Climbers are ready for their summit push on 8,586m Kangchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world.
Good weather has allowed Alpenglow’s team to progress swiftly. “We fixed ropes up to C4, moved oxygen to the higher camps, and are acclimatizing,” Topo Mena reported. “The time is right for a summit attempt.”
A lonely climber on mist-covered Kangchenjunga. Photo: Topo Mena
They are ready, but their permit is good until the end of October, so no hurry. They will wait for the proper weather window. Mena didn’t suggest a specific day when the push would start.
Alpenglow’s team on Kangchenjunga. Their only client sits second from left. Photo: Carla Perez
Manaslu: More climbers on the move
On Manaslu, waves of climbers continue to push upward. Some teams, such as Climbing the 7 Summits, are leaving Camp 4 tonight. Several others left Base Camp for Camp 1 today, hoping to summit within three days.
Among them is the no-O2 team of Anna Tybor of Poland and her fellow skiers, Frederico Secchi and Marco Majori, who hope to ski down from the summit. Roman Abildaev of Russia summited today without supplementary O2. He started his climb with Valeria Mercurjeva, but we don’t know yet whether she summited.
Anna Tybor hopes to climb and ski down Manaslu without supplementary O2. Photo: Tashi Lakpa Sherpa
As discussed in an earlier story, we don’t know yet whether climbers reached the highest point of Manaslu or one of its slightly lower foresummits. We’re waiting for more information and pictures from Mingma G. He announced that his team had reached “the real summit of Manaslu” earlier today.
Dhaulagiri: Watch out for the “true” summit as well
A rope-fixing team by Seven Summit Treks has set off to finish fixing ropes to the summit. Pakistan’s Sirbaz Khan is with them. Climbers should follow right behind, although bad weather has delayed some plans, including that of Carlos Soria. The 82-year-old had planned to summit on September 29, but an unexpected storm has kept him and others in BC. According to Soria, the deep, humid valleys make it impossible to predict developing storms in that area.
Carlos Soria, determined to summit Dhaulagiri for once. Photo: LM Soriano
Like Manaslu, Dhaulagiri also has a “tricky” summit. Good knowledge of the route is necessary, especially on the upper sections. As Ralf Dujmovits points out in our Dhaulagiri Climber’s Guide, you need to pick the right couloir to access the summit ridge, then find the highest point.
