Nepal’s Department of Tourism has published the first list of climbers granted permits for Manaslu this fall. The autumn season officially started on September 1.
There are 61 foreign climbers confirmed, but many more will be added to the list later in the season. Interestingly, all 61 belong to only six teams, meaning that they are all big expeditions. However many the final count, the overall number on the mountain is likely to double with supporting local guides and porters.
Typically, Manaslu’s clientele are either on their first 8,000m experience or are pursuing the 14×8,000’ers. These include some of those who climbed the mountain before but not to the true summit. The true summit was long known, but commercial parties only went as far as a sub-summit until 2021.
List of climbers granted permits in Nepal, and the peaks they will attempt. List: Nepal’s Department of Tourism
Interesting lesser peaks
The Department of Tourism has not yet released figures for Ama Dablam, one of Nepal’s most popular autumn peaks, but we expect numbers to remain high.
One expedition of three men and one woman are attempting the rarely visited Raksha Urai (6,593m), located in Nepal’s far west. In fact, Raksha Urai is a group of peaks, and the 6,593m summit, known as Raksha Urai III, is simply the highest of them all, according to the late Himalayan chronicler Elizabeth Hawley in 2004. Hawley also reported the first ascent of the peak by a French-Nepali team. It ended tragically when two of the four summiters died on their way down from the summit.
Russians flock to Manaslu
Manaslu Base Camp last fall. Photo: Pasang Rinzee Sherpa
So far, the country with the highest number of climbers in Nepal this season is Russia (12), followed by China (8) and Japan (6). There is a notably small number of visitors from the U.S. (4), India (3), and the UK (1). However, the number may increase as the season progresses.
