Expedition Adventure Specialists
Sitting in Base Camp as the first bottles of champagne are cracked, it is only slowly beginning to sink in that we have done it. Almost exactly 2 days ago, we were standing on top of the world's eighth tallest mountain, at 8,156 metres. And equally as important, today our entire team is back in BC happy and healthy. All of our members, guides, and Sherpas are down off the mountain and ready for a celebration!
While I am sitting here typing and enjoying my last real cup of coffee for a few days, lots is going on on the hill. Our members are moving to Camp 1 at 5,700 meters with 6 days of food and all of their high altitude gear on their backs. Our summit push begins today!
The days since our last update have been challenging ones, but this time not due to hard climbing at high altitude. For the past 6 days, various storms have taken turns hitting Manaslu's slopes, and here at Base Camp we have seen more than our fair share of snowflakes and whiteouts.
The last week has been a fun one on the world's eighth tallest peak. Somewhat unsettled weather down in Base Camp (rain and snow almost every day) has meant lots of shovelling snow, drying out gear, and conserving solar power for the "essential" purposes of watching DVDs, nightly dj-ing in the dining tent by various team members on their iPods, and emails to our friends, families, and businesses back at home.
Hard to believe it has already been two weeks since our Manaslu team met for the first time in Kathmandu. The last two weeks has been a whirlwind of organizing gear and people, and progressively moving from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Sama Gaon to Manaslu Base Camp, and finally onto the mountain itself. Here are a few highlights from these last fourteen days that now find us poised to begin sleeping and climbing high on the hill.