Manaslu - Nepal Tourism Year 2011

 Manaslu lies 64km east of Annapurna, between Gorkha and Manang districts in northern Nepal. Of all the

fourteen eight-thousanders, twelve were first summited by climbers from the west while two were conquered by Asians. The fact that the peak was first climbed by a Japanese Expedition has made it one of the most popular mountains among Japanese mountaineers. It all began with a Japanese Manaslu Reconnaissance Expedition in 1952. This was followed by Japanese expeditions in 1953 and 1954 but the latter was unable to approach the mountain following opposition from the inhabitants of Samu village along the route.
The expeditions went up the river Budi Gandaki's course to reach the mountain.
With the intervention of the Nepalese Government, the Samu villagers eventually relented and allowed the mountaineers to proceed. The next Japanese expedition which arrived in 1956 was led by sixty-two-year old Yuko Maki, a seasoned climber. This team of climbers met with success on 9th may 1956 when Toshio Imanishi and Sherpa sirdar Gyalsten Norbu made it to the summit. They were followed by two other members of the expedition with Kichiro Kato and Minoru Higeta reaching the top two days later. This happened to be the first Asian expedition to conquer an eight-thousander. Since then, many Japanese climbers have followed in their footsteps. The first Nepali national to climb manaslu was Urikien Tshering Sherpa who summited on 22nd April 1973.