The last day at Manaslu Base Camp before our summit push. Although our acclimatisation schedule has been quite aggressive, a reasonably benign weather window has appeared which we need to take advantage of. We leave for Camp 1 tomorrow (23rd)
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On parasitic climbers; Manaslu’s serac maze
As the rain continues to hammer on the roof of my tent, as it has every day since arriving at Manaslu base camp, I think about the last few days, our first sleeping on the mountain. It’s been a struggle
Read moreA monsoon trek and first foray onto Manaslu
I’m sitting in a damp and misty Manaslu Base Camp, tired but excited. Yesterday we made our first foray onto the mountain when we went up to Camp 1 to deposit loads. It was a big jump in altitude from
Read moreSpirit Mountain: my attempt on Manaslu
If at first you don’t succeed, go and lie on a beach next time and get yourself a nice sun tan … is not a phrase you hear many mountaineers saying. In fact, once bitten by the mountaineering bug your
Read moreCho Oyu 2010: Climbing high on steak and kidney pie
The story of Cho Oyu, autumn 2010 While we live in a society which offers us a huge amount of choice over what we do, for the bigger events the wheel of life more often than not turns in a
Read moreGoddess of Turquoise: my attempt on Cho Oyu
Standing proudly at 8201m (26,906 ft) a few miles west of Everest on the border of Tibet and Nepal, Cho Oyu — whose name translates variously as Bald God or Goddess of Turquoise — is the sixth highest mountain in
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