- Big winter storms forced the closure of Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world.
- A thousands climbers had to abandon their attempts to summit the peak in Nepal
- Two climbers died in an avalanche that left them buried in seven feet of snow.
The climbing seasons for the high Himalayan mountains are short to begin with. For the mountaineers who’ve prepared and paid for long, expensive expeditions to bag summits on the world’s tallest mountains, there are only two brief seasonal windows to attempt such climbs.
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There’s the spring season from March through May and another from September to November in the fall. Weather depending, of course, which means that some years the mountains have other plans.
This fall, on one Nepali giant called Manaslu — the eighth highest mountain in the world — a series of large winter storms and a thousand eager climbers have created what Explorersweb.com called “a nearly perfect recipe for disaster.”
As a result, the climbing outfitters decided to shutter the mountain for the season. Roughly 500 climbers and 500 guides are now hurrying to get off the mountain. According to Explorersweb.com, helicopters have been rushing to evacuate as many climbers out ahead of more storms that are expected this week.
“The current season should have been a record one with probably more than 1,000 climbers (summiting),” wrote Eberhard Jurgalski, the chronicler of high alpine pursuits and the mountaineering expert for the Guinness World Records, in a message to Deseret News. “But because of necessary safety reasons all activities were stopped.”
ExplorersWeb summarized the circumstances in advance of the decision succinctly: “The weather window is shorter than expected, a cyclone is quickly approaching, hundreds of climbers are in a hurry to summit, and worst of all, dangerous conditions caused two more deaths yesterday.”
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‘A recipe for disaster’
Despite snowy conditions that create life-threatening avalanche conditions, the climbing guides who put up what are called “fixed ropes” — anchored in protections across specific dangerous sections of climbing routes — reached Manaslu’s summit last Friday.
Getting the ropes in place signaled to the climbers below that summit attempts were possible. But with more snow forecast over the weekend, most outfitters decided to take their expeditions back down the mountain. One climber and guide, however, decided to stay at a high camp to make a summit attempt.
After the pair failed to respond to radio communications, according to Everestchronicle.com, a rescue team was dispatched. On Monday, their bodies were found at the high camp. An avalanche broke above their tent and buried them underneath seven feet of snow.
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After the additional snow and the two climbers who died, the rope-fixing teams gave up their effort to reestablish and break out the rope on Monday.
On Monday, Seven Summits Treks, one of the largest climbing outfitters in the Himalaya, decided to suspend their climbing on Manaslu.
“The current conditions on Manaslu have reminded us once again that, in the mountains, nature always has the final word,” read their Instagram account.
“It is never an easy decision, but every successful expedition begins and ends with one responsibility: bringing everyone home safely.”
Ed Viesturs, one of the world’s most successful mountaineers and world record holder, commented “Good decision!”
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Another outfitters called Elite Exped, which recently suffered its own tragedy when Nims Purja, its founder and celebrated climber, died in an avalanche earlier this year came to the same conclusion.
“With heavy hearts, our expedition leader(s),” they wrote on Instagram, “have made the difficult decision to officially cancel our Manaslu 2026 expedition.”
They added how difficult of a decision it was for them to make.
“We know how tough it is for our climbers who came here with so much hope, because we know what this journey meant to them,” they wrote. “We understand how much preparation, dedication, time and emotion every member has invested in this journey.”
The decision to close affects the 493 climbers — across 41 expedition teams — who obtained permits from Nepal to climb Manaslu this autumn. The Himalayan Times reported that the mountain has already generated $1.479 million in climbing royalty this year.
For the 500-plus guides, the loss is also significant as there is no hope of a summit bonus or the prestige associated with adding more 8,000 meter peak summits to their resume.
All in all, it’s been a very difficult year for Nepali climbers.
“Nepal endured catastrophic floods shortly after losing several celebrated climbers on Broad Peak,” wrote the famous guide Mingma G.
“Now, numerous climbers are attempting Manaslu, Dhaulagiri, and various other mountains. I hope everyone checks the weather forecast…and I also hope our government ensures that all emergency arrangements are in place — not only in the mountains but across the entire country.”
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