October 2025 - Adventure Mountain

23. October 202531. October 2025

Russian team opens new route on eight-thousander Manaslu

Manaslu (l.) and Pinnacle East (r.) in spring 2007 — Manaslu (left – in 2007)

Classic alpinism is alive and well! For me, this is evident in the fact that I can hardly keep up with reporting on all the extraordinary climbs this fall season in Nepal.

Like this one: According to Anna Piunova from the Russian mountaineering portal mountain.ru, Andrey Vasilyev, Sergey Kondrashkin, Natalia Belyankina, Kirill Eyserman, and Vitaly Shipilov reached the summit of the 8,163-meter-high Manaslu in western Nepal yesterday, Wednesday, at around 1 p.m. local time.

The Russian team opened a “new alpine-style route on the immense, uncharted Southwest Face,” Anna wrote on Facebook. Andrey sent her a short message from the highest point: “(We) Made the summit, just got back to the tent. It was brutal. The wind up there was insane.”

22. October 202523. October 2025

Berg, Barmasse, and Bielecki – New route on the nearly-7000er Numbur in Nepal

Hervé Barmasse, Felix Berg, and Adam Bieleki (from right to left) at the summit of Numbur

Once again, there has been a great achievement of true alpinism in the Himalayas in Nepal: by “the three Bs.”

Felix Berg from Germany, Hervé Barmasse from Italy, and Adam Bielecki from Poland opened a new route through the approximately 1,000-meter-high South Face of the rarely climbed 6,958-meter-high Numbur in the Rolwaling Valley, not far from Mount Everest – and they did it alpine style: without bottled oxygen, without fixed ropes, without fixed high camps, and without Sherpa support.

“For me personally, it was nice to be able to do some alpine climbing again after recently being busy leading and guiding (commercial) tours,” says Felix Berg, managing director of expedition operatur SummitClimb. “I have to say, it’s one of my highlight tours in Nepal.”

19. October 202522. October 2025

Vedrines and Jean succeed in first ascent of Jannu East

Benjamin Vedrines (l.) and Nicolas Jean (r.)

“Sometimes an ascent can change your life. I think this one did,” writes Benjamin Vedrines on Instagram.

The first ascent of the 7,468-meter-high Jannu East is “undoubtedly the greatest achievement of my mountaineering career,” said the 33-year-old Frenchman after his coup in eastern Nepal, which he accomplished together with his 27-year-old compatriot Nicolas Jean.

“Climbing such a challenging, long and difficult face in alpine style, on a summit that had never been climbed before, had a profound effect on me. It was a dream that Nicolas and I achieved together.” When they reached the highest point, tears flowed, said Benjamin.

17. October 202517. October 2025

Andreas Dahlmeier: “Laura remains on the mountain”

Laura Dahlmeier while climbing — Laura Dahlmeier (1993-2025)

“We would have liked to bring Laura home. But it wasn’t possible to get her,” Andreas Dahlmeier, father of former world-class biathlete and mountaineer Laura Dahlmeier, who died in an accident on the six-thousander Laila Peak in Pakistan at the end of July, told the German magazine “Der Spiegel”.

“It was too dangerous after the accident. When Thomas went back to Laila Peak, she was nowhere to be found. So Laura remains on the mountain. There is no chance of recovering her.” Andreas Dahlmeier gave the interview together with German top climber Thomas Huber – in the hope that peace will finally return.

Now “all doors to speculation are closed,” Thomas hopes on Instagram. As if losing their child or sister wasn’t bad enough, the Dahlmeier family was confronted with unspeakable discussions and disrespectful comments on (un)social media after Laura’s fatal accident.

16. October 202528. October 2025

Jim Morrison completes first ski descent of Mount Everest’s north face

The North Face of Mount Everest (in spring 2005)

When I close my eyes and think back to the North Face of Mount Everest 20 years ago, I see the so-called Supercouloir in front of me. The Japanese Couloir in the lower section and the Hornbein Couloir further up run through the wall like a straight line. An aesthetic line, a route that seems almost logical even to amateurs like me. And yet so steep, demanding, and dangerous.

In 2005, I was traveling as a reporter with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Ralf Dujmovits, and Hirotaka Takeuchi, and I admired the Supercouloir for weeks from the Advanced Base Camp on the Central Rongbuk Glacier. The trio’s attempt to climb this route failed at the time due to conditions in the lower part of the wall.

Skill and luck

The fact that ski mountaineer Jim Morrison skied down this combination of two couloirs yesterday and survived unscathed borders on a minor miracle in my opinion.

“When I finally crossed the bergschrund [crevasse between the base of the wall and the glacier], I cried,” Morrison told a reporter from his sponsor National Geographic. “I’d risked so much, but I was alive.” The 50-year-old must realize that, despite all his skiing skill, he also needed luck – and got it.

15. October 202515. October 2025

Summit success reported from the north side of Mount Everest

North Face of Mount Everest (in spring 2005)

On the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest, several members of the team led by American ski mountaineer Jim Morrison have apparently reached the summit at 8,849 meters today. This was reported by the Nepalese internet portal “The Tourism Times,” citing sources close to the expedition. The mountaineers climbed through the Hornbein Couloir, it said. There is no other source for this information as yet.

According to this information, Morrison planned to ski down from the highest point through the couloir on the North Face of Everest. With his project, he wanted to commemorate his partner Hilaree Nelson, who fell to her death in fall 2022 while attempting a joint descent from the summit of Manaslu, according to The Tourism Times. It is not yet known whether Morrison was able to carry out his plan.

14. October 202514. October 2025

Afsaneh Hesamifard is the first Iranian woman on all 14 eight-thousanders

Afsaneh Hesamifard at the summit of Cho Oyu

I must admit that I have almost given up trying to keep track of who has climbed how many eight-thousanders, when, and in what style.

There are now so many commercial expeditions that it is – at least for me – hardly possible to keep track of them all and verify their success stories, which are mostly published on social media. The periods in which paying clients of commercial operators “tick off” the 14 eight-thousanders are also getting shorter and shorter. Therefore, I make no claim to completeness.

Today, Chhang Dawa Sherpa, board member of the Nepalese operator Seven Summit Treks, announced via Instagram the summit success of a five-member team on the 8,188-meter-high Cho Oyu in Tibet. Afsaneh Hesamifard was also part of the team, completing her collection of the 14 eight-thousanders (with bottled oxygen) – the first woman from Iran to do so.

It took her three and a half years to achieve the feat. Cho Oyu was Afsaneh’s third eight-thousander this year, after Kangchenjunga in spring and Dhaulagiri in fall.

8. October 20258. October 2025

Mount Everest: A little less drama, please!

Kangshung Face of Mount Everest (seen from space)

It shouldn’t surprise me anymore, because it’s nothing new. And yet I am always astonished at how quickly and comprehensively the media avalanche rolls in as soon as Mount Everest comes into play.

That wouldn’t be so tragic if those involved in the information industry would take the trouble to check the facts before blasting out their news films, videos, and reports on all channels – accompanied by sensationalist headlines and flanked by lurid posts on social networks. On Monday, it happened again.

1. October 20252. October 2025

First ascent of the 6000er Adinesh Chuli – Summit successes on Cho Oyu

Benjamin Vedrines (l.) and Nicolas Jean on the summit of Anidesh Chuli

French climbers Benjamin Vedrines and Nicolas Jean have filled in a blank spot on the map of high mountains. The strong duo climbed the 6,808-meter-high Anidesh Chuli in eastern Nepal, not far from the eight-thousander Kangchenjunga, in one day – in alpine style, i.e. without bottled oxygen, without fixed high camps, without fixed ropes, and without Sherpa support.