Two alpine-style teams are in the Himalaya, ready to go.
“The adventure has begun,” photographer Daniel Hug posted today from his tent at the base of the Meru massif in the Garhwal Himalaya. He is documenting the attempt by Mathieu Maynadier, Roger Schaeli, and Simon Gietl to climb 6,660m Meru South. Maynadier and Schaeli attempted a new route up the peak’s east face in 2019, but they have not shared details about this second attempt.
Marek Holecek is also in Nepal to attempt a peak that he is characteristically tight-lipped about — except to say that the climbing permit was “ridiculously overpriced.” The Czech climber paid the fee and leaves for the mountains tomorrow.
![Holecek smiles and shakes the hand of an oficial who hands him a climbing permit, in a Kathmandu office.](https://s3.amazonaws.com/www.explorersweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/02134156/Marek-700x525.jpg)
Marek Holecek gave his best “fake smile,” as he put it, after paying a fat fee for a climbing permit in Kathmandu. Photo: Marek Holecek/Facebook
Holecek rarely provides details about his goal until he is actually there, but Holecek’s partner Matej Bernat gave a clue on Instagram. He said that they are going to a “mountain with no proper name” and “a wall full of questions.”
Bernat adds that the project is very much in Holecek’s style. Sounds promising.