Climbers are flocking to Manaslu. The ropes have been fixed to Camp 2 and the early birds, especially those intending to climb without O2, are already acclimatizing on that section. Among them is a large team from Kazakhstan led by no-O2 14×8,000’er summiteer Maxut Zhumayev. Zhumayev’s team aims to climb self-sufficiently, at least as far as this is possible on a crowded mountain.
With 290 permits granted to foreigners so far, the number of climbers on Manaslu could be even higher than last year. Most climbers are guided by sherpas in a 1:1 ratio and supported with supplementary O2. There are well-supplied camps and helicopter transfers are available to and from Base Camp.
Another time
In 2008, Zhumayev climbed Manaslu solo. As with 13 out of his fourteen 8,000’ers, he summited at the first attempt. He has never used supplementary O2 on a mountain. Manaslu was the only one of the 14 that Zhumayev topped out on without his regular climbing partner, Vassily Pivtsov, by his side.
During their 14×8,000’ers quest, carried out between 2001 and 2011, Zhumayev and Pivtsov were only defeated (five and six times respectively) by K2. Finally, they summited with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Darek Zalusky in 2011, from the difficult north ridge. They found no ropes and met no other climbers on the mountain. They stuck to their climbing style principles when they returned to attempt K2 in the winter of 2018-19.
Pivtsov (left) and Zhumayev during an attempt on K2 in 2010. Photo: Russianclimb
Now, Zhumayev is back leading a 15-member team, and Pivtsov is again by his side.
As with most teams who summited Manaslu in the autumn season before 2019, they didn’t reach the highest point of the summit ridge, according to research by 8,000’ers.com. But if they are on the mountain to “clean up” their previous summit, they have not said so.
Since Mingma G reached the true summit in the fall of 2019, and after photographer Jackson Groves filmed the entire area with a drone, some climbers have returned to the mountain to reach the true summit. However, it is important to note that summits before this have not typically been disputed by the climbing community.
Hard to recognize
Manaslu now resembles Everest, with a huge, comfortable base camp. Helicopters come and go, while hundreds of climbers sip oxygen on the upper sections of the mountain.
Zhumayev’s team is outfitted by Seven Summit Treks, but they have apparently only hired their services to Base Camp. The Kazakhs will carry their supplies, pitch their tents, and not use O2.
Some other climbers will also progress without sherpas or O2, such as Tomas Petrecek of the Czech Republic. Petrecek will surely find a different atmosphere than the lonely, unclimbed upper slopes of Muchu Chhish, which he attempted in 2023.
Flor Cuenca will lead an all-female team (the “hijas de la montana”, daughters of the mountain) climbing without O2 or sherpa support. Cuenca has summited 10 of the 8,000’ers in this style and has passed her strong mountaineering ethics to the rest of her team. For most of the women, this will be their first Himalayan experience but they are seasoned in the Peruvian Andes. The team has reached Samagaon on their approach trek and plans to move to Base Camp on Sunday.
But is it possible to climb an 8,000’er self-sufficiently these days? It’s tricky, but not impossible. While expeditions pile up on Manaslu and will soon flock to Ama Dablam, a Russian team is currently alone on Dhaulagiri, fixing and climbing the mountain in an old-school, self-sufficient style.
Meanwhile, alpinists will be anything but lonely on the ever-popular Manaslu.
