Two deaf American climbers, Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger, have achieved another mountaineering milestone by summiting Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain.

Their expedition coincided with the successful summits of at least 50 other climbers, setting a record for the highest number of ascents on Manaslu in a single day this autumn.

The Maryland couple, accompanied by their long-time guides, twin brothers Mingma Dorchi and Mingma Tenji Sherpa, reached the true summit at 6:12am on Tuesday, their expedition organisers Seven Summit Treks confirmed.  

Lehmann and Unger, who became the first American deaf climbers to scale Everest last year, have now climbed four eight-thousanders in Nepal. They scaled Lhotse a day after reaching atop Everest and climbed Makalu in spring this year. They have also summited other notable peaks Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Mont Blanc and Matterhorn.

Both born profoundly deaf, they have explored the world of outdoor adventure with amazing strength and determination.

“Scott and Shayna picked up skills mostly by YouTube videos and asking others through paper and pen because of the lack of accessibility in outdoor education,” a statement on their official website reads. “They have made it their mission of bridging the gap between the outdoors and the deaf and hard of hearing community.”

Mingma Dorchi and Mingma Tenji, who have guided the pair throughout their 8,000-metre expeditions, have been instrumental in their success since the duo’s first major summit.

Weather Window

It was a busy day on Manaslu, with climbers from several expedition teams pushing to capitalise on a brief weather window to reach the top.

8K Expeditions saw a multinational team of 35 climbers successfully summit the mountain. Another multinational expedition team led by 14 Peaks Expedition comprising 18 climbers, including three women, also scaled the mountain. This expedition marks the largest group to summit Manaslu in a single day during the ongoing autumn climbing season.

Notable climbers on the 8K Manaslu Expedition team included Sanu Sherpa, a double 14-peaks record holder, IFMGA guides Pema Chhiring and Tshering Pemba Sherpa. Liang Yi from China became the oldest Chinese woman to scale Manaslu at the age of 61. She was joined by compatriots Xu Min, Hu Zhiwei, Yang Lingling, Ni Daihong, Liu Ping and Li Juncai.

“After weeks of acclimatisation, meticulous preparation and navigating unpredictable weather and challenging terrain, the entire team reached the summit,” said Lakpa Sherpa, team leader and the managing director of 8K Expeditions.

Other successful 8K summiters are Julia Lyubova from Britain, Oksana Kushnir from Cyprus, Indra Bahadur Rai (USA), Batkhishig Baldorj (Mongolia), Robin Kamal Behl (India), Ihnat Sauchanka (Belarus) and Raluca Cornelia Uzum (Romania). Pasdawa Sherpa, Pechhumbi Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, Chhiring Sherpa, Dawa Nuppu Sherpa, Sange Sherpa, Ang Kami Sherpa, Nima Sherpa, Lale Tamang, Lakpa Ongjuk Sherpa, Pemnurbu Sherpa, Pemlakpa Sherpa, Pemba Dorchi Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa, Mingma Dawa Sherpa, Dawa Lama Sherpa, and Phurba Thilen Sherpa are other Nepali members on the team.

The climbers from 14 Peaks Expedition reached the true summit between 4:30 and 7:00am on Tuesday, team leader Tashi Lakpa Sherpa confirmed from the Manaslu Base Camp via social media. The team was composed of nine Nepali Sherpas, four Russians, two Americans, one climber each from China, India and Switzerland.

Tashi Lakpa added the first climbers to reach the summit were Shutong Han of China and Sona Sherpa from Sankhuwasabha, Nepal. They were followed by a group of seven: Swiss climber Annemie Ruth Kostezer, Americans Jeremiah Michael Cahow and William Dean Cahow, and four Nepali climbers—Phunuru Sherpa, Ang Karma Sherpa, Ming Sona Sherpa, and Tshering Tendi Sherpa from Solukhumbu—who reached the peak at 4:45am.

At 5:30am, Angad Grewal from India and Nepali Sherpa Dawa Chhiring, also from Sankhuwasabha, summited the peak. They were soon joined by the remaining seven climbers: Vladimir Kotlyar, Anastasiia Giliazova, Aleksei Kozlov, Kseniia Abramova of Russia and Nepali Sherpas Tashi Sherpa, Pemba Chhombi Sherpa, and Mingma Jangbu Sherpa.

Another ten climbers from Pioneer Adventure expedition team also achieved a summit success. Three Chinese Liao Shuilian, Xu Xiaohui and Hou Yong, Shivaji Nanware from India and Vladislav Safyanovskiy from the US, each accompanied by a Sherpa guide, scaled the mountain between 4:30 and 5:40am on Tuesday, the company confirmed.

These summits followed a notable ascent on Sunday when 17-year-old Asha Noor Shehryar became the youngest American woman to scale Manaslu. Climbing alongside her Sherpa guide Ngima Dorchi, Shehryar reached the summit at 4:10am in a group of nine, as reported by Seven Summit Treks.

Nepal’s Nima Rinji Sherpa, who summited at 18, and China’s Sui Cho Yuan, who set the record at 16 in 2023, hold the titles of the world’s youngest male and female to summit the peak.

On Monday, Germany’s Anja Blacha completed her climb without supplementary oxygen. Francisco Marcio da Silva Campos from Brazil, Hassan Sepahvand from Iran, and Sherpas Ngima Dorchi, Dharch Bhote and Pasang Sherpa were also part of this group that reached the summit at 4:08am. Another German Frank Weisbach and his guide Lakpa Rinjhin Sherpa completed the climb at 9:35am.

Fixing Ropes for Autumn

A day earlier on Sunday, another expedition led by Seven Summit Treks also saw success, with eight international climbers and an equal number of Nepali Sherpas summiting the true peak. Foreign climbers on the team were Fotios Theocharis (Greece), Dake Wang, Yuxin Ding and Chunyu Zhao (China), Rajan Lal, Napier Sandford Fuller (USA) and Carola Eva Hellriegel and Michaela Harasta (Germany).

Two days prior, Iranian climber Afsaneh Hesami Fard and Nepali guide Pemba Thenduk Sherpa also summited Manaslu.

On Thursday, a nine-member multinational team under the leadership of Chhang Dawa Sherpa from Seven Summit Treks reached the peak, including Swiss climber Josette Valloton and Japanese climbers Naoko Watanabe and Keizo Konishi. Valloton became the first female International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA) guide to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks.

On September 18, six Sherpas were the first to summit Manaslu, clearing the route to mark the beginning of the new autumn. This was followed by a Department of Tourism announcement stating that 362 climbers from 54 countries have been issued permits to scale ten mountains in Nepal for the autumn season, with 308 targeting Manaslu.

American Tyler Andrews set a new fastest time for the ascent, reaching the true summit of Manaslu in 9 hours and 52 minutes from base camp, breaking the previous record of 12 hours set by Nepal’s Pemba Gelje Sherpa in 2023.