Manaslu | 1989 SW Face

A UK expedition to Manaslu in 1989 via SW Face, led by Mark Dixon. Summit reached on 20th October 1989. 3 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 344
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID MANA89302
Peak ID MANA
Year 1989
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 SW Face
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality UK
Leaders Mark Dixon
Sponsor British Manaslu 1989 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 -
Approach -
Basecamp Date 1989-09-10
Summit Date 1989-10-20
Summit Time -
Summit Days 40
Total Days 50
Termination Date 1989-10-30
Termination Reason 10
Termination Notes Abandoned at 7000m due to long route, no Sherpas on mtn, etc.
High Point (m) 7000
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 0
Fixed Rope (m) 0
Total Members 3
Summit Members 0
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(10/09,3850m),ABC(20/09,4350m),Biv(04/10,4700m),Biv1(15/10,4850m),Biv2(16/10,5300m),Biv3(17/10,5500m),Biv4(18/10,6400m),xxx(20/10,7000m)
Route Notes ABC at Tirolean BC (normal BC site) High point at foot of ramp. 1st biv at 4700m for five nights fixing a rock pillar 4-7 Oct and then down to BC. Also did six carries each from BC to ABC, a distance of 7 miles with same carries; this really tired members considerably. 1st summit bid by Dixon and Parsons with 70-pound loads. Left BC 13th Oct, 14th stashed gear at ABC, 15th to base of pillar at 4850m and bived there. 16th up the pillar to 5300m at its top and bived. 17th into butterfly valley and bived in crevasse on edge of valley at 5500m. 18th up valley to 6400m and bived on glacier. 19th would have been summit day but rested, ready to start for top early on 20th. Left just after midnight and got to about 7000m at 4:00 am, decided moving too slowly to get to top and avoid very high biv without proper equipment and no feeling in toes, so turned back at 7000m and down to ABC same day. Thomas took Sherpas to ABC on 20th. 21st 3 members cleaned pillar. Team felt exhausted with long route and without Sherpa support (BC site where it was because Sherpas demanded higher pay above and budget couldn't stand this cost). Had expected to be team of 10 members but couldn't get sponsorship and was privately funded. Safe route: limited avalanche danger. After reached BC, were many days of rain. During final part of climb snow conditions were good and no wind at their altitudes. The long, seldom attempted SW Face route (Austrian 1972) exhausted this three-member team with no climbing Sherpas and no fixed camps. The route was safe with "limited avalanche danger."
Accidents None
Achievement -
Agency Mountain Travel
Commercial Route -
Standard Route -
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference -
Primary ID -
Checksum 2451024
Year 1989
Summit Success False
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) sw face

Members

3 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Mark Dixon M 1959 UK Leader Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England Chartered accountant Details Other expeditions
Adrian Parsons M 1959 UK Climber Welwyn Garden City, Hertford, England Geophysicist Details Other expeditions
Neil Graham Thomas M 1960 UK Climber London, England Insurance broker Details Other expeditions

References

4 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
MANA89302 AAJ Guha, Kamal K. - - 64:245 (1990) -
MANA89302 MM - - - 131:5 (Jan 1990) -
MANA89302 MM - - - 132:11 (Mar 1990) -
MANA89302 - - http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199024502/Asia-Nepal-Manaslu-Attempt - - -