June 10, 2023: Kristin Harila, alongside Nepali Sherpa climber Tenjen Sherpa, has accomplished the remarkable feat of conquering nine mountains over 8,000 meters in a mere 45 days. The duo reached the summit of Mt Manaslu earlier today. Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the Expedition Director of Expedition Organizer, confirmed the successful ascent, stating that Kristin and the Sherpa climbers reached the real summit of Manaslu at approximately 3:30 am.
Joining Kristin and Tenjen in their remarkable endeavor were climbers Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Nima Dorchi Sherpa, Chhongba Sherpa, Kaji Sherpa, and Sonam Tashi Sherpa, all of whom scaled Mt Manaslu. This accomplishment follows their recent ascents of Mt Annapurna on June 5 and Mt Dhaulagiri on May 29.
Kristin and Tenjen, both multiple record holders, had already conquered Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse on May 23. Additionally, they successfully scaled Kanchenjunga on May 18. Commencing their ambitious project, Kristin and Tenjen began their journey by climbing Mt Shishapangma on April 26, followed by Mt Cho Oyu in Tibet. On May 15, they triumphantly conquered Mt Makalu. Expedition Organizer announced that Kristin, known for her numerous fastest climbing records, has already become the first woman to achieve the quickest ascent of 14 peaks above 8,000 meters in just one year and five days.
Undeterred by their remarkable accomplishments thus far, Kristin and Tenjen have set their sights on completing all 14 peaks in a mind-boggling timeframe of just three months. Their next destination is Pakistan, where they will endeavor to conquer the remaining five peaks, including the formidable K2. The climbers are scheduled to depart in the coming days, embarking on yet another awe-inspiring chapter in their extraordinary mountaineering journey.
Controversy
They reached the summit today, on June 10, at around 3:30 am local time. The group arrived at Base Camp on June 8 and is alone on the mountain. The typical Manaslu climbing season ends at the end of April. There are not many climbers on the mountain. Yesterday, on June 9, Mingma G Sherpa from another Expedition Organizer share a video of a helicopter flying over Manaslu.Mingma G claims that Harila’s team is using helicopters to shuttle sherpas to higher camps, opening the route from above rather than working their way up the mountain.
He wrote” New model of climbing is developing in Nepal. No more climbing record is pure now. I won’t be surprised if some people make Manaslu summit tomorrow or the day after as climbing is easier by a helicopter flying to camp1, 2, and 3 freely. Climbing down is easier than climbing up. Good technique. This is also ruining Sherpa’s historical name and fame. Received this video of flying a helicopter to drop climbers and goods at camp2 from local people in Sama Gaon. It’s from yesterday. I was even surprised to read climbers climbed from base camp to camp 3 in a single day on Annapurna. I can now relate to why the Himalayan Database stopped recording 8000m climbing information.”
The helicopter is dropping rope, oxygen, and sherpas to Camp 2 on Manaslu. They [sherpas] will open the route from Camp 2 to Camp 1. A new model of climbing is developing in Nepal. It was exactly [the same] on Annapurna too. [Sherpas] dropped at Camp 3 and opened downward. I was surprised to read the news of [Harila’s team] climbing from Base Camp to Camp 3 in one push on Annapurna. I know the snow and route,” Mingma G told to Explorers Web”
Source: THT online & Explorer’s Web
