Nima Rinji Sherpa, Simone Moro, and Oswald Pereira are on their way to the summit of Ama Dablam to acclimatize for winter Manaslu. After a bad-weather delay, the climbers reached Camp 1 at 5,700m today. From here, they will push nonstop to the 6,812m summit. They hope to reach it on New Year’s Eve.
Afterward, they will relocate to Manaslu. Once conditions are right, they will try a single, alpine-style push for the summit. Since they are on the normal route, the climbers may use ropes from this past autumn, although it is unclear how safe this leftover gear will be. Otherwise, Moro, Pereira, and Rinji will carry everything with them. None will use supplementary oxygen.
What next for Kobusch?
Safely down after surpassing 7,500m on a single solo push on the West Ridge of Everest, Jost Kobusch has fulfilled his goal for the winter season in one go. He is now resting in Lobuche. We aren’t sure yet — and perhaps he isn’t, either — whether he’ll now go home or give the route another try, perhaps to break his own altitude record.
Yesterday, Kobusch told ExplorersWeb that he couldn’t help but look up at the mountain and think, “Actually, today could have been a good summit day.”
Kobusch on the West Ridge of Everest. Photo: Jost Kobusch
Kobusch pointed out that on his first attempt on winter Everest, he reached his highest point (7,366m) after 64 days of winter. This time, he reached higher up in one push, just six days after the start of winter.
Annapurna confusion
While Everest and Manaslu climbers share regular updates, information about the winter attempt on Annapurna is scarce, confusing, and in some cases, contradictory.
After acclimatizing somewhat on Ama Dablam (Sajid Sadpara and Waldemar Kowalewski summited, but Txikon and Mattia Conte didn’t), the climbers returned to town. Alex Txikon flew back to Spain, where he has been lecturing and promoting a mountain museum he founded near his home in the Basque Country.
Txikon planned to fly back to Nepal on December 24, be in Kathmandu on Christmas Day, and fly to Annapurna Base Camp on December 26, Diario de Huesca reported. Last Saturday, December 28, his communication team posted a photo of Txikon in a Kathmandu hospital, stating he had just undergone emergency surgery after “being evacuated from high altitude.” Yesterday, they revealed that the climber had suffered acute appendicitis.
Yet, Deia — a media outlet in Basque Country that follows Txikon’s expedition daily — noted that by the time Txikon felt sick, he had already been on Annapurna for several days, reaching Camp 1 on December 23. Deia also stated the Annapurna team outfitted by Seven Summit Treks continued working on the mountain and some members reached Camp 2 and Camp 3 on the following two days.
So, who is where?
In a short update today, Txikon’s team noted the climber felt sick “while on the way to Base Camp.”
Neither the outfitter, Seven Summit Treks, nor anyone else on the team has posted an update confirming the beginning of the expedition or their progress on the mountain. It is unclear why such information has been concealed by the members of an expedition that otherwise posts constantly on social media.
Asked by ExplorersWeb, Waldemar Kowalewski (currently in Kathmandu) said that Cheppal Sherpa, Galu (Lakpa Gelu Sherpa?), and Sajid Sadpara are on the mountain but have no internet connection. Sajid Sadpara last posted from Pokhara on December 24:
As for Txikon’s condition and its impact on the expedition, there is no news. Txikon’s team only mentioned that doctors have recommended rest and that he will take a “break”.
On average, appendicitis treated with laparoscopic surgery requires just 24-48 hours of post-operative stay in a hospital, plus four weeks of rest before practicing sports again. We will report again on the winter Annapurna expedition when we get first-hand information from members of the team.
