MANASLU EXPEDITION

“Mountain of the Spirit” The meaning of Manaslu in Sanskrit is enough to tempt the true adventurous spirit in you to climb this magnificent peak. Manaslu is derived from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning “intellect” or “soul”. At 8,163m (26,781ft) above sea level, Mt. Manaslu is the 8th highest in the world located in the Mansiri Himal, a small but high subrange of the Himalayas in north central Nepal about 100km north west of Kathmandu. This is a serious climbing expedition and is for those climbers with previous high altitude climbs under their belt. It is a technical climb, physically demanding and can be compared with an ascent of neighboring Cho Oyu (8,188m), or Shishapangma (8,027m). The Mansiri range is also referred to as the Manaslu Himal or the Gurkha Massif. Manaslu Himal also contains Himalchuli (7,893m/25,896ft and Ngadi Chuli (7,871m/25,823ft) both falling within the top 20 highest peaks in the world. Manaslu is 7,000m/23,000ft above the Marsyangdi Valley floor adding to its prominence on the skyline. It is 64km east of Mt. Annapurna. There is a saying attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It’s the not the destination, it’s the journey”. This is true of this expedition for without the struggle to reach the summit you may not appreciate the adrenalin rush and thrill once you reach there. Your journey begins at Besisahar (760m) and then follows the trail to Dharapani (1860m), Tilje (2300m), Bhimthang (3720m) where we stop for a rest and acclimatization day. Leaving Bhimthang we head to Samdo (3872m) via Larke Pass (5160m), Samagaun (3541m) and on to Manaslu Base Camp (4700m). We will spend around 20 days here where we will rehearse and prepare for the assault on the summit. We will check and re-check our equipment and make several higher climbs and returns to base camp in order to better acclimatize. After reaching the summit and soaking in the views of the surrounding giant peaks we will head back to Base Camp and continue back to Samagaun (3541m), Namrung (2670m) , Philim (1606m), Machha Khola (883m) and Arughat (606m) from where we drive back to Kathmandu. There are several routes to take to climb to the summit from Manaslu Base Camp (4,700m), but most attempt it coming from the direction of Samagaun after trekking along the Budhi Gandaki Valley and then head up the north-east ridge. There are a number of snowy slopes and an arête to cross before reaching the summit. An arête can be described as a narrow ridge or saddle. After this there is a steep climb to the summit from where you will undoubtedly have some of the most stunning views imaginable of the Himalayas. The most common problem of climbing these peaks can be altitude sickness, hence the reason for taking time along the trail leading to Base Camp, and from Base Camp to repeatedly climb and ascend to avoid any complications. We have several days set aside in the event the weather is unsuitable for the ascent to the summit.