Manaslu | 1988 E Ridge-NE Face

A Switzerland expedition to Manaslu in 1988 via E Ridge-NE Face, led by Anton (Toni) Spirig. Summit reached on 1st May 1988. 7 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 93
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MANA88102
Peak ID MANA
Year 1988
Season 1
Host Country 1
Route 1 E Ridge-NE Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality Switzerland
Leaders Anton (Toni) Spirig
Sponsor Swiss Manaslu Expedition 1988
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 29th
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1988-04-03
Summit Date 1988-05-01
Summit Time 1320
Summit Days 28
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 8163
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 2
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 7
Summit Members 3
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 0
Summit Hired 0
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired True
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(03/04,4500m),C1(08/04,5900m),C2(13/04,6750m),Biv(30/04,7500m),Smt(01/05)
Route Notes BC below East Ridge (really on East Ridge southwest of Samagaon) C1 on East Ridge C2 at beginning of plateau (slope between Ridge and NE Face) Biv at 7500m at small saddle on normal route. Team had planned to send more summiters on 2nd May but weather turned bad with stormy snow 1-2 hrs after 1st team reached top on 1 May. All down to BC. 3 members went up to a bit higher than 7500m but windy and no shelter at 7600m on 10th May and back to C2. Now clouds moved in and on 11th fought way down to BC in heavy snowstorm. After that team had enough. One traverse of 150m was only difficult point; was at 6000m and ropes fixed there which made it easy. Also fixed section of 250m below C1 to make it easy climbing upper part of a steep couloir. Calendar of Events - expedition report 25/3/88 Begin of approach march through the Buri Gandaki valley with 54 local porters. 03/4/88 Sama - basecamp with 24 porters from Sama village 06/4/88 Reconnoitre of route on the East Ridge up to 5500m. Putting fixed ropes (250m) in the upper section of the big couloir 08/4/88 Establishing C1 at 5900m by Fuster, Levet, Spirig 09/4/88 Climbing on the East Ridge up to the begin of the steep traverse clearing and fixing old ropes, which we found in place (Fuster, Levet, Spirig) 10/4/88 Climbing the steep traverse through the South Face Hangelquergang and fixing 150m of rope (Spirig, Levet). 13/4/88 Establishing C2 at 6800m by Fuster/Ott. They turned back after the arrival of bad weather. 16/4/88 Establishing of gear and food deposit at 6500m. We had to return due to bad weather (Levet, Spirig) 19/4/88 Attempt stopped in C1 by bad weather (Huber, Fuster, Ott). After 1 day, they returned to BC. 22/4/88 Attempt stopped in C1 in heavy snowfall and bad weather (Levet, Spirig). Returned to BC after 3 days. 16/4/88 Attempt stopped in C1 in bad weather (Wille, Stahel). Returned to BC after 2 days. 28/4/88 C1 reached by Huber, Fuster, Ott and Wille, Stahel. 29/4/88 C2 reached by Huber, Fuster, Ott. 30/4/88 Climbed up to 7500m and biv there (no tent) by Huber, Fuster, Ott. C1 reached by Levet, Spirig (Wille, Stahel still there). 01/5/88 Huber, Fuster and Ott started at 5 am and reached the summit of 8163m high Manaslu at 1:20 pm. Bad weather arrived very soon. They had to descend in snowfall and fog. Late at night they reached the deposited tent at 6500m, after a short visit of the other group at C2. Ursula Huber is the first Swiss woman to reach the summit of an 8000m peak! 01/5/88 C2 reached by Levet, Stahel, Spirig weather got bad in the afternoon and snowfall started. 02/5/88 The whole team descended down to basecamp in bad weather and snowfall. 08/5/88 C1 reached by Levet, Spirig and Wille, Stahel. 09/5/88 Levet, Stahel and Spirig reached C2 in bad storm. We decided to bring down the gear and to camp at a more protected spot at 6500m. 10/5/88 After one night with strong winds and much snow blowing around, we continued the ascend in still stormy conditions. In 7500m, found the biv place of our friends. The site was storm beaten and we couldn't find any protected spot or enough snow to dig and snow cave. Eventually, after reaching 7600m, we decided to turn back. Late at night we reached our last camp at 6500m. 11/5/88 Descending down to BC in heavy snowfall and poor visibility (Levet, Stahel, Spirig). 13/5/88 Returned from BC with 10 porters from Sama village. After 9 days Gorkha was reached.
Accidents None
Achievement 1st Swiss woman to 8000m summit
Agency Asian Trekking
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2450486
Year 1988
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) e ridge-ne face

Members

7 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Beda Fuster M 1956 Switzerland Deputy Leader Appenzell, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Switzerland Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Ursula Huber F 1963 Switzerland Climber Appenzell, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Switzerland Gymnastics teacher Details Other expeditions
Pierre-Andre Levet M 1949 Switzerland Climber Choex, Valais, Switzerland Auto mechanic Details Other expeditions
Richard Ott M 1962 Switzerland Climber Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland Carpenter Details Other expeditions
Anton Karl (Toni) Spirig M 1953 Switzerland Leader Celerina, Graudunden, Switzerland Architect Details Other expeditions
Ulrich (Ueli) Stahel M 1960 Switzerland Climber Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland Computer engineer Details Other expeditions
Barbara Wille F 1964 Switzerland Climber Winterthur, Zurich, Switzerland Biology teacher Details Other expeditions

References

5 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MANA88102 AAJ Spirig, Toni - - 63:211 (1989) -
MANA88102 HJ Spirig, Toni Swiss Manaslu Expedition, 1988 - 45:176-179 (1987-1988) -
MANA88102 MM - - - 122:11 (Jul 1988) -
MANA88102 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12198921101/Asia-Nepal-Manaslu-East-Ridge - - -
MANA88102 - - https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/45/22/expeditions-and-notes-45/ - - -