Goodbye Samuli Mansikka

I lead treks and expeditions everywhere in the world and share the mountain experience with groups and climbers with maybe less background. I love that, but still I consider climbing the 8000ers alone as my time-off. It gives me time to look back at my life, live in the moment and plan the upcoming.” - Samuli Mansikka

He was a true mountain man. 35 climbing/trekking/guiding expeditions all around the world in past 10 years are a depiction of his passion for mountains. He bagged his 10th eight-thousander Annapurna couple of days ago. News of his loss on Annapurna traumatized the climbing community. Here are few comments from fellow climbers/friends about the finest Finnish climber of this age.

- “There are some people who seem to live charmed lives and you think they will survive no matter what. Sammy was one of these for me,” says British climber Mark Horrell, who was with Samuli on Cholatse this fall.

- “I climbed Alpamayo and K2 with Sammy. I climbed almost beside Sammy from the High Camp to the summit, him with no Os. I could barely keep up. His competence, sense of humor and grin will be sorely missed by all.” Alan Arnette wrote on his blog from USA.

- “Very sad day; my mate Samuli Mansikka died after summiting Annapurna. Not often you meet such a nice guy in life and he will be missed.Tweeted fellow climber Gavin Vickers.

- “A promising career crushed when Spring was just about to start…” climber and mountaineering historian Bob A. Schelfhout Aubertijn quoted in a Facebook post.

- “We had plans to attempt the North Ridge of Ama Dablam, just the two of us, after the Junkies Manaslu expedition and when Sammy had finished with his trekking groups in the fall, but now the project doesn’t seem worthwhile anymore.
I am in Kathmandu getting ready for our Everest expedition and we had already started planning the Annapurna summit party on the Junkies office roof for when he returned to Kathmandu in a few days. For all those climbers who knew and climbed with Sammy in the past, raise a glass to him tonight, as you know he would want you to.” Altitude Junkies expedition leader Phil Crampton wrote in his obituary note.

Samuli Mansikka with a trekking group at Annapurna BC in Autumn 2013. He regularly led trekking expeditions to the region.

Samuli Mansikka’s Eight-Thousanders:-
1. Cho Oyu (2006, 2008, without O2)
2. Lhotse (2008, with supplemental oxygen)
3. Everest (2009, with supplemental oxygen)
4. Manaslu (2009, without O2)
5. G II (2010, without O2)
6. Dhaulagiri (2011, without O2)
7. Makalu (2013, without O2)
8. Kangchenjunga (2014, without O2)
9. K2 (2014, without O2)
10. Annapurna (2015, without O2, died on descent)
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