Technical training on the Manaslu Glacier

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)

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)

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:

• @MadisonMtng
• @GarrettMadison1
• @terray_s