“We are ready to launch our summit push [on Dhaulagiri] and expect to reach the summit on April 9,” Mingma G has told ExplorersWeb.
He leads Imagine Nepal’s rope-fixing team, which had already fixed the way to Camp 3 last week. It is still not clear who will be ready to follow the Sherpa trail-blazers, but the route is in excellent condition, Antonios Sykaris said yesterday. He was about to leave for a rotation to Camp 2.
Annapurna Base Camp. Photo: Adrianna Brownlee
Annapurna
Grace Tseng of Taiwan has also started her summit push on Annapurna. She will follow the same tactic that she used on K2: wait in a higher camp (Camp 2, in this case) and go for the top as soon as the weather permits. The forecast suggests that Saturday will be the day for both Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. The two peaks are not far apart.
Multimodel forecasts for the summit of Annapurna. Credit: Meteoexploration.com
On a different team, Adrianna Brownlee checked in from Camp 2 on Annapurna today, but won’t go for the summit just yet. Australian Allie Pepper, climbing with Seven Summit Treks, returned to Base Camp from Camp 2 today, according to her tracker. Moeses Finamoncini of Brazil is also currently on Annapurna.
Moeses Fiamoncini. Photo: Moeses Fiamoncinni
Makalu
Silvio Mondinelli has returned to the higher peaks and will join a team on Makalu, reports Montagna.tv. In 2007, the Italian became the 13th person to climb the 14×8,000’ers and the 6th to achieve the feat without supplemental oxygen.
Then in 2010, he summited Everest from its north side. Previously, he had climbed from the south, in Nepal. Now, at 64, he will climb with his friend Roberto Manni, with whom he will first trek up the Khumbu for acclimatization.
Nicolas Miranda (left), Carla Perez, and Karl Egloff. Photo: Alpymon
At least four highly skilled Ecuadorian climbers will climb Makalu without O2 or personal Sherpa support: Topo Mena, Carla Perez, Nicolas Miranda, and Karl Egloff. Mena also guides for Adrian Ballinger of Alpenglow Expeditions, while Perez is attempting the world’s five highest peaks. Miranda and Egloff are using Makalu as preparation for a no-O2 speed ascent of Everest in 2023.
Ballinger, meanwhile, will attempt to ski down Makalu. More details to come.
