Like Nirmal Purja, Mingma G Sherpa has announced he will climb Shisha Pangma without supplementary oxygen. This is despite the China-Tibet Mountaineering Association’s (CTMA) rules that require climbers to use oxygen above 7,000m on the Tibetan 8,000’ers.
“With the completion of Shisha Pangma, I hope Nepal will be in the 8,000m club of 14 peaks without O2. @nimsdai [Nirmal Purja] and I will at least try to make it happen,” Mingma G posted on social media on Friday evening.
The game of ‘firsts’
No Nepali has summited all 14 8,000’ers without supplementary oxygen. Mingma G states that he will do it “for Nepal,” but there is a first at stake here. Purja was born in Nepal but is a British National. That only makes the prize juicier, because no British citizen has completed the coveted no-O2 14×8,000’ers list either.
Purja and Mingma G have only Shisha Pangma left. Both have arrived at the mountain and both announced on their social media that they will climb without bottled gas. Purja posted his announcement 48 hours before entering Tibet. Mingma’s Imagine Nepal team crossed the border on September 21 and he made his announcement on September 27.
But what about the regulations?
The CTMA has clearly stated in a document issued to all foreign teams that “oxygen must be used throughout the journey above 7,000m.”
Document: CTMA
Mingma G speaks
The only (legal) way to abide by the rules is to obtain special permission from the CTMA, but neither climber has mentioned this in their announcements. After Purja shared his intentions on social media, we asked his PR team to clarify how he would deal with the CTMA rules. They did not answer our question directly, only saying that “Nims has all the required permissions from the relevant authorities for this exped.”
Mingma G replied to the same question from Shisha Pangma’s Base Camp this morning.
It seems that Mingma G hopes the CTMA will excuse him from the oxygen requirement.
“They had asked to use oxygen but they might excuse us because we are from last year’s team and I gave up my expedition to rescue others,” Mingma G said. “I could have continued my expedition because we didn’t have any injured members in our team and [we were] all fine last year. We also had enough rope to fix if we had continued. We stopped our expedition because of the accident.”
Asked by Explorersweb, Mingma G admitted that nothing is confirmed. When asked what he will do if permission to climb without oxygen is not granted, he replied that he is “not sure.”
The deadly 2023 mess
In 2023, a major disaster occurred during a frenzied race between Anna Gutu (a member of Purja’s team) and Gina Rzucidlo (a client with Seven Summit Treks). Each aimed to become the first American woman to summit the 14×8,000’ers. The women and their sherpa guides sped up the mountain in dangerous conditions.
An avalanche killed Gutu and her guide Mingmar Sherpa. Less than an hour later, a second avalanche killed Rzucidlo and her guide Tenjen Lama.
Mingma G’s Imagine Nepal team was also on the mountain and Mingma G was injured while helping with rescue efforts. The tragic outcome and a lack of leadership brought about heated debate in the climbing community.
However, contrary to Mingma G’s statement, members of his team would never have been allowed to continue their expedition. Soon after the deaths, the CTMA closed the mountain for the rest of the season. There were two other teams on the mountain and several climbers reached Base Camp that same day. The CTMA did not allow anyone to continue their climbs.
There was not even a chance to recover the bodies of the deceased climbers. Rzucidlo and Tenjen Lama were swept inside a crevasse and disappeared, but climbers brought Gutu and Mingmar to Camp 2 where they remained for six months. Early this year, Purja reported that he retrieved the bodies.
For everyone else, Shisha Pangma remained closed this past spring. It’s a recent development that the Chinese government has granted new permits and visas, but it seems obvious that the CTMA will do whatever it takes to avoid further accidents.
The atmosphere seems anything but relaxed. For the last three days, the weather has been very bad. Yesterday, heavy snow caused some damage. According to Mingma G, the weight of the snow broke their dining tent.
Shisha Pangma Base Camp is under heavy snow today. Photo: Mingma G
How about the others?
Purja and Mingma G are not the only climbers on Shisha Pangma who have finished the 13 other peaks without oxygen. He Jing of China and Mario Vielmo of Italy also have 13, and Sirbaz Khan hopes to become the first Pakistani to enter the ambitious club. But except for Purja and Mingma G, none of the other (typically no-O2) climbers have announced their plans.
Asked by ExplorersWeb, Vielmo stated that he would comply with the requirements, whatever they were. Vielmo was also on the mountain in 2023, but he had remained in Base Camp waiting for better conditions. He could have continued his expedition too, if the mountain had not closed down.
Avalanche risk ahead…
In this graphic, Dujmovits explains how the southerly winds on Shisha Pangma create dangerous snow slabs on the upper part of the north side, and where the normal route and its variations go. Photo: Ralf Dujmovits
At the moment, there are also several teams on Cho Oyu and a strong American team on the north side of Everest. Some of these climbers might have tried a no-O2 climb if the CTMA had allowed it.
Summing up, unless the CTMA shares an official communication stating otherwise, no oxygen climbs are banned above 7,000m. We await further news.
A major snowstorm is currently battering the Tibetan peaks. On Shisha Pangma, if wind follows the fresh snow (which is usually the case on the blustery mountain) conditions will be as dangerous as last year for quite a while. It’s not the place and time for races.
