All climbers have left Manaslu Base Camp for Camp 1 and beyond. After some down days watching the wind sweep the mountain flanks, calmer weather put everybody on the move yesterday.
Simone Moro, Alex Txikon, Iñaki Alvarez, and Chhepal Sherpa prepared their high-altitude gear in Base Camp, while Kalden Sherpa and porter Danja Sherpa set off to check the route to Camp 1 and the gear they stashed there. Tenji Sherpa, Vinayak Jay Malla, and photographer Abiral Rai followed.
Left to right, Iñaki Alvarez, Alex Txikon, and Simone Moro in Manaslu Base Camp some days ago. Photo: Simone Moro
Today, Txikon and Moro left BC and stopped at Camp 1. The Nepalis who spent the previous night at Camp 1 may have continued fixing rope toward Camp 2.
While the two teams are following the same route, they have different climbing strategies. Txikon, Moro, and their partners hope to spend at least one night in Camp 2 to finish their acclimatization before returning to BC.
Meanwhile, Jay Malla and Tenji Sherpa told ExplorersWeb yesterday that they are already “well-acclimatized and simply waiting for a safe weather window.” They also noted that they have not cached any gear on the mountain. Instead, they will carry their tent and supplies as they climb. They confirmed that they intend to go alpine style. “We consider Alpine Style as no fixed ropes, no oxygen, fast and light,” they explained. The two IFMGA guides have no rigid strategy or timetable for the ascent.
Nepal’s climbing squad on winter Manaslu. Photo: Alex Txikon
They add that they are an independent team, but also ready to help if needed: “We have not joined forces with the team of Moro and Txikon,” they told ExWeb. “Tenji Sherpa just helped Moro and Txikon’s support team fix ropes for a very short technical section above Camp 1 on January 15, a training day.”
Txikon himself says that all the climbers on Manaslu are working together toward a common goal. Yesterday, he thanked the Nepali section of the team, Malla included, for their work. “Having Ringi, Cheppal, Gelus, Namja, Vinayak, and Kalden in the team is vital,” he wrote. “Without them, it would be very complicated.”
Purja to Manaslu?
Fernando Pérez, a journalist writing for El Correo at Base Camp, has just announced that Nirmal Purja and some of the Sherpas who recently summited K2 are considering joining the climb on Manaslu as well! At this point, their participation is unconfirmed. More details to come.
