Manaslu had a major summit wave this morning. Most are commercial clients. Some are on their second Manaslu climbs, keen to reach the true highest point. And then, there’s Chris Warner.
Today, Warner became only the second American to summit all 14×8,000m peaks. Ed Viesturs was the first overall, and he climbed all of them without supplemental oxygen.
For Warner, today’s summit marks the end of a quest that has spanned 24 years. It includes some remarkable high-altitude climbs, including a 14-hour solo of Shishapangma in 2001 and new alpine-style routes on Ama Dablam and Shivling. Warner started to join commercial expeditions after he retired from work, at a different stage in his climbing life. “Just for the fun of it,” Warner told ExplorersWeb.
Great conditions
Since then, Warner has mostly climbed alongside Chirring Sherpa. They are usually faster than other climbers on the mountain, and today’s push was no different.
“We left Camp 3 at 9 pm, climbed 1,500m, topped out at 3:20 am, and were back in Base Camp at 10 am,” Warner told ExplorersWeb. “Conditions were perfect and the extra bit to the true summit is surprisingly easy and short!”
Warner has always been forthright about his current style, well-supported and with supplementary O2. “Now I don’t have to worry about anything other than enjoying the mountains, and I am having a blast.”
Only three without oxygen
Pasang Nurbu Sherpa and Mingtemba Sherpa, working for Seven Summit Treks, left before the bulk of Manaslu’s climbers and reached the top without O2 at 2 am. Two of the strongest climbers on the team, the pair summited Manaslu (on O2) last winter and have participated in most Seven Summit Treks expeditions this year. They were often fixing ropes or supporting Kristin Harila during her speed record quest.
Among their clients, Moeses Fiamoncini of Brazil was the only climber not to use oxygen, according to early reports.
Moeses Fiamoncini in the Karakoram this summer. Photo: Moeses Fiamoncini
Harila’s guide and joint record holder, Tenjen Sherpa Lama, was also on the summit team. Other familiar names included Shehroze Kashif of Pakistan, Uta Ibraini of Albania-Kosovo, Lakpa T. Sherpa, and one of the owners of Seven Summit Treks, Mingma Sherpa, who wanted to bag the true summit.
Most oxygen-supported climbers on Manaslu need only one partial rotation. This proved to be the case this season, with climbers seizing the extraordinarily good weather over the past 10 days. That’s why so many were ready for a summit attempt so soon, less than two weeks after reaching Base Camp.
It is still unclear how many of the 301 climbers with Manaslu climbing permits summited today, but many more summits are likely over the next few days.
Climbers around Manaslu’s summit area, shortly before the main summit. Photo: Seven Summit Treks
