Manaslu | 1978 NE Face

A USA expedition to Manaslu in 1978 via NE Face, led by Glenn Porzak. Summit reached on 19th April 1978. 11 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 2127
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MANA78101
Peak ID MANA
Year 1978
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 NE Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Glenn Porzak
Sponsor 1978 Colorado Himalayan Expedition
Success 1 False
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Canada
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1978-03-10
Summit Date 1978-04-19
Summit Time -
Summit Days 40
Total Days 50
Termination Date 1978-04-29
Termination Reason 5
Termination Notes Abandoned at 7320m due to avalanche danger
High Point (m) 7320
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 4
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 11
Summit Members 0
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 5
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken False
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(10/03,3840m),C1(14/03,4940m),C2(23/03,5600m),C3(14/04,6400m),C4(19/04,7320m),xxx(19/04,7320m)
Route Notes Highest point 7320m just a couple of rope lengths above C4 "to have a look around." SR Sharma, Tourism - 3 May 79 Manaslu abandoned 29 April because of heavy snowfall and bad weather. Expedition returning to KTM ( when not stated in wireless message). SR Sharma, Tourism - 1 May 78 If weather continues bad for 7 more days will have to abandon; weather very bad and some members are ill and down at BC. From leader - 24 April 78 C4 24,000 feet - from Gordon Shailendra Raj Sharma, Tourism Ministry - 28 March 78 C1 established 14 March at 16,200 ft; first occupied 21 March by Gerry Roach, Paul Parker and Bruce Gordan. Jej Lama - 23 Feb 78 4 coolies dead and 3 seriously injured and in KTM hospital; 31 injured in truck which turned over when fell off highway to Trisuli Bazar. All members have gone now from KTM; 4 this am and rest last night when went to see damage. Porzak - 14 Feb 78 2 here now; other 7 arrive 18 Feb (at Yellow Pagoda 1 night and then camp at mountain) 8 Colorado and 1 Canadian Leave 22nd Feb to Trisuli Bazar; arrive BC 7 March at 13,000 feet East or NE Face route of Japanese in 1956, etc No climbing oxygen 5 Sherpas above BC and 1 cook and 2 assistants 5 camps above BC in the C5 at 25,000 feet Food for up to 1 June. 2-3 weeks from BC to C2 carrying 7-8 times but super way of acclimatizing. 8 of 9 members have been: 2 - 26,200 on Everest 1 - 25,500 Makalu 1 - 24,500 Hindukush 1 - 24,000 Makalu 2 - 23,000+ Makalu 1 - 20,320 McKinley By end March C2 well stocked and intial route then icefield 19,000-20,500 ft with C3 at top of icefield. C3 exposed to avalanche from above and must be sited according to avalanche pattern. Only 5000 ft of fixed rope which will fix on 23,500-25,000 ft head wall for descent. Long route: cut in half at lower reaches, then from C3 up is other half. Rather push to get 6 in position to go to summit then. Banking on fact of climbers experience will get way to top. Letter from Manaslu BC - March 29, 1978: Your heart throbs up through your chest into your ears untill all you can hear is the thump. Your legs drag your feet ahead painfully, slowly. The glare and the illusion of heat is stifling. Head down, you plod onward, upward toward C2 where you will dump the fifty pound load off your back, sink gratefully onto it and breathe deeply of the rarified air at 18,400 feet. The satisfactions of Himalayan climbing are not immediate but on reflection. C2 at the Naike Col on the shoulder of Manaslu is a beautiful place when the weather is nice but members of the 1978 Colorado Himalayan Expedition are finding C2's beauty exacts a heavy price for it's pleasure. Weather is the key to success in the Himalaya and the weather around this year had been atrocious. Since our arrival in BC on March 10, we have not had more than two good climbing days in a row. A conservative estimate is that we have received easily five feet of snow at BC since that time and much more higher on the mountain. Given this problem, the progress of the expedition had been remarkably steady and on schedule. Within a week, C2 should be occupied by most of the expedition members and Sherpas. All necessary supplies for the remainder of the climb will be there. It will be Advanced BC and home for the next month. If the weather will just give us a break. On March 13, the big "welcome to BC" storm finally ended and we were able to get organized. Equipment and food was sorted and loads destined for C1 at 16,000 ft were put together. March 14: the route to C1 was put up in one long day of climbing. At last we were really on the mountain. Morale soared. Danger along the route was not terribly serious with no crevasse and only minimal and fairly predictable avalanche hazard. The next day the movement of loads to C1 began as the weather seemed to be holding fine. We celebrated Paul Parker and Sandy Reed's birthdays the evening of March 15 after a good day of hard load carrying. The Sherpas ate with us and it was a real celebration. Cake, candles, balloons, even fireworks. The omens were good. March 19 was the next decent day. We carried loads to C1 and were surprised to find the location we all agreed upon for the camp had been narrowly missed by a big avalanche after the storm. So much for educated guesses. We moved C1 200 yards up on a ridge. On March 21 C1 was occupied. A milestone. Also the first day of spring ushered in by a snowstorm. Snow days are difficult. We all spend those days reading or writing letters or just thinking of home and comforts we miss. As Paul Parker said one evening, "I wonder what it's like to be inside a building?" There are occasional harbingers of spring around BC but they seem get smothered by the evitable next snowstorm. C1 is certainly still in winter. It can be beastly hot in the reflector oven of the glacier but at night it is bitter. The sunburned face under the scraggly beard is quickly forgotten while trying ot gulp down the last meal of the day as the temperature plummets to 8 degrees and your hands stick to your spoon. Idle hours generate considerable esoteric conversation among the climbers. Particularly addicted to this form of entertainment are David Jones, Dee Crouch, Gerry Roach and Charlie Clark who pursue metaphysical problems with great seriousness while Glenn Porzak offers backhanded legal opinions. The rest of us usually lapse into silly comments. Keep the mind occupied. On March 23 the route to Naike Col and C2 was pushed through and another big psychological step was accomplished. Carries to C2 could begin now. Most of us occupy C1 while carrying loads to C2. Each climber and Sherpa has carried at least six loads from BC to C1. A tremendous effort by everyone. All food and equipment is at C1 now and much had already been moved up to C2. With continued hard work and a break in the weather, we will have C2 occupied and stocked within a week and serious work will begin on the icefall and the route to C3. All agree that the route from C2 to C3 will be the crux of the climb. It is not technically intimidating but is frought with objective dangers. Avalanche activity off North Peak and down through the icefall usually begins by mid morning so we must get through the icefall early in the day. The location of C3 above the is critical. An entire Korean expedition was wiped out at C3 by a single avalanche. We must go higher to find a safe site. Source - Gordon Manaslu BC: April 24, 1978: Spring has snubbed the Central Nepalese Himalaya this year. Several climbing expeditions have already given up this traditional climbing season and gone home. We have overcome serious danger and bucked enormous odds to reach C4 at 24,000 feet only to be forced back to C2 by bad weather, avalanches and illness brought on by prolonged living at high altitudes. The huge storm of March 29 was an omen followed by hope. The storm blasted C1 with an estimated six feet of snow in just over twenty four hours. Tents were flattened, equipment was buried, people were frightened. The Sherpas wanted to come down to BC. Indeed, an abortive attempt to do so resulted in several being partially buried in a small sluffing avalanche. We were lucky to get off that easy. But the morning of the last day of March dawned clear. The warm sun following the huge storm was a tonic and once again spirits soared. Digging out was accomplished amid talk of re-establishing the route to C2. We all felt that maybe we might now dare to hope winter had blown itself out and the good spring days essential to our success would come. Indeed, the following days were reasonable for climbing. Clear mornings were usually followed by cloudiness and some light snow in the evenings but we managed to restore the route to C2 and carry significant amounts of food and equipment to the cache there. On April 7, David Jones, Paul Parker and myself moved up to occupy C2 ... perhaps one of the most beautiful places on earth. Situated at the Naike Col the view in every direction is one of magnificent peaks wreathed in shining glaciers, whisps of clouds clinging here and there. Each peak holds a lifetime of climbing ... or just dreaming. Our job now was not only to enjoy where we were but to force a route from the col at 18,400 feet up through the icefall to locate C3 around the 21,300 ft level. The icefall portion of our route up Manaslu is probably the most hazardous part of the climb. The avalanche threat is severe from the crest of the North Peak above where the potential for hundreds of thousands of cubic ft of snow to come roaring down through the chaos of the icefall is always present and difficult to predict. Bruce Gordon decided to leave the Expedition about this time. He received word that his mother, who had been ill for a long time, died in New York. It was a decision we all understood. On April 10, with the additional help of Gerry Roach and Dee Crouch as well as the Sherpas Ang Rita and Nuru, C3 was located at about 21,300 ft above the major activity of the icefall and to the left, away from the danger from the cornices of North Peak. The weather continued to give us a chance. The huge task of moving supplies from C2 through the icefall up to C3 got under way as the good weather held. It was risky business but the experts among us calculated the risks effectively. We moved only early in the day before the sun had a chance to stimulate avalanche activity. On April 14, a good day for moving, Glenn Porzak, the Sherpas Gyalzen and Dorje, and myself occupied C3 taking up residence at 21,300 ft. We soon learned that digging tent platforms at this altitude was something to be done slowly and judiciously as was any physical exertion. On April 15, tax day if you will, Glenn, Gyalzen, Dorje and myself pushed the route to C4 at 24,000 ft. It think it was the hardest physical labor of my life. The lower half of the route was not steep btu snow was knee deep. We took turns breaking a trail. The upper half was blown free of soft snow but crusty and awkward as well as steeper. The road from C3 to C4 was certainly not technically difficult nor particularly dangerous but each movement at these heights is an effort whose magnified intensity throbs in your head and out to your fingertips. The shortage of oxygen and slowness of movement prevents you from getting really warm. Particularly you toes grow numb with cold. Of course it is not all pain and suffering or we would never come. These high places are certainly among the most beautiful in the world. 1200 ft of fixed rope were anchored on the upper part of the route to C4 to aid those who would be carrying heavy loads up in subsequent days. Dorje became ill. Probably due to the altitude. Dee Crouch and Gerry Roach moved up to join us at C3 on April 16. The next morning Dee woke up sick with a combination of intestinal problems and probably some altitude sickness. David Jones, Sandy Read, Pual Parker and the Sherpas Ang Rita, Nuru and Pasang carried loads that day from C3. Paul and all the Sherpas stayed at C3 swelling our aerie to ten. The weather was now showing signs of deteriorating. A storm hit the night of April 17 and continued into the 18th. High winds snapped the pole on one tent and guy lines on some other pulled from their anchors. As snow continued our thoughts turned from upwards toward the summit to below and what the accumulation would be doing to the condition of the icefall route. We knew what it was doing. We were being cut off from C3. Before too long we would would have to give a thought to movement and in which direction it would be possible. On April 19, Glenn, Gerry, Gyalzen, Ang Rita, Nuru, Pasang and I started out for C4 cache after a night of snow. Dee was stil quite ill and now Paul was beginning to show similar signs. Pasang dropped out about a third of the way. The rest of us made IV and had brief look above at the beginning of the headwall leading to the summit plateau. It was our next big problem but we were encouraged by what we saw and felt it would go quickly ... if the weather would let us work on it. Now we were getting close. On April 20 it was still snowing at C3. Pasang's health was obviously not improving although Dee, amazingly, seemed to be getting stronger, even at over 21,000 ft where recovery from any illness is not likely to be significant. Paul, obviously, was suffering from whatever Dee was recovering from. The question of whether to evacuate C3 became the main topic of discussion as the bad weather continued on the 21st. The decision was reached that no matter what, we all needed to get to lower atltitude. Glenn and I had been above 21,000 ft for more than a week and had gone to 24000 ft twice. Dee and Paul were still sick and Gerry, who was tenting with them was beginning to show symptoms. Early the morning of April 22 we struck the tents, secured the cache and turned our backs on C3 to head down the mountain. We knew we would be back so we took only personal gear leaving expensive radios and oxygen equipment. It was a melancholy departure but filled with the hope of going to a place that was safe, where the food and water would be adequate and recovery from assorted medical problems would be possible. We stumbled and thrashed down the fixed ropes immediately below camp. The snow had drifted to waist deep in many places. The going was exhausting ... even going down. This was something we hadn't experienced before. We realized just how much our stay at 21,300 ft had taken out of us. As each of us crossed the 500 yard wide avalanche path halfway down the route we passed from peril into relative safety and I think those watching and counting from C2 below began to smile and turned toward getting a good hot breakfast ready for us and tea brewing. After a warm welcome, a hot breakfast and mail from home, Dee, Pual and Gerry decided to descend to BC where the combination of good food, good rest, warmer temperatures and lower altitude would give them a chance to reawlly get their health back. To stay at C2, at 18,400 feet would only prolong their illness and, in effect, weaken in time. The next day, I would follow to try and recoup a bit of strength and get this story out. So now, The 1978 Colorado Himalayan Expedition, having fought off the appalling Himalayan weather, to struggle to 24,000 less than 3000 ft below the summit, rest and wonders if the tick, tick of snow falling on the tents and the incessent whistle and roar of the wind will stop. Bodies will mend. Strength will be restored. Will can rebound. But will spring ever come the Himalaya?
Accidents 4 coolies killed in truck accident enroute to Trisuli Bazar
Achievement -
Agency -
Commercial Route True
Standard Route True
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2446811
Year 1978
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) ne face

Members

11 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Glenn Edward Porzak M 1948 USA Leader Boulder, Colorado Attorney Details Other expeditions
Charles Clark M 1939 USA Deputy Leader - Physician Details Other expeditions
Dee Bennett Crouch M 1942 USA Climber Boulder, Colorado Physician Details Other expeditions
Bruce Gordon M 1944 USA Climber Cunundrum Valley, Aspen, Colorado Teacher of physical education in primary school Details Other expeditions
John D. Gordon M 1935 USA Climber Denver, Colorado Photojournalist with Rocky Mountain News Details Other expeditions
David P. Jones M 1948 Canada Climber Revelstoke, British Columbia Graduate student, glaciology geology Details Other expeditions
Paul Parker M 1950 USA Climber Breckenridge, Colorado Alpine guide & ski instructor Details Other expeditions
Alexander (Sandy) Read M 1955 USA Climber Fort Collins, Colarado Student of liberal arts, Colorado State University Details Other expeditions
Gerard A. (Gerry) Roach M 1943 USA Climber Boulder, Colorado Outdoor education director Details Other expeditions
Verne R. Read M 1922 USA BC Manager Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Details Other expeditions
Marion Read F 1919 USA BC Manager Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Details Other expeditions

References

3 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MANA78101 AAJ Porzak, Glenn - - 53:271-272 (1979) -
MANA78101 CAJ Jones, David P. 1978 Colorado Expedition to Manaslu - 63:115-117 (1980) -
MANA78101 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12197927100/Asia-Nepal-Manaslu-Attempt - - -