Winter solstice. This Saturday, at 10.19 am Central European Time (9.19 am Universal Time), the calendar winter began. And that was also the official starting signal for three winter expeditions on eight-thousanders in Nepal. “My expedition will start right the next day on 22nd of December so that I‘m certain I start my climb fully in winter,” writes Jost Kobusch on Instagram.
In the past, there have always been discussions among mountaineers about what exactly is meant by a winter expedition. On the one hand, there were those who took the meteorological winter (1 December to 28/29 February) as a basis and insisted that the summit success had to be achieved by the end of February at the latest. On the other side were those for whom the calendar winter was the measure of all things: with the start on the winter solstice and the beginning of spring (in 2025 on 20 March) as deadline.
Goal: higher than 7,500 meters
Kobusch is attempting Mount Everest for the third time in winter. His long-term goal is to climb the highest mountain on earth solo and without bottled oxygen: on the rarely used route via the West Ridge and Hornbein Couloir to the summit at 8,849 meters. In his first attempt in winter 2019/2020, he reached the West Shoulder at just above 7,300 meters. In winter 2021/2022, strong winds meant the end of the line at just below 6,500 meters. Jost had actually wanted to return to Everest last winter. However, a back injury he sustained during training forced him to take a long break.
The injury has been cured. Jost has already been in Nepal for several weeks to acclimatize for Everest. Last week, he scaled the six-thousander Lobuche East in the Everest Valley. This winter, the 32-year-old German mountaineer has set himself the goal of reaching higher than anyone has ever climbed on this route during the cold season. The furthest a French expedition led by Eric Dossin has ever climbed via the West Ridge in winter was in January 1985: up to 7,500 meters – with bottled oxygen.
Simone Moro in a team with Nima Rinji Sherpa
Simone Moro is attempting Manaslu in western Nepal for the sixth time in winter. The 57-year-old Italian is a real winter specialist. He has achieved four first winter ascents of eight-thousanders: on Shishapangma (in 2005), Makalu (in 2009), Gasherbrum II (in 2011) and Nanga Parbat (in 2016). On Manaslu, Moro wants to climb to the summit at 8,167 meters via the normal route together with the Nepalese Nima Rinji Sherpa and the Pole Oswald Rodrigo Peirera – in alpine style, i.e. without a breathing mask, without the support of high porters, without fixed ropes and without fixed high camps. Nima Rinji is only 18 years old. Last fall, he completed his collection of the 14 eight-thousanders with a success on Shishapangma in Tibet.
There has never been a successful eight-thousander winter ascent in alpine style before. In winter 2021/22, the German David Göttler and the Italian Hervé Barmasse unsuccessfully tried to climb Nanga Parbat in this style. In winter 2022/23, they failed with their alpine style attempt on Dhaulagiri.
Alex Txikon and Sajid Ali Sadpara together on Annapurna I
This winter, the Spaniard Alex Txikon is attempting to climb the 8,091-meter-high Annapurna I, also in western Nepal, in a more classic style – with Sherpa support, fixed ropes and high camps. The 43-year-old is doing without bottled oxygen, his Sherpa companions not necessarily. Txikon and Co. climbed Manaslu in this way in January 2023, which led to a debate about the style of winter expeditions.
For Alex, it was the second successful eight-thousander winter ascent after the 2016 coup on Nanga Parbat together with Simone Moro and Muhammad Ali Sadpara. The Pakistani Ali died in 2021 during a winter attempt on K2. His son Sajid Ali Sadpara is now part of Txikon’s team on Annapurna. The 24-year-old has scaled eight eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen, including Mount Everest, K2 and – in spring 2023 – Annapurna I.
