KATHMANDU: At least 27 climbers are all set to attempt to climb Mt Manaslu (8,163 m) in an alpine style this autumn, according to the expedition organiser.

Managing Director Chatur Tamang at Makalu Extreme Treks & Expedition informed that some of the climbers would head to Mt Manaslu region on Friday to attempt to scale the world’s eighth highest peak.  “At least 27 climbers plan to ascend the peak in an alpine style without obtaining support from high altitude workers,” he said.

Oksana Morneva will be leading a 16-member international team while Ivan Aristov will lead another 15-member team of Russian climbers. Both teams have all male members except team leader Morneva, a woman mountaineer from Russia, Tamang shared.

The other members of the teams include Yarsolav Nosa, Volodymyr Roshko, Taras Pozdnii, Sanya Nooson and Dmytro Necheporenko from Ukraine, Asset Danyalov of Kazakhstan, Ivan Yuriev Tomov from Bulgaria and Chinese climber Ma Chao.

“Anton Pugovkin, Nikolai Kadoshnikov, Oleg Kondrakov, Vitalii Lazo, Vladimir Zadokhin, Iruii Sukhanov, Aznaur Akkaev, Nikolai Skvortsov, Gennady Dolgov, Sergey Baranov, Andrei Glush kov, Pavel Chernov, Evgenii Prilepa, Igor Popenys, Roman Demenko, Viacheslav Krut, Andrei Dergachev, Lurii Panov, Oleg Afanasyev, Alexander Eliseev and Igor Romanov are other Russian climbers attempting to climb the mountain in the autumn season,” Tamang said.

The climbers choose to scale the peak without guide support to promote alpinism, according to Tamang. “The teams will be in Manaslu region for nearly one month.”

According to the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, at least 170 foreign climbers representing 14 teams have already obtained climbing permits for Mt Manaslu till date.