Manaslu is
the high peak of the Gurkha massif, and is the eighth highest mountain
in the world. It is located about forty miles east of Annapurna (8091
m.), the tenth highest mountain. The mountain's long ridges and valley
glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions, and it
culminates in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding
landscape, and is a dominant feature when seen from afar. The name
Manaslu is derived from the Sanskrit word Manasa and can be roughly
translated as Mountain of the Spirit.
In 1972, fifteen members of a Korean expedition were killed at
22,800 feet when an avalanche buried their camp. Two years later, the
news from the mountain was better: An all-female Japanese expedition
successfully ascended to the summit, thereby becoming the first women
to climb an 8,000 meter peak.
