We are thrilled to announce the launch of the 2026 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition kicking off from Kathmandu! The first member of our team arrived today. After settling in, we gathered together to conduct a gear check and orientation, before heading out in the city streets for a nice welcome dinner. The journey continues tomorrow with a tour of Kathmandu’s most sacred sites. Then, we’ll get ready to fly into the mountains and move one step closer to the climb ahead on the world’s eighth highest peak. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:
Hi! This is Terray calling in for the 2026 Madison Mountaineering Mount Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition. Today is September 8th.
Today we had our orientation and gear check, and then went out for a welcome dinner with the first member of our team who’s arrived. The weather in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) is very pleasant today; warm and sunny in the morning, and then a little bit of rain in the afternoon. And then really pleasant temperatures this evening.
Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to our city tour, to two of Kathmandu Valley’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. And then our final night in Kathmandu before we fly to the mountains.
So it’s exciting to have this year’s Manaslu expedition underway, and I’m looking forward to the days to come! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.
In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:
– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:
- Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions. Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“
– Instagram:

