Fall Himalaya Coverage: Autumn Avalanches
Show notes
*Editor's note: This episode was recorded on September 18, before an avalanche at Camp 3 on Manaslu killed two climbers. Our thoughts are with their families, their friends, and everyone involved in the rescue.*
In Episode 64, Sam and Adrian open with quick hits on The Gear Project, a new online consignment shop for used outdoor gear, and a wave of climbing and ski films landing on major streamers this fall, before turning to the autumn Himalaya season.
Adrian opens the episode with why post-monsoon snowpack and long stable weather windows make fall the best time for technical and ski objectives below 8,000 meters, and why an unreliable jet stream makes the highest peaks a gamble.
- Manaslu: With Cho Oyu closed and Pakistan seeing a quiet summer, more than 1,000 climbers have converged on Manaslu for a record season. Adrian, who spent four seasons there after Russell Brice first brought commercial teams in 2008, breaks down the mountain's history of massive avalanches, the wet tail of this year's monsoon, and a slide above Camp 3 that wiped out an estimated 1,300 meters of fixed rope just hours after the fixing team came down.
- The rest of the map: Dhaulagiri's low commercial success rate (and Adrian's canceled expedition there as a young climber), autumn attempts on Makalu and Annapurna, and the case for a commercial fall season on Everest's south side, where shared infrastructure could make the Khumbu Icefall affordable.
- Ama Dablam: Adrian's favorite mountain, which he has summited 13 times, and the hanging serac hazard that shapes Alpenglow's camp policy there.
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The Duffel Shuffle Podcast is supported by Alpenglow Expeditions, an internationally renowned mountain guide service based in Lake Tahoe, California. Visit https://alpenglowexpeditions.com/ or follow @alpenglowexpeditions on Instagram to learn more.