British climbers complete new route in Swiss Alps

A British climber who vowed to carrying on mountaineering after an "horrifying" experience in the Himalayas has completed her 20th expedition.

Fay Manners, from Bedford, established a new mixed climbing route on the north-north-east face of Tête Biselx, a 11,509ft (3,509-metre) granite peak in the Swiss Alps near Chamonix, France.

In 2024, Manners and her climbing partner Michelle Dvorak became stranded on Chaukhamba mountain in northern India, when the rope lifting their things snapped and plummeted.

Manners said that after an initial setback this latest expedition was a success, as "the mountain gods smiled on us, and we managed to find a safe and viable route forward".

No one had ever attempted to tackle this ascent route on Tête Biselx before.

The idea for the ascent came from a ski tour in the region in April 2024.

Manners skied the Copt Couloir near the Trient Plateau and observed the mountain's north face. From below, she began to question which lines had already been climbed - and in what style.

Before the climb, Manners and her climbing partner Ella Wright studied the granite walls, searching for a line that felt logical.

It was important that the route, since named "La Muse de Trient", finished directly on the ridge, offering a fitting conclusion to their expedition.

The two-day climb was a highly technical affair, with the pair tackling ice and rock using tools and crampons and removable protection for safety.

At one point, Manners said she doubted if they would be able to make their way up the mountain.

"On day one, after a beautiful corner, the rockface turned into a technical slab with minimal protection, forcing us to take a very long, traverse beneath a large roof," she said.

"This is when uncertainty crept in and we really questioned what lay above and whether we would be able to continue the next day."

Growing up in Blunham, Bedfordshire, Manners attended Bedford Girls School before studying information science at Loughborough University.

She now lives in Chamonix, known as the birthplace of mountaineering and host to the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

Climbing new routes allowed her to "reconnect with the most fundamental essence of mountaineering", she said.

"I am living proof that is it possible to break boundaries and complete new technical routes, regardless of where you come from or how you started," Manners added.

"I want to inspire more women to step into exploratory mountaineering and feel that they fully belong."

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