Fay Manners of the UK salvaged an October expedition in India’s Garhwal Himalaya with two new solo ridge traverses, after a storm and her partner’s illness shut down their main objective, a second attempt on unclimbed 6,974m Chaukhamba III.
Manners and American Michelle Dvorak had “unfinished business” with Chaukhamba III‘’s east face. Last year, they reached 6,500m before a haul bag containing their tent, stove, crampons, and ice axes tumbled into a gorge. Stormbound for days, they were helped by French military climbers and airlifted out by the Indian Air Force.
This season, the pair trekked in via the Satopanth Glacier. Dvorak, who completed her PhD in science in August after 11 years, spent the previous week hiking to 5,000m in Nepal’s Langtang Valley for acclimatization.
Michelle Dvorak digs out the tent. Frame of a video by Michelle Dvorak
In Garhwal, porters almost abandoned them many kilometers from Base Camp, then a week-long storm dumped over 1.5 meters of snow at around 4,700m. Dvorak came down with a cold that turned into a chest infection, and the -15°C pre-dawn air finished the job. She stayed at Base Camp, reading novels and fighting the bug. She then caught a stomach illness in Delhi that lasted until her 22-hour flight home.
“The expedition was a failure,” she posted on Instagram yesterday.
Michelle Dvorak in the Garhwal Himalaya this season. Photo: Michelle Dvorak
But a healthy Manners wasn’t quite ready to pack it in. While soloing Chaukhamba III was out of the question, she pushed alone to Advanced Base Camp while Dvorak recovered. Following some snow leopard tracks, she gained a remote, likely virgin ridge she named Asha (Hindi for hope).
The Asha Tarverse. Photo: Collage: Fay Manners
Asha traverse
The Asha Traverse runs just over two kilometers along a knife-edge crest with steep drops on both sides. Sun-warmed sections gave hard, walkable snow, while shaded pockets held knee-deep powder. Short mixed steps required precise axe work in cracks and earned the line an AD 5a rating. Manners finished it on October 18 and described the climb as “narrow, exposed ridges balanced with relaxed stretches…just me, an unclimbed Himalayan ridge, and the stillness of the mountains.”
Anamika Traverse. Photo collage: Fay Manners/Instagram
Anamika traverse
A few days later, on October 20, she tackled a second line, the Anamika Traverse (AD 4c). The name (Hindi for the small, wordless joys of life), fit the modest scale: a lower ridge that still delivered an open view of the Satopanth Glacier and the east face they never reached.
Here, the crusted snow was almost skiable. Manners moved unroped, savoring the contrast with last year’s high-stakes drama. Forecast snow forced an early exit from the area. The duo left a week ahead of schedule with no immediate plans for a third Chaukhamba attempt.
