weather is also unpredictable: there is the threat of heavy snowfall, which leads to an increased risk of avalanches, and stormy gusts, sometimes up to hurricane force, which can literally sweep a mountaineer off the mountain. The number of real summit opportunities with acceptable conditions on the mountain is small. And so winter mountaineers often have to exercise patience.
Moro: “Like a game of chess with wind and elements”
On the 8,167-meter-high Manaslu in western Nepal the Italian Simone Moro, the Nepalese Nima Rinji Sherpa and the Pole Oswald Rodrigo Perreira climbed to the base camp at around 4,800 meters today. “It will be a chess game with the wind and elements, hoping to find a window of good conditions,” Simone wrote on Instagram before setting off.
The trio, who had previously acclimatized on the 6,814-meter-high Ama Dablam in the Khumbu region, want to climb Manaslu in alpine style – i.e. without bottled oxygen, without Sherpa support and without fixed high camps. Despite several attempts, the summit of an eight-thousander has never been reached in winter in this style.
Blue ice on Annapurna
Sajid Ali Sadpara on the ascent on Annapurna I
On Annapurna I, 8,091 meters high and not far from Manaslu, winter climbers are waiting for a weather window to attempt the summit. “Fast winds have swept away the snow from the slopes, revealing blue ice that’s as hard as rock,” reported Pakistani Sajid Ali Sadpara on Instagram a few days ago. “It looks like we’ll need to fix ropes all the way to the summit due to the icy slopes.” According to the Nepalese expedition operator Seven Summit Treks, the route is secured up to an altitude of around 6,500 meters.
The Spanish winter specialist Alex Txikon is no longer taking part. The 43-year-old has already returned home after having to undergo an emergency appendectomy in Kathmandu at the end of December.
Survived the earthquake on Everest unscathed
Meanwhile, German mountaineer Jost Kobusch is recovering in his “base camp” in the Everest Valley – in the “Pyramid”, an Italian research station including a lodge – from the horror of the earthquake that shook Tibet last Tuesday. As reported, Jost was surprised by the effects of the quake in his tent at an altitude of around 5,700 meters. The 32-year-old survived the tremors unscathed and then descended again. In his first attempt, Kobusch had reached an altitude of around 7,500 meters on Everest West Ridge on 27 December.
Commercial team on Makalu
At the turn of the year, a fourth winter expedition on an eight-thousander was added to the list. A commercial team is attempting the 8,485-meter-high Makalu. The Iranian mountaineer Abolfazl Gozali is accompanied by Sanu Sherpa, Phurba Onggel Sherpa and Pastemba Sherpa. They reached the base camp at 4,800 meters yesterday, climbed up to the advanced base camp at 5,700 meters and returned to the base camp.
Makalu (seen from Gokyo Ri)
The highly experienced Sanu Sherpa, born in 1975, is leading the expedition. He has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders at least twice each. The 40-year-old Iranian Gozali has previously stood on the summits of two eight-thousanders: Manaslu in 2022 with bottled oxygen and Lhotse in 2023 without a breathing mask. As the expedition operator Makalu adventure informed me, the climbers will use bottled oxygen for their winter attempt.
