When telling the climbing history of a mountain, it’s tempting to focus on the firsts, but this can overshadow other incredible feats. Noboru Yamada and Yasuhira Saito’s second winter ascent of 8,163m Manaslu in December 1985 is one of those gems.
On Jan. 12, 1984, Maciej Berbeka and Ryszard Gajewski of Poland became the first to climb Manaslu in winter. They went via the difficult South Face without bottled oxygen. But before they succeeded, there had been two previous winter attempts.
Maciej Berbeka on the summit of Manaslu, during the peak’s first winter ascent. Photo: Ryszard Gajewski Archive
The first winter attempt
A Japanese team made the first ascent of Manaslu in 1956. In 1982, following in their footsteps, another Japanese team made the first winter attempt.
The Himalayan Association of Japan Manaslu Expedition Winter 1982-1983 was led by Noboru Yamada and targeted the Northeast Face (the normal route). The team included Etsuo Akutsu, Hiroshi Aota, Makoto Ishibashi, Kaoru Kikuchi, Masahiro Morita, Kazunari Murakami, Takashi Sakuma, Nobuhiro Shingo, and Fuji Tsunoda.
They arrived at Base Camp on November 30. On their first day of climbing, Yamada fell 20m into a crevasse. He could not go above Base Camp again but walked out.
Toshio Imanishi on the summit of Manaslu in 1956.
On December 18, Sakuma, Tsunoda, and Aota left their high camp (Camp 3 at 7,100m). They reached 7,700m before turning down because of high winds and cold. During their descent, Sakuma fell 200m from 7,550m on the icy face. When Tsunoda and Aota found him, they didn’t even recognize Sakuma’s face, such was the trauma caused by his fall.
The next day, three members of the expedition climbed to Sakuma’s body at 7,300m and buried him near Camp 3. After the tragedy, the team stopped climbing and left Base Camp.
The Japanese team used oxygen in their high camp while sleeping but did not carry it for the summit bid.
The second winter attempt
One year later, on Nov. 20, 1983, a joint Canadian-British team arrived at Manaslu’s Base Camp. Led by Alan Burgess, they planned to attempt the same route. The party consisted of three climbers from the UK (including Burgess) and 14 Canadians. The expedition did not use supplemental oxygen.
On December 24, the team reached 6,860m but retreated in high winds.
The Japanese return to winter Manaslu
In 1984, one year after Berbeka and Gajewski’s first successful winter ascent, the Japanese once again tried their luck on winter Manaslu.
The small team consisted of only two men: Noboru Yamada and Yasuhira Saito. Climbing the normal route, they decided not to use bottled oxygen or sherpa support.
Noboru Yamada. Photo: Noboru Yamada Archive
Before the 1985 Manaslu winter expedition, Yamada had climbed Dhaulagiri I in the autumn of 1978 and again in 1982, with bottled oxygen. He summited Kangchenjunga in the spring of 1981 (also with O2), 7,205m Langtang Ri in the autumn of 1981 (without O2), Everest in the winter of 1983 (using O2 at night), Lhotse in the autumn of 1983 (with O2 at night), and K2 and Everest in 1985 (without bottled oxygen).
Saito also had extensive experience in the Himalaya. He had ascended Dhaulagiri I in the autumn of 1982 (with O2), 6,332m Dolma Kang in the autumn of 1984, and 7,010m Gaurishankar South in 1984 (both without O2). Saito also took part in the 1985 Everest autumn expedition, although he did not summit.
Avalanche on Manaslu after a serac fall. Photo: Frames from a video by Phurba Sonam Sherpa and Victoria Bonya
Before the start of Yamada and Saito’s winter expedition, only four other parties had targeted Manaslu that year. An Austrian team tried in the spring, and a Spanish group and two Japanese teams went in the autumn. Only the Austrians reached the top. They made it by the east ridge-northeast face route.
Between 1982 and 1985 (not including Yamada and Saito’s expedition), 20 expeditions went to Manaslu. Only half summited.
Tired from Everest
Yamada and Saito were fatigued from Everest and spent several days resting in Kathmandu, according to Yamada in his report for the American Alpine Journal.
Once they had regained their strength, they flew by helicopter to Sama on Dec. 2, 1985. The two Japanese climbers were still well-acclimatized when they arrived at Manaslu Base Camp on December 5.
Camp at night on Manaslu. Photo: Jukien Chambert
On December 6, they started ascending, carrying a small tent, gas stove, and a little food. They climbed the normal route without bottled oxygen, pre-established camps or ropes, or sherpa support. Their backpacks weighed 20kg, and they were alone on the mountain.
On the Manaslu Glacier, knee-deep snow slowed them. Over the next three days, Saito and Yamada bivouacked at 5,450m, 6,100m, and 6,850m. On December 9, they reached 7,200m, but strong winds and cold forced them to return to Base Camp.
Manaslu’s summit area. Photo: Frame from a video by 8K Expeditions
The second push
On December 11, they started up again. They climbed to a bivouac site from the first push at 6,150m. The next day, it snowed and the climbers could not continue. One day later, they reached 7,050m. Then on December 14, they left the bivy site at 3:20 am in cold and strong winds.
”The winds were so strong that when we reached the summit ridge, we had to rope together to keep from being blown away,” Yamada recalled.
By 11:40 am, Yamada and Saito were on the summit of Manaslu. The final push from the bivy site was hard. They had run out of food because of the unexpected wait day in their tents. After summiting, they immediately started down.
Camp 2 on Manaslu, at 6,200m. Photo: Marc Gruen
They arrived back in Base Camp on December 15. They carried down from the summit an old cigarette can that Japanese climbers had left in 1956. In it, the 1956 team had written the date and their names.
In the winter of 1987, Yamada and Saito summited Annapurna I without bottled oxygen. On the descent, Saito died in a fall.
In the spring of 1988, Yamada again summited Everest. Then in February 1989, Yamada fell to his death on Denali.
A ‘Peace’ tobacco can, found on the top of Manaslu in December 1985. It had been left there in 1956. Photo: Via Hume-san
This winter, Simone Moro and Nima Rinji Sherpa will attempt Manaslu in a single push. They will climb during what Moro considers “true” winter, the period after the December 21 solstice.
