Double Amputee and Visually Impaired Climbers Climb Manaslu
A Russian and a Canadian have made history this past week with their ascents
The Himalayas have been busy over the past few weeks, with climbers taking advantage of good fall conditions to summit some of the world’s highest peaks.
A 28-year-old Russian climber, Rustham Nabiev, who had lost both legs, has set a record by climbing the world’s eighth-highest mountain Manaslu (8,163 m) with only his hands. He lost his legs after a military building collapsed that killed 24 of his co-workers.
And Canadian Jill Wheatley, a visually impaired climber and survivor of a traumatic brain injury, also reached the top of Manaslu. There have been few ascents, if any, of Manaslu by Canadians. She’s also the first visually impaired woman to reach the summit.
The first ascent of Manaslu was on May 9, 1956, by a Japanese team, and the first winter ascent was on Jan. 12, 1984, by Maciej Berbeka and Ryszard Gajewski.
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