Zakopane alpinist becomes first woman in the world to scale Nepal’s ‘killer mountain’
A mountaineer from Zakopane has become the first woman in the world to scale Nepal’s Mt. Manaslu without oxygen – and the first Polish woman to then ski down it.
Setting off on 27 September, Anna Tybor took just two days to reach the top of the eighth highest mountain in the world before beginning her descent of the 8,163-metre peak, reaching base camp about 6pm on 30th September.
Tybor and her team, which included Piotrek Drzastwa, two Italian colleagues Federico Secchi and Marco Majori as well as the sherpa Chhang Dawa arrived at the base of the mountain on 12th September and began the acclimatization process.
Speaking to RMF24, the 29-year-old said: “I started skiing at the age of three and I won the first Polish Skialpinism Cup at the age of 13, then I felt that it would be my life's path.
“However, ski mountaineering is not only a competition for me but above all a way of life. Now I want to start skiing to the highest peaks.”
Towering above the pine forests of Nepal's Budhi Gandaki river valley, Mt. Manaslu is nicknamed
After her success Tybor paid tribute to those who had inspired her such as legendary Polish ski mountaineering trailblazer Andrzej Bargiel who was the first Pole to achieve such a feat, with Tybor being only the second.
She also thanked her father and famous female mountaineers Wanda Rutkiewicz and Anna Czerwińska.
After her success Tybor paid tribute to those who had inspired her such as legendary Polish ski mountaineering trailblazer Andrzej Bargiel who was the first Pole to achieve such a feat, with Tybor being only the second.
The trip was planned for last year but due to COVID restrictions the challenge was pushed back until last month.
Tybor and her team, which included Piotrek Drzastwa, two Italian colleagues Federico Secchi and Marco Majori as well as the sherpa Chhang Dawa arrived at the base of the mountain on 12th September and began the acclimatization process.
The 29-year-old said that ski mountaineering had become a way of life and that she now wanted “to start skiing to the highest peaks.”
Towering above the pine forests of Nepal's Budhi Gandaki river valley, Mt. Manaslu is nicknamed "killer mountain" by locals as more than 60 people have died on its treacherous slopes.
