As expected, heavy rains have struck Nepal, raising new fears of flash floods. The snow at higher elevations is also making life difficult for those few climbers who have stayed in Base Camps on Manaslu and Dhaulagiri.
Dhaulagiri buried
On Dhaulagiri, six climbers and a few staff from 8K Expeditions remain in place. One of the climbers, Pablo Buchbinder of Argentina, has posted photos showing them digging piles of snow off their tent roofs.
Despite the weather, the climbers seem to be in good spirits. Speaking from Base Camp, Paul Clarke told ExplorersWeb that everyone is safe and busy shoveling.
“Luckily, we’re mountaineers, and all our gear is designed for conditions way worse than this,” he said. Clarke says that the wind is not too bad at Base Camp but is howling higher up the mountain. “There were many biiiig avalanches falling, but we can’t see them as the visibility is pretty poor,” he added. “We’re safe from them in BC, though.”
The Dhaulagiri climbers will soon benefit from the arrival of a big team that will work on the route as soon as conditions improve: Andrzej Bargiel will try to climb and ski Dhaulagiri.
Manaslu climbers retreat
On Manaslu, Lakpa Sherpa of 8K says that all his team has returned to Kathmandu. However, a video shot today by 8K’s Angtemba Sherpa shows that some staff remain in Base Camp:
The Russian team, led by Denis Aleksander and Artem Tsentsenivski, retreated to the village of Samagaon today amid heavy snowfall.
Artem Tsentsenivski’s InReach shows the team’s retreat from Manaslu BC to Samagaon village today.
Khumbu snow
The Khumbu Valley is experiencing similar conditions. While there are no expeditions planned for the big Khumbu peaks, Ama Dablam’s rope-fixing team should be on its way. Trekkers are also in the area year-round, hiking to Everest Base Camp or, in some cases, up one of the region’s easier 6,000m peaks. The Khumbu remains open to trekkers, thanks to its infrastructure and numerous accommodations. Still, everyone should retreat from base camps and slopes and ride out the storm in one of the lodges or hotels. Check this video of busy villagers in Lobuche today:
Tough weekend ahead
A low-pressure system that is being pushed southwesterly by winds from the Bay of Bengal is responsible for the current moisture. The worst days will be today and tomorrow, especially in Nepal’s central and western mountains. Then the front will move westward, although Sunday will be rainy as well.
“Heavy weather is expected…September 25-27 over Nepal, most notably from the Dhaulagiri range eastward over the entire range, including the high Himalaya and the Terai plains,” mountain meteorologist Krishna Bhakta Manandhar told the Everest Chronicle.
That means that the Everest region, Manaslu, and Dhaulagiri will be in the middle of it. We have no news from the Japanese team planning a new route on Gangapurna West in the Annapurna massif. The least affected of Nepal’s 8,000’ers would be Kangchenjunga, on the Indian border to the east, but we know of no teams there.
High alert
Meanwhile, in Kathmandu, the Bagmati River has overflowed, bringing back traumatic memories of the flash floods near Langtang and the Tibetan border a month ago.
Still, the greatest fears concern the southern lowlands of Nepal, where large volumes of water and snowmelt may flood rivers. Check forecasts and alerts at Nepal’s Meteorological Service.
