Rope fixing has begun on Manaslu, where 17 more teams — in addition to the original six — await impatiently. Yet the numbers are not as high as last year. It is not clear if any of the climbers who hoped to go to Cho Oyu or Shishapangma this fall may change their minds: The Tibet Mountaineering Association (TMA), which issues the permits for China, has said nothing about whether those peaks will open.
In its latest report dated Sept. 8, Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism has issued Manaslu permits to 266 foreign climbers in 23 teams. By comparison, last year at this time, there were already 383 climbers over 35 teams. That’s 30% more.
“Last year, virtually all Manaslu teams had their permits by mid-September,” Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking told ExplorersWeb. “At the end of the season, the total number of Manaslu climbers reached almost 430.”
This year should be no different, says Dawa, suggesting that last-minute additions will not significantly buoy the current list.
This may be good news for the climbers, who will deal with less crowding. However, long lines depend more on the state of the route and the number of weather windows than the actual number of climbers.
Sherpas fixing ropes, clients trekking
Fixing the ropes among the seracs on the way to Camp 2 on Manaslu. Photo: Imagine Nepal
No news from Tibet
The few climbers who ask for a Manaslu permit later in the season are usually those who first climb another 8,000m peak, then decide to add a second, based on how they feel. But so far, there are no permits for Nepal’s other six 8,000m peaks this fall.
If anyone has been considering two or more 8,000’ers this season, it is likely those who want to do Manaslu after Cho Oyu and/or Shishapangma. Both were supposed to open to foreigners this year, especially since Kristin Harila and others received permits for them last spring. But tour operators in Lhasa told ExplorersWeb that while tourists have returned to Tibet, 2023 remains a transition year.
“Surely 2024 will see a more stable flow of foreigners to Tibet’s 8,000’ers, but at the moment, there are issues that require some time,” one operator told ExplorersWeb. Among other issues, “there are no flights yet between Kathmandu and Lhasa, and all the trips [between the two countries] must be done by road,” he noted.
He pointed out that the Kodari/Zhangmu border has only just reopened. This popular road links Kodari (Nepal) and Tibet across the Friendship Bridge. Here, Nepal’s Araniko Highway becomes China’s National Highway 318.
At Kodari, Nepal, the Friendship Bridge marks the border with China. Photo: Wikipedia
