Himalaya: first summits despite monsoon

A six-man Nepali-Tibetan team has summited Everest, while the Spaniards Inaki Ochoa de Olza and Jorge Echoeaga reached the summit of Manaslu (8.163m) on 29 April.

PlanetMountain

May 2006

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Dhaulagiri, Campo 1, spedizione Nives Meroi, Romano Benet, Luca Vuerich

The first 8000m peaks have been climbed in the Himalaya, despite the raging monsoon which is driving almost all expeditions to despair. First off the starting blocks are a Nepali-Tibetan team, who reached the top of Everest via the north on 1 May. Six "super" Sherpa climbed through the storm to reach the summit once again - fantastic! Their sum total reaches a staggering 27 tops on the roof of the world, and the details are as follows: Phurba Tashi, (Nepal) 10th Everest summit; Son Dorjee, (Nepal) 3rd, Dorji Somam Gyalson, (Nepal) 5th; Ta Shi Ping Tso (Tibet) 4th; Denzeong, (Tibet) 3rd Ta Shi Tsenzong (Tibet) a "mere" 2nd Everest summit. Further comments for these super high altitude mountaineers are superfluous. A full report can be found on www.mounteverest.net.

The Spaniards Inaki Ochoa de Olza and Jorge Echoeaga reached the summit of Manaslu (8.163m) on 29 April at 10.45 local time. News of this success reached us from Nives Meroi who, together with Romano Benet and Luca Vuerich is waiting for the storm to abate on Dhaulagiri. The situation is similar for most other expeditions, which include Simone Moro and Mario Merelli on Lhotse, Silvio Mondinelli and co. on Shisha Pangma and Vielmo, Mario Panzeri and C. on Makalu. When the monsoon departs and the snow settles, perhaps all this will be history... with a good weather spell and those dreamed of peaks.