A five-member expedition team from Russia has climbed Manaslu (8.163 m) via a new route on its southwest face. No new route had been established on this side since the tragic Tyrolean expedition of 1972.
On October 22nd, a team of Russian mountaineers successfully climbed the Manaslu They successfully ascended a new southwest route. Andrey Vasiliev, Sergey Kondrashkin, Natalia Belyankina, Kirill Eizeman, and Vitaly Shipilov reached the world's eighth-highest peak after eleven days. The team used no fixed ropes, supplemental oxygen, or other external support.
The planned central route was too dangerous
The expedition's objective was to reach the summit via the central southwest face. Andrey Vasiliev's team had three routes in mind. Since they were committed to alpine style, it was clear that the routes would not be inspected beforehand, but rather scouted "ground-up" on the way to the summit. After some deliberation, the original plan for the central route was ultimately abandoned – the route over the steep rock face on the right seemed too long and too dangerous.
Instead, the group opted for a route approximately one kilometer to the right of the "Tyrolean Route" of the expedition around Reinhold Messner from 1972, the route on which mountaineers Franz Jäger and Andi Schlick disappeared. Both lines share the final 400 meters or so of elevation gain to the summit. Until then, the team was on their own in unknown terrain.
In completely unknown territory
The unknown is not the only danger on the "Russian Route". Because the ascent leads across mostly snow-covered areas and icefalls, there is also a high risk of avalanches. Therefore, Vasiliev, Kondrashkin, Belyankina, Eizeman, and Shipilov only ventured out when the weather forecast predicted hardly any snowfall.
Although the route to the summit doesn't present any outstanding crux, it is very demanding overall, explains Vasiliev. compared to Explorersweb"The most technically difficult section is a mixed section at 7.500 to 7.700 meters." After the last steep section, the team reached the summit ridge on October 21st and the summit on October 22nd.
The Russian mountaineers used the classic Tyrolean route for their five-day descent. In total, they spent eleven days on the mountain. Manaslu On the road – with several days of acclimatization beforehand.
Award for mountaineering achievements
For their ascent of the southwest face of Manaslu in classic alpine style, Andrey Vasiliev, Sergey Kondrashkin, Natalia Belyankina, Kirill Eizeman, and Vitaly Shipilov were awarded Russia's most prestigious mountaineering prize. The expedition marked the first time the team had climbed together in this configuration.
All five participants are experienced mountaineers, some of them professional alpinists. Natalia Belyankina, the only female team member, became the youngest woman ever to climb the five 7,000-meter peaks in the territory of the former USSR in 2022 at the age of 27. She lost several toes to frostbite in the process.
Information about the new route on Manaslu first appeared on www.mountain.ru.
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Credits cover photo: Pixabay/arjayneyra