Thursday, December 4, 2008

Himalaya Update: Fall Climbs Done, Bring On The Winter!


ExWeb has a good update today on the impending winter season in the Himalaya. The mention that the fall season came to an end this past weekend, when the Jagged Globe Team topped out on Ama Dablam, putting seven climbers on the summit.

The Field Touring Team also sent out a fresh dispatch to alert us that their team completed a rare climb on the Central Summit of Lobuche, bringing an end to their Himalayan Hat Trick that included Island Peak and Ama Dablam as well. The team is now back in Kathmandu and working on getting home, which hasn't been easy considering the recent disruptions of traffic in Thailand.

With these climbs finished up, things grow quiet in Nepal for now. There are a few planned Himalaya expeditions for the winter, such as Czechoslovakian team going after a winter climb on Manaslu, and of course Simone Moro and Denis Urubko's assault on Makalu in alpine style. Makalu remains the only Himalayan 8-thousander to go unclimbed in winter.

Over in the Karakorum, Artur Hajzer, Robert Szymczak and Don Bowie are prepping for their attempt on Broad Peak, and a Polish Team will give Nanga Parbet a go. Traditionally speaking, the Karakorum has made for incredibly tough winter climbs and Broad Peak would be the first 8000m mountain to be summitted in winter in that mountain range.

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