Himalaya 2013: Carlos Soria Calls It Quits On Shishapangma

It was a relatively quiet weekend in the Himalaya where most of the major commercial expeditions are starting to wrap up operations. With numerous summits on Manaslu and Cho Oyu, as well as a sprinkling of successful climbs elsewhere, the fall season is rapidly coming to a close for most climbers. But there are still a couple of major expeditions to keep our eyes on as we move ahead thanks to the very high profile climbers who are still searching for their summits.

We'll start today on Shishapangma where 74-year old Carlos Soria has elected to call it quits for another season. You may recall that last week Carlos made a summit bid but was turned back at Camp 3 due to poor weather conditions. While much of the region has enjoyed stable weather all season long, Shishapangma hasn't been so lucky. To date there has been just one summit on the mountain this fall and it doesn't appear that it'll be getting any easier in the days ahead. With that in mind, Carlos pulled the plug and is on his way home, although he says that he is already looking ahead to the spring.

To get an idea of what it is like to climb Shisha, take a look at the video below. It shows Carlos and a couple of his companions trekking up from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on that mountain. You'll get more out of it if you understand Spanish but if you don't, the views are still pretty great.

Elsewhere, the major expeditions that are still ongoing that will receive the bulk of attention moving forward include the Italians, Edmond Joyeusaz and Federico Colli, making an attempt to climb and ski down Lhotse. The last we heard from them they were back in Base Camp, fighting a bit of an illness and regaining their strength before attempting to go up to Camp 2 this week.

I'll also be keeping an eye on Ueli Steck and Don Bowie's attempt at a fall summit on Annapurna as well as Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb's expedition to summit Lunag Ri, the tallest unclimbed peak in Nepal. Neither of those two teams has shared many details from their respective mountains, but hopefully we'll get more dispatches from them soon. For now, we wait to hear about their progress.