Tag Archive for: Sama Village

Manaslu Base Camp!

The whole team in base camp!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has arrived in base camp! With the final member of our team now on-site, it’s time to get to work. After fueling up for the day in Sama Village, we shouldered our packs and hit the trail en route to base camp. The team is settled in there now, and looks forward to the days ahead as they prepare to take to the climbing route and start making their way toward the summit! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Manaslu Base Camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition. Today is September 14th, 2026.

This morning, we walked from Sama Village (3530m/11,581ft) up to base camp (4859m/15,944ft). We left Sama just before 8 a.m. and arrived in base camp in time for an early lunch. It was a really nice walk! The weather was a little rainy in the morning, but after an hour or so the rain dissipated, and for the rest of the way to base camp we had dry air, and really nice views down into the Nubri Valley far below us.

We’ve been resting this afternoon since arriving in base camp, and we’re looking forward to our Puja tomorrow! In other big news, our express climber, Woodie, arrived in Sama yesterday. He touched down in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) yesterday morning, then went straight to the helipad and flew to Sama. So he joined us for the hike up to base camp today!

We’re looking forward to getting the climbing phase of the expedition underway, and we’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Our climbers Myles and Woodie en route to Manaslu Base Camp (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climbers Myles and Woodie en route to Manaslu Base Camp (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Nubri Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Nubri Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Hiking above Sama Village and the terminus of the North Manaslu Glacier (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Hiking above Sama Village and the terminus of the North Manaslu Glacier (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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Milarepa Cave

Great views of Manaslu’s north face (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team kept up the acclimatization work with a hike to a sacred cave nearby their tea house. The team enjoyed views of Manaslu high above them throughout the day. Everyone is doing great so far! It won’t be long before they make the move up to base camp in just a few days time. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalayas:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2026 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition. Today is September 12th.

Today, we woke up to a nice day: partly cloudy, blue sky, some sunshine. So we went for a hike up to the Milarepa Cave, which is a sacred cave between Sama Village (3530m/11,581ft) where we’re staying, and Samdo, the next village up the valley toward Larkey Pass (5106m/16,752ft). The cave is really nice, very peaceful, set in the forests at about 4,000 meters. And then after spending some time at the cave, we came back down to our lodge, and we’ve been resting this afternoon.

Today was another good acclimatization day for the team. Yesterday, we climbed to above 4,000 meters in the Pungen Valley, and today we went above 4,000 meters again. That’s about 13,000 feet plus.

So, we’re preparing well for our move to base camp in a couple of days. The team’s doing well and we’re looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. Maybe we’ll visit the monastery complex here in Sama, before we potentially move to base camp the next day! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Sama Village (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Sama Village (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching 4000m (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching 4000m (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Lush forests in the Nubri Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Lush forests in the Nubri Valley (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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Acclimatizing in the Punggen Valley

Our climber, Myles, with sirdar Aang Phurba Sherpa on the way to Punggen Monastery (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering team wasted no time this morning getting out to start their acclimatization efforts in preparation for the climb to come. After fueling up with some breakfast, we departed the tea house for a leisurely hike in the Punggen Valley and visit at an ancient monastery that calls the valley home. It was a great day kicking off the acclimatization efforts, with more of the same planned for tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Nepal:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition. Today is September 11th, 2026.

This morning we woke up early and went for an acclimatization hike up into the Punggen Valley, which is a side valley just below Sama village (3530m/11,581ft), where we’re staying until we move up to base camp. We left our lodge at about 7:45, 8 o’clock, and a few hours later, we were up above 4,000 meters in the Punggen Valley, which is a summer pasture, high altitude summer pasture for yaks. There’s also an ancient monastery there, which is really neat to visit. We came back down to Sama for lunch and we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

We just wrapped up dinner. It’s beautiful night here: clear skies and mild temperatures. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to another acclimatization hike while we prepare to move up to base camp (4859m/15,944ft)! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Into the Punggen Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Into the Punggen Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Departing from Sama Village (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Departing from Sama Village (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Punggen Monastery at 4,100m (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Punggen Monastery at 4,100m (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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At the foot of Manaslu

Departing from Kathmandu

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team boarded another flight this morning. This time, on a helicopter set to fly to Sama Village! While some clouds hung high overhead, passengers on the heli were able to enjoy excellent views of the valley, full of waterfalls, monasteries, and more. After dropping their bags and spending a little time resting, the team was able to go out for a short hike to stretch their legs and enjoy the fresh mountain air. And tomorrow, we’ll go out again with the goal of continuing the acclimatization process and getting ready to move up to base camp! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Nepal:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) Expedition. Today is September 10th.

This morning we woke up early. We left our hotel at about 5:45 AM. And by 8:30, we were in Sama Village (3530m/11,581ft) here at the foot of Manaslu at 11,300 feet.

We headed over to the domestic terminal at the Kathmandu Airport (1400m/4,600ft) and caught a helicopter up here to Sama. It was a really nice flight! There was a high overcast, but, you know, below us was clear. So we had really nice views of the Budhi Gandaki River Valley, where there are lots of waterfalls and lush terraces, villages, and monasteries tucked among the cliffs.

We rested most of this afternoon. It was raining lightly, and then in the evening, it cleared up! So, we just went for a nice walk up and down the valley around Sama.

Tomorrow, we are planning our first acclimatization hike out of Sama Village as we prepare to move up to Manaslu Base Camp (4859m/15,944ft) in a few days!

Everything’s going really well here in Nepal. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

Nonstop flight to the beautiful Nubri Valley

Nonstop flight to the beautiful Nubri Valley

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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Touring Kathmandu

Boudhanath Stupa (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team took to the city streets today for some sightseeing around Kathmandu! We visited both the Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath Temple before going back to the team hotel to make our final preparations for tomorrows move into the mountains. With good weather, we’ll load onto the helicopter and fly into the Mansiri Himal part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering 2026 Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) Expedition. Today is September 9th.

Today, we went for a tour in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft). We visited two of the cities many UNESCO world heritage sites. We went to Pashupatinath Temple, the most prominent Hindu temple here in the Kathmandu Valley. And then we also visited the Boudhanath Stupa, which is sacred to the region’s Buddhists.

It was a beautiful morning here. We’ve had a little bit of rain each day since we arrived. But this morning was sunny and it was a nice time visiting both of those amazing temples. And then we spent the rest of the afternoon just doing our final packing and preparation for our early heli flights to Sama Village (3530m/11,581ft) tomorrow.

We’re just heading to bed now after a nice dinner and looking forward to our helicopter flight into the mountains! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Touring around Kathmandu (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Touring around Kathmandu (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Myles, visiting Pahupatinath Temple with local tour guide, Rita (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Myles, visiting Pahupatinath Temple with local tour guide, Rita (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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Manaslu team back in Kathmandu!

Our climbers, Sherpa team and base camp staff posing for a final team photo before leaving base camp a few days ago!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team arrived back in Kathmandu after an exciting heli ride, following several days of waiting the weather out in the mountains. The team had excellent views throughout the entire flight of awe-inspiring peaks high above and the valleys, rivers, and waterfalls below. Upon reaching Kathmandu and settling back into our team hotel, the team went out for one final meal together before boarding their planes back to their home countries – a fantastic way to end an unforgettable expedition! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:

Hello! This is Terray calling in with the final dispatch of the 2024 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 30th.

We spent the last few nights in Sama village waiting for the weather to clear so that we could fly back to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft). Late last week and into the weekend, a really heavy precipitation system came into Nepal which brought very heavy snow to the mountain. But this morning, fortunately, we woke up to perfectly clear, blue skies and so we were able to take a heli back to Nepal’s capital! It was a fantastic flight following the Budhi Gandaki River with beautiful glaciated peaks high above us on either side and really spectacular waterfalls pretty much the whole way till you get down into the foothills in the Gorkha District of Nepal.

We landed in Kathmandu mid-morning! We just wrapped up our farewell meal. It’s a beautiful evening here in Kathmandu and this evening our guests will start to depart for home – the last members of the team will leave tomorrow morning.

So, all in all it was a very successful expedition, 100% success on the planet’s eighth-highest peak! I for one am really looking forward to the next trip to Nepal. We’ll be in touch then!

The team after touching down in Kathmandu!

The team after touching down in Kathmandu!

A final, celebratory dinner in Kathmandu.

A final, celebratory dinner in Kathmandu.

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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2024 Manaslu expedition conclusion!

From left: Tenzi Sherpa and Temba Sherpa with our climber Chie Takeshita and Guide Terray Sylvester on the summit of Manaslu at 4:44 a.m. on September 25.

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has safely descended off of the mountain after successfully reaching the summit of the world’s eighth-highest peak! The team was welcomed back to camp by our rockstar base camp staff with a celebratory meal and cake, which we enjoyed while reflecting on the accomplishment from the day prior. The team has now begun to head their separate ways after saying their goodbyes with memories that won’t soon be forgotten from this hugely successful expedition! Awesome work, team. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this final dispatch from Manaslu base camp:

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

Today we descended from Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) back down to base camp (4859m/15,944ft). We spent last night at Camp 2 after our successful summit on the 25th! We aimed for the 25th as our summit date because the forecast was good for the 25th, but the forecast was predicting significant precipitation for today. Fortunately, that precipitation held off until the afternoon, so we had very pleasant conditions when we woke up in Camp 2 this morning and really nice weather for most of our descent back here to base camp.

It’s great to be here and to reunite with our excellent base camp staff, Khamba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh, and with our whole Sherpa crew! So as of now, we are completely off of Manaslu! We’ve cleaned out all of our gear and taken down all of our trash, and anything else we brought up there from the mountain from all of the camps we used. All of our Sherpa crew and of course, all of our climbers are safely off of the mountain!

So, that concludes the climbing portion of the expedition. We had a really successful climb, it was just excellent! Tomorrow we plan to descend down to Sama village. We’ll spend one night there before beginning to make our way back to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft).

So, all is well and we’ll be in touch!

Our climbers, James and Sara, with Ming Dorchi Sherpa at the summit of Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climbers, James and Sara, with Ming Dorchi Sherpa at the summit of Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our guests celebrating with a “summit cake” and our excellent base camp staff. From left: Khumba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh.

Our guests celebrating with a “summit cake” and our excellent base camp staff. From left: Khamba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh.

Our climbers Sara, James, and Chie with Expedition Leader Terray Sylvester.

Our climbers Sara, James, and Chie with Expedition Leader 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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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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Tomorrow to Base Camp!

The team acclimatizing on the trail to base camp! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team is prepared to make the move up to base camp tomorrow! After several days of acclimatizing in the lower valleys, the team is in good spirits and ready to continue on. Today’s hike presented awesome views at every turn in the trail and new sights are sure to reveal themselves as we move higher into the alpine tomorrow. 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 5th.

Today we went on our final acclimatization hike before moving up to Manaslu Base Camp (4859m/15,944ft). We hiked halfway up the trail to base camp with great views of waterfalls and Birendra Lake below us, as well as Samdo Peak (5177m/16,984ft) behind us. Then we came back down to Sama Village for lunch.

We’re resting this afternoon, packing, taking showers, and tomorrow morning we’ll wake up early and move up to base camp! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

The magical trails of the Nubri Valley, below Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The magical trails of the Nubri Valley, below Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Great views of Birendra Lake far below the route to Manaslu Base Camp! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Great views of Birendra Lake far below the route to Manaslu Base Camp! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Sara and Jimmy hiking today. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Sara and Jimmy hiking today. (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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