Conquering Manaslu on Skis!

Mountain Hardwear has an excellent story on their Hardwear Sessions blog about Guy Willett, a high altitude climbing and skiing guide, who made what could be the first descent of Manaslu on skis back in September.

The 8156 meter (26,758 feet) Manaslu is located in Nepal, roughly 40 miles east of Annapurna. It is the eighth highest peak in the world, and was first climbed back in 1956. It was later skied, at least to some degree, back in 1981, although a complete descent has never been verified, hence the reason Guy's recent drop may be the first.

The story from Mountain Hardwear is written by Guy himself, who offers details on both the climb and the descent. There is good information on the various stages of the climb, and approach to the top, followed by some personal insights on the harrowing descent, which included him avoiding a crevasse in white out conditions. That sounds scary on a rope, and even more so on skis!

It should be noted that Guy was joined by Emma Jack for all but 350 vertical meters of the descent. The team reached the summit of the mountain at 9 AM on Sept. 28th, and were back in BC by 4 PM. If there is one thing to be said for these ski descents, its that they do indeed get you back to base camp in a hurry.