Manaslu at 8163m, is the eighth highest mountain on earth. The name 'Manaslu' comes from the Sanskrit word 'Manasa' and can be translated as "Mountain of the Soul".
Despite being considered one of the least technical eight-thousanders, its high altitude still makes it a tremendously tough challenge that requires careful preparation and excellent physical fitness. Located in the Gorkha Himal in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas, I will climb the classic north-east wall.
Manaslu true summit.
Since 2008, when commercial expedition teams first brought mass guided clients to Manaslu, it has become standard for climbers to go only up to the pre-top. What is certain is that large numbers of people who think they have reached the summit of Manaslu have only reached the pre-top. This applies not only to commercial clients, but also to elite climbers. Now, thanks to Mingma G, and in particular to one of his clients, Australian adventure photographer Jackson Groves, we can understand why.
Jackson was one of Mingma's eight clients who reached the true summit. Reaching the summit - main or pre-summit - is no small feat, but Jackson had the energy and mental capacity to fly a drone and take some unique and stunning photos of the main summit. At 8,200m, it was his highest drone flight ever.
As you can see from the picture above, there are essentially three tops: the main (and real top) on the left, a slightly lower one in the middle and a much more modest hump on the right. We call this hump the front summit. Most climbers stop about a metre below this. Unless you climb on top of the hump, you can't see the other two summits. But if you are a metre below it, this hump looks alarmingly like an edge of snow that will crash down if you stand on top of it. Commercial operators have only attached ropes to just below this hump, without telling their customers that there are two more peaks behind it.
If you look to the right of the climber in red, you can see a rope descending a few metres below the right side of the ridge, allowing the other group of climbers to descend below the ridge and make the traverse to the main summit. This is a much safer approach than shuffling over that horribly winding ridge. Mingma G and Imagine Nepal deserve credit for this small addition to the route, which allowed their clients to reach the real summit. Of course, by sticking this extra bit to the route, they have increased the risk slightly, but climbers can still stop at the pre-top if they don't want to take that risk. At least they now have the option to continue.
No Belgian climber has ever climbed the true summit.
To date, no Belgian has climbed the real summit. It is my intention to be the first Belgian to climb it.
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