January 11, 2023: Famous Spanish mountaineer Alex Txikom, who has successfully climbed Manaslu (8,163 meters), the eighth highest mountain in the world, which is considered to be very complex and dangerous, said that he felt like coming home when he came to Nepal.
He climbed Manaslu last week with six Sherpa climbers and said, “I am very happy. I am proud of my team. The first real summit in Winter Season is historic. Stating that they managed to reach the peak of Manaslu after 10 days of hard work, Alex said that they were able to reach the peak successfully because of Simone Moro who came with them.
He said that Simone Moro started climbing from the base camp on January 4 and had to return alone from a height of 6,200 meters. During the climb, Simon said, ‘I can’t go with you. Alex said, “If I were you, I wouldn’t go alone for fear of an accident.”He alone took risks for the success of the winter expedition and today we succeeded in climbing Manaslu.
If Simon had also succeeded in reaching the Manaslu peak, it would have been a greater success, he said, ‘because in mountaineering we need to build friendships.
Alex said that the Manaslu climb was not successful alone, but the six Sherpas played a big role. Alex said, “The Sherpas work so hard for the climbers and they value us as climbers. This climb would not have been possible without all the Sherpas working together with the Sherpa guides.
Stating that the Sherpas put their lives at risk and make them climb, Alex added, “While climbing Manaslu, we were at a height of about 7,200 meters. One of the six Sherpa guides fell about 100 meters while fixing the rope. Then we saw that his moment was very scary. By God’s grace, he regained consciousness after about 10 minutes. Through such an experience, we managed to return safely to the base camp.
Narrating his experience of not being able to walk while descending after climbing, Alex said, “I could not walk.”I could not even stand. I told one of the Sherpa guides that I might die here. Call for rescue. At the same time, a Sherpa guide broke a water bottle that was completely frozen. After drinking a small drop of water from that frozen bottle, I was able to recover and descend safely to the base camp.
