MADRID, 6 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Basque mountaineer Alex Txikon has managed this Friday to summit Manaslu (8,163 meters above sea level) for the first time in history in a purely winter expedition, according to a statement.
After a change in strategy, a month of acclimatization to be able to attack the summit at the first opportunity and good weather, Txikon achieved the desired goal. “We are very tired but tremendously excited. Now it’s time to go down little by little and all arrive safe and sound. At that moment it will be when we get to the true summit,” explained the Basque mountaineer on his descent.
The team led by Alex Txikon approached the challenge this year in a different way, after two failed first attempts. He arrived at the Manaslu Base Camp on December 26, at about 5,000 meters of altitude. They verified that the last days of the year the wind would get stronger but that little by little the weather would begin to stabilize.
On January 4, they took the necessary material and went directly up to C2, at about 6,400 meters. “We have done about 1,500 meters of unevenness. The route has been very hard due to the wind and all the material we brought”, highlighted the Basque mountaineer. A day later, they rested at C2 and quickly ascended to C3 (just below 7,000 meters).
With favorable weather, they understood that this Friday, at dawn, was their chance to attempt the top and achieve the feat. Along with Pasang Nurbu Sherpa, Chhapel Sherpa, Gelu Sherpa, Maila Sherpa, Mantere Lama Sherpa and Gamje Babu Sherpa, his roping partners, Txikon stormed the summit and at 9.30 (local time) managed to scale the eighth highest mountain in the world, sin artificial oxygen aid and in the depths of winter, a milestone never before achieved.
