Txikon returns to Manaslu base camp after three weeks

The expedition led by Álex Txikon returned to base camp Manaslu (8,163 meters), after abandoning it three weeks ago due to bad weather, to resume the winter ascent attempt to the eighth highest summit on the planet.

In view of the harsh conditions and the obvious risk of avalanches, on the 9th the Biscayan mountaineer announced his decision to descend to Samagaun, a Nepalese town where they have stayed for these weeks and where “it has been snowing intermittently”.

“There is a lot of snow, but it seems that time has given us a break and that the snow may begin to settle. It’s what we need. May everything that has fallen stabilize and allow us to gain height little by little,” explains Txikon, in statements released by his support team.

The group, of which they are also part Iñaki Álvarez and Eneko Garamendi, will carry out in the next few days “small forays into the mountains to see how the situation is” and assess the strategy to follow based on the data obtained.

“The most important thing is the safety of the group. In that we are inflexible and we are not going to take risks. We have come to climb Manaslu in winter, an ambitious and risky goal, but safety is essential. The most important thing is to return home safe and sound. In that there are no buts that are worth”, emphasizes Txikon.

Before beginning the ascent, the mountaineers they will have to set up a base camp again “quite touched” after the avalanches that he has endured these weeks and whose condition confirmed the “good decision” they made when they decided to descend.