Climbing on Manaslu is underway, with the rope-fixing team already in Camp 1 and over 200 climbers expected to arrive in the next two weeks. Everest skiers are also in place, but they may need to wait for a team to fix the Khumbu Icefall.
Nepal’s Department of Tourism has just issued the first list of permits for the season. So far, the list includes ten peaks:
List of climbing permits for Nepal issued by Nepal’s Department of Tourism.
Manaslu ready
Manaslu is once again the top climbing destination in Nepal during the first part of the fall season. There are already 162 permits granted, and more will be added in the next few days. Outfitters have Base Camp ready, and the rope-fixing team assigned by the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOAN) is already at work. The team leader, Tashi Sherpa, reported today that they have reached the spot where Camp 1 will be pitched.
Tashi Sherpa leads the team of rope-fixers on Manaslu this year. Photo: Tashi Sherpa
Lakpa Sherpa of 8K Expeditions told ExplorersWeb they have 50 clients enrolled in the 2025 expedition and that a first group departed today from Kathmandu and will trek to Base Camp over the next six days. More groups will head for the mountain on September 7 and September 12. The plan is to climb the mountain in the next five weeks and finish their expeditions by October 12.
Soria back to the 8,000’ers
Among the climbers on Manaslu is Hugo Ayaviri of Bolivia, who intends to climb the 14 8,000’ers without supplementary oxygen. At 86, Carlos Soria of Spain is also there, after finally changing peaks following a dozen attempts on Dhaulagiri.
On Soria’s last expedition to Dhaulagiri in 2023, he broke his leg during the summit push at the worst possible place: at 7,700m in the long traverse under the summit area. An epic rescue followed, assisted by Soria’s partner, Luis Miguel Soriano, and strong Polish climbers Oswald Pereira and Bartek Ziemski. Pereira and Ziemski had already climbed the mountain but returned to the higher sections to help Soria down to Camp 2, from where he was airlifted.
Soria spent over a year undergoing surgeries and recovering from the bone fracture, but resumed training as soon as he could. Only two months ago, Soria went to hospital again, this time to restore a cardiac valve, according to Marca. Yet, he is determined to climb the mountain.
“Possibly, at 86, the probability of not reaching the summit — or even not returning — is higher than that of success; at least that is what potential sponsors thought, as they all declined to support Carlos [Soria], but that is because they don’t know his iron will,” Spanish mountain magazine Desnivel wrote.
Carlos Soria, 86, looks at Ama Dablam while trekking in the Khumbu yesterday. Photo: Luis Miguel Soriano
Soria has chosen Manaslu to commemorate the first Spanish summit on an 8,000’er, in which he was a member but didn’t reach the top himself. He would later climb Manaslu in 2010, at 71. He is partnering again with Luis Miguel Soriano and a Sherpa team from Seven Summit Treks. Before heading for Manaslu, Soria is trekking in the Khumbu with Soriano and Mikel Sherpa, who has worked with Soria on many expeditions.
Everest skier in Base Camp
Everest ski team arriving in Base Camp. Photo: Pawlikowski Media
The novelty this season is the presence of climbers on Everest. Skier Andrzej Bargiel and his team are already in Base Camp. The climbing permit only has one climber filed, surely Bargiel. However, the government has also issued permits for Nuptse and Lhotse, and these could well be for the rest of the team: climber Dariusz Zaluski and a film crew including Bargiel’s brother Bartek as drone pilot. It’s not that Bargiel’s partners have any intention to climb Lhotse or Nuptse, but rather that the permits are cheaper than for Everest and allow the recipients to climb to Everest’s Camp 2 (shared with Lhotse and Nuptse), and Camp 3 (shared with Lhotse). These points may be high enough to support Bargiel (who climbs without supplementary oxygen) and film the climb and ski descent.
Lesser peaks
There is also an interesting group of permits given for lesser, but equally interesting peaks. Benjamin Vedrines and Nicolas Jean have obtained their permit to attempt the north face of Jannu, toward the east summit of the peak. They left Taplejung town yesterday and are currently trekking in the Kangchenjunga region.
Vedrines and Jean (second from the left and far right) at their lodge in Taplejung with their Base Camp team yesterday. Photo: Benjamin Vedrines
Lhayul Peak and Api — each with a team planning a climb — are located in Western Nepal and belong to the batch of 97 peaks that Nepal’s Government has granted free permits. The aim is to promote the remote region among climbing expeditions.
Khayang, located in the Manaslu region, is an unclimbed peak. Nepalese climbers Prakash Gurung, Yukta Gurung, and Sandesh Sherpa attempted it in Spring this year, but dangerous conditions pushed them back, in particular the glacier, which was dry and filled with open crevasses. The two climbers (male and female) attempting Khayang in the next few weeks might find better conditions after the monsoon, as the glacier could be covered in fresh snow.
An intricate, broken glacier on Khayang defeated a Nepalese team this Spring. Photo: Prakash Gurung
China number one market
Finally, the climbing list shows an interesting shift in the nationality of foreign climbers. U.S. climbers have shown up in Nepal in much lower numbers this year, while the most numerous group is now Chinese nationals, with 34 climbers. Other well-represented countries include Poland (25 climbers) and Nepal (22), according to The Himalayan Times. So far, there are 13 Americans with a climbing permit, and there are also mountaineers from France and Russia (10 each), Argentina, Canada, Japan, Spain, and Australia.
