Tag Archive for: Manaslu Glacier

Second rotation is underway!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team is back on the mountain! The climb to Camp 1 marks the start of their second rotation on the world’s eighth-highest peak and the team is feeling strong with the acclimatization they gained from their first few days in Camp 1, just a short time ago. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 1:

Hello from Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft)! This morning we climbed back to our tent platforms here at 5700m under sunny skies. There was a layer of clouds below extending down the Nubri Valley — a beautiful sight as we made our way up the Manaslu Glacier. In the words of our climber, James, the team is ‘highly motivated,’ feeling the benefits of the extra red blood cells we gained on our previous rotation, and glad to settle back into Camp 1 in great weather. 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:

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Technical training on the Manaslu Glacier

Ming Dorchi, a member of our Sherpa team, working with our climber, Sara. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team took to the ice again today for more technical training as they prepare for their first rotation on the mountain. The team has enjoyed great weather so far in base camp, which has offered clear views of the route ahead and the valley we climbed up from just a few days ago. With our Puja ceremony planned for tomorrow, the team is in good spirits and looking forward to what’s still to come! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalayas:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 9th.

Today we woke up to another beautiful, sunny morning here in base camp (4859m/15,944ft)! So, we walked back up to ‘crampon point’ at the edge of the Manaslu Glacier and spent the morning practicing technical skills on the ice cliffs there. Then we came back down to base camp for lunch and we’ve been relaxing since then! While we were training, we had fantastic views of the upper mountain and the route up to Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft), Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft), and on higher on the mountain.

Tomorrow, we are looking forward to our Puja which is the ceremony we hold at the beginning of every expedition to ask the mountain for safe passage while we’re climbing. September 10th is an auspicious day for that according to the Tibetan Buddhist calendar. So, we’ll have a Lama come to camp and hopefully, we have a great ceremony. That’s always a nice way for the team to come together before we start our first acclimatization rotation on the mountain!

So, we will be in touch tomorrow!

Temba, a member of our Sherpa team, hiking to the team’s training location above base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Temba, a member of our Sherpa team, hiking to the team’s training location above base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Practicing technical skills on the Manaslu Glacier! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Practicing technical skills on the Manaslu Glacier! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Practicing technical skills on the Manaslu Glacier! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Practicing technical skills on the Manaslu Glacier! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Excellent views from the trail above base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Excellent views from the trail above base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

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:

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Training Day

The team taking a break while practicing technical skills! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team spent the day training on the glacier that sits above their base camp! These days are integral to our expeditions and ensure that the team is feeling sharp and ready to go when it comes time to climb. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 8th.

Today we woke up to sunny skies! So we had a nice breakfast, then walked up to ‘crampon point’ at the edge of the glacier above base camp (4859m/15,944ft) and spent the morning practicing fixed-line climbing and descending techniques there on the ice. Then we came back, had a nice lunch, and we’ve been relaxing this afternoon. We’re about to have dinner, and then watch a movie and head to bed.

Today was a nice day! We had really clear views of the entire upper mountain and great views down into the valley. So, all is well here in Nepal! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Great views of Manaslu from our base camp today! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Great views of Manaslu from our base camp today! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Sara, practicing ascending fixed lines. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Sara, practicing ascending fixed lines. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Ascending fixed lines. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Ascending fixed lines. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Jimmy, practicing technical skills. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Jimmy, practicing technical skills. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Descending to base camp after a successful training session. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Descending to base camp after a successful training session. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

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:

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First full day in Base Camp!

A sunny morning in Manaslu Base Camp! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Today the team continued getting to know their new home at the foot of Manaslu! The day started off with a nice breakfast and views of the mountain peeking through the clouds. After fueling up for the day, the team came together to put the finishing touches on their base camp and then had some fun brushing up on technical skills that will be used throughout the climb. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 7th.

Today we woke up to clearing skies! It was nice to have some sunshine for our first morning here in base camp (4859m/15,944ft). We had a nice breakfast of pancakes with real maple syrup, bacon, and eggs, and some nice fresh yogurt. Our kitchen staff here at these camps high up in the Himalayas do a great job of making really good yogurt. We had some fresh apples to go along with that.

We spent the morning buffing out our base camp! We set up our Mountain Hardwear Space Station Dome. That will be a nice space for our climbers to relax during the expedition! In the afternoon, we dialed in our climbing equipment and reviewed some technical skills before having a nice dinner and watching another movie.

Tomorrow we plan to do an acclimatization hike up toward ‘crampon point’ at the edge of the ice! So, we’ll be in touch tomorrow. All is well here in Nepal!

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:

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Out of the valley and into the alpine

The team celebrating with a welcome cake after arriving in base camp!

The team climbed out of the lower valley and into the alpine, finding their way to Manaslu Base Camp after acclimatizing for the last few days. Nice views of familiar sights revealed themselves below as we climbed up the trail. Now in base camp, the fun begins and we start to prepare for the climbing to come! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Manaslu Base Camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 6th.

Today we left Sama Village at about 8:00 AM and arrived in base camp (4859m/15,944ft) about four and a half hours later. We had nice weather for most of the hike with good views down the valley past the Manaslu Glacier and Birendra Lake toward Sama. A little bit of rain as we got into base camp. We had a nice lunch and then we moved into our tents and got settled in base camp. And now we’re just about to sit down for dinner and then we’ll watch a movie afterward in our base camp cinema.

The weather right now is very nice! We can see up to Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) and up toward the summit, and we’re getting patches of blue sky through the clouds.

So, all is well here in Nepal and we will be in touch tomorrow!

Our climber, Sara, en route to base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Sara, en route to base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Jimmy, en route to base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Jimmy, en route to base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Chie, approaching base camp with Siddhi, a member of our Sherpa team. Birendra Lake, Sama Village, and the Manaslu Glacier can be seen in the background. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Chie, approaching base camp with Siddhi, a member of our Sherpa team. Birendra Lake, Sama Village, and the Manaslu Glacier can be seen in the background. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

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:

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Hello from Manaslu Base Camp!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has arrived in base camp! Upon reaching their temporary home, clouds in the sky parted ways and revealed the summit high above – the team’s first sight of the summit on the trip so far. Expedition leader Terray Sylvester checks in with this exciting dispatch from base camp:

Hello from Manaslu Base Camp (4859m/15,944ft)! Today we hiked here from Sama Village with excellent views of the lower Manaslu Glacier and the Nubri Valley far below us. In the afternoon, the summit (8156m/26,759ft) emerged from the clouds as we settled into camp. We just wrapped up dinner and our first movie of the expedition: Back to the Future. 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:

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Full Day at Manaslu Base Camp!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu Base Camp, high above the clouds. Photo: Terray Sylvester

The team had a great day today complete with technical skills training, beautiful weather, good food and a movie! Tomorrow, their preparation will continue with a puja ceremony. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in from Manaslu base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 8th.

Today we woke up and had a great breakfast of french toast, bacon and fried eggs. Then, we hiked a little ways up above camp (4859m/15,944ft) to a good spot on the Manaslu Glacier to review technical skills. We worked on fixed line ascending and descending techniques, rappelling, and footwork.

The we returned to base camp, had lunch and have been relaxing since then. We’re just about to start dinner and then looking forward to a movie afterward.

So today was a great day; beautiful weather, sunny skies and we’re looking forward to our puja day tomorrow. All is well here! We’ll be in touch.

Mount Manaslu. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Mount Manaslu. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our climber, Nancy, hiking below Camp 1 with sirdar and guide Aang Phurba Sherpa. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our climber, Nancy, hiking below Camp 1 with sirdar and guide Aang Phurba Sherpa. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Good times and sunshine while reviewing technical skills! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Good times and sunshine while reviewing technical skills! Photo: Terray Sylvester

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:

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Settling into Manaslu Base Camp

Photo from Madison Mountaineering archive. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Today, the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team continued to settle into their base camp and prepare for the days ahead! Inspiring views of Manaslu continue to keep spirits high, going into skills training on the glacier tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini from Manaslu base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2022 [inaudible] – today is September 7th.

Today we took a rest day in camp (4859m/15,944ft); we did some laundry, finished getting moved into our tents, took some nice walks around camp with some views of Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) starting to emerge above us [inaudible]. We watched the classic [inaudible] national treasure.

We’re just going to bed now and looking forward to some skills training on the glacier near camp tomorrow.

[Inaudible].

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:

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First Views of Manaslu!

Photo from Madison Mountaineering archive. Photo: Terray Sylvester

While continuing their acclimatization in preparation to continue up to base camp in just a few days, the team had their first views of Manaslu today! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in with today’s dispatch:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – it’s September 4th.

Today we hiked part way up to base camp (4859m/15,944ft) as we continue to acclimatize before we actually move up there. It rained all night, but as we were eating breakfast, the clouds began to clear. As we walked out of Samagaun (3530m/11,581ft), we got our first views of the upper mountain of Manaslu – beautiful views of the summit and the Manaslu Glacier below it. That was a real treat! The hike was fantastic. We had partly sunny skies throughout, went up, relaxed in the sun for a little while, and then returned to Sama village.

We’ve just spent the rest of the day resting and we’ll continue to acclimatize tomorrow!

Beautiful views in the Nupri Valley above Samagaon. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Beautiful views in the Nupri Valley above Samagaon. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbing towards base camp with Manaslu towering above. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbing towards base camp with Manaslu towering above. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our climber, Nancy, hiking toward base camp with Aang Phurba Sherpa. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Our climber, Nancy, hiking toward base camp with Aang Phurba Sherpa. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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:

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Acclimatizing in Samagaun!

A Buddhist monastery above Samagaun, and below Manaslu. 📸: Terray Sylvester

The team spent today acclimatizing around Samagaun at over 3,530m/11,500ft. During their acclimatization hikes, our team visited a glacial lake at the foot of the Manaslu Glacier, as well as an ancient monastery in Samagaun. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in with today’s dispatch from Samagaun:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition – It’s September 2nd.

This morning we had breakfast, then hiked up to Birendra Tal (3,691m/12,110ft), which is a glacial lake just below the bottom of the Manaslu glacier, a little ways above the town of Sama where we’re staying. It’s a beautiful glacially tinted lake – bright green! So we rested there for a bit, then came back for lunch.

In the afternoon we walked down towards Shala, which is the next town below Samagaun. The weather was really nice this morning, just partly cloudy with some sunny skies.

We’re looking forward to another day of acclimatization here in Samagaun tomorrow! We’ll be in touch.

Birendra Tal. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Birendra Tal. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Aang Phurba Sherpa lighting butter lamps in a Buddhist gompa in Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Aang Phurba Sherpa lighting butter lamps in a Buddhist gompa in Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Exploring the ancient monastery at Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Exploring the ancient monastery at Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Acclimatizing in Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Acclimatizing in Samagaun. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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:

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