Gripped Magazine
Two Solo Himalayan Climbs for Fay Manners
U.K. climber Fay Manners arrived in India’s Garhwal Himalaya with the goal of a second attempt on the unclimbed east face of Chaukhamba III (6,974 m). Last year, alongside American climber Michelle Dvorak, she reached about 6,500 m before disaster struck: their haul bag containing their tent, stove, crampons and ice‑axes plunged into a gorge. A storm pinned them for days and they were eventually air‑lifted out by the Indian Air Force.
This year the two trekked in via the Satopanth Glacier, with Dvorak fresh from a week‑long high‑altitude hike in Nepal’s Langtang Valley to acclimatize. But the expedition ran into trouble almost immediately: porters abandoned the team far from base camp, and then a week‑long storm dumped over 1.5 metres of snow at around 4,700 m. Dvorak succumbed to a cold which turned into a chest infection in ‑15 °C pre‑dawn conditions, forcing her to remain at camp.
Manners, however, was still in good health and unwilling to give up. With Dvorak recovering, she went ahead to advanced base camp and followed snow‑leopard tracks to identify a remote, likely unclimbed ridge which she named the Asha Traverse (Hindi for “hope”). On Oct. 18, she completed the Asha Traverse, a narrow, exposed, two‑kilometre ridge with steep drops on both sides and a mix of walkable snow and knee‑deep powder that required precise axe work. She described the climb as “narrow, exposed ridges balanced with relaxed stretches…just me, an unclimbed Himalayan ridge, and the stillness of the mountains.”
A few days later, Manners did a second line: the Anamika Traverse, that she rated AD 4c. Though it was a lower ridge, it still offered views of the Satopanth Glacier and the east face they originally aimed for. With crusted snow almost skiable, she moved unroped and savoured the contrast to last year’s high‑stakes drama. A fresh forecast of snow forced an early exit and the team left the area a week ahead of schedule, with no immediate plan for a rematch on Chaukhamba III.
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