Challenges

May 1960. Ten years, almost to the day, after the first reconnaissance at the foot of the ‘White Mountain’, Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) was about to be climbed. The seventh highest peak on the planet, it is the last to resist its many contenders. Or to be more precise, the last summit accessible to the Western world.

At the beginning of September, Expeditions Unlimited completed its first expedition to Manaslu, the eighth highest peak on the planet at 8,163 meters. A team of nine participants, including French mountain guide Clément Flouret, undertook the ascent with the support of a Nepalese team of around fifteen people.

At a time when Nepal has just lifted its quarantine for vaccinated people, we take a look back at our ascent of Everest last spring: a five-strong Franco-Swiss team attempted to climb the roof of the world at 8,848 metres via its southern Nepalese side during an expedition led by Bernard Muller.

The Second World War temporarily postponed the conquest of the world's ninth highest peak, Nanga Parbat. At 8,126 meters, it continues to resist the efforts of Himalayan climbers. After the tragedies of 1934 and 1937, it wasn't until 1953 that Germany, licking its wounds, considered taking up the challenge again. This is the second part of our saga of Nanga Parbat, ‘the killer mountain’.

Nanga Parbat, ‘the killer mountain’. Between Mummery's first attempt in 1895 and Hermann Buhl's first ascent in 1953, 30 people lost their lives on its slopes. A sad record. Unlike most of the 8,000, there is no obvious route to the summit. We take you back to those tragic moments in the history of Himalayan climbing.

Ever since the first climbers set eyes on the towering summit of K2, the mountain has fascinated. Firstly by its shape, an almost perfect pyramid, two Matterhorns piled one on top of the other. Then for its difficulties: verticality reigns supreme. Only the best can aspire to its ascent. Here's a selection of some of the bravest climbs.

By the end of 1956, ten of the fourteen 8,000+ summits had been climbed by himalayists. Three had succumbed to the brilliance of Austrian mountaineers. Forerunners of the alpine-style expeditions to come, four Austrian mountaineers, including Hermann Buhl, achieved a feat that went almost unnoticed at the time. Without a base camp, without high-altitude Sherpas, without oxygen, they offered themselves a fine piece of bravery. A look back at this little-known expedition.

In the spring of 2021, Expeditions Unlimited is organising an ascent of Mount Everest (8,848 m) via the South Face, on the Nepal side. François Trouillet, one of the participants, gives us a poignant first-hand account of the main stages of this expedition. In this post, François describes the team of Sherpas accompanying us on this expedition.

In the spring of 2021, Expeditions Unlimited is organising an ascent of Mount Everest (8,848 m) via the South Face, on the Nepal side. François Trouillet, one of the participants, gives us a poignant first-hand account of the main stages of this expedition. In this article, François describes life at the Everest base camp, with all the teams and the Covid atmosphere of 2021.