The climb is far from over for the exhausted Russian team that summited Manaslu yesterday by a new route up the Southwest Face. They are still high on the mountain and intend to descend through unknown terrain in worsening weather.
In an InReach message, leader Andrey Vasiliev told Mountain.ru that all members are healthy, although very tired. Low visibility has slowed down their progress and they were only able to make it down to 7,460m. This is a serious setback, as Vasiliev’s plan was to descend to 7,100m, and from that point, follow the Messner/Tyrolean route, instead of the new line they had climbed on their way to the summit.
That means the team will have to descend 700 vertical meters over unknown terrain that included some exposed sections. Such a strategy may be not an option in whiteout conditions. “We need to see the descent route,” Vasiliev wrote. “All we’re thinking about is how to descend safely.”
Cold and windy
The team will also need to deal with rough weather. Multimodel forecasts agree on extremely cold temperatures and rising winds, although wind speeds vary with the source. Meteoexploration.com notes gales of over 100kph beginning today, but Mountainforecast.com, below, notes 30-40kph today, increasing by Saturday. Unfortunately for the climbers, the winds are blowing from the southwest, hitting them directly.
Weather chart for Manaslu at 7,500m until Saturday, by mountainforecast.com
