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We had spent the last 24 hours watching and listening to the snow falling. This unpredicted snow fall yielded somewhere about 18”. Today I spent much of the morning watching the almost continuous small avalanches off the rock face just a few hundred yards northeast of base camp. You hear the thunder sound, and then the swoosh of snow falling like a waterfall. Amazing to watch. We are still watching a tropical storm forming in the Indian Ocean. It is predicted to become a typhoon (the Pacific Ocean version of a hurricane) in the coming days and drop a lot of precipitation in eastern Nepal. The amount of snow predicted is anywhere from 7 to 15 feet. One crazy weather station said 45 feet, but that mad. As I looked at the avalanches this morning, I tried to envision what it would be like with 15 foot of snow? As I said previously, our “newest” plan was to retreat to Sama before the storm hit on the 25th, wait there and see if a later summit attempt is possible. Today as I talked to Terray, a lot of people will be in the same boat. At this stage moat teams have withdrawn off the mountain to BC, thinking about what to do next. (Only a few crazies are still up there). To cut a long story short, I have decided to head to Kathmandu and wait out the storm there. A few reasons for this:

a) I have spent 4 nights in a damp hostel room on Sama, another 8 or 9 don’t motivate me – if there are enough rooms available

b) if after the storm the mountain is not climbable this season, that’s a lot of people looking for a helicopter out

c) some weather stations are talking potential catastrophe, in which case we could have floods in the Nurbi valley, possibly talking out the bridges leading to the village from both sides, meaning walking back to Kathmandu, about 3-5 days walk, might not be possible, so one would really would be stranded.

So all things considered, Kathmandu seems the obvious choice, but it was not as easy a decision as it appears. Every mountain is my last mountain, so chances of me coming back here are slim. This is also likely my only shot at a 8,000 meter peak. However that’s the heart speaking not the head.

Things can still workout. The storm may not be too bad, and I can helicopter back in from Kathmandu, and try again starting late September. The team here is committed to support me, if there is a late Sept opportunity . The weather will make the next decision. Woodie is pulling out and heading home. He had some challenges on our climb up to Camp 1, and he has a deadline to be back in the US. So if I come back it’s me, Terray, and the Sherpa team – they can carry me up!!

As a tease, the view of the nearby mountains and Manaslu tonight at dusk was incredible. Was it saying goodbye, or come back and see me?

Today is a planned rest day. I woke about 6 am to hear the shoveling of snow and a steady patter on the roof of the tent. There had been a steady snow fall overnight, and the sherpas had not been able to make their planned overnight move up to Camp 2 and Camp 4.

Over breakfast, Terray explained because of the lack of Sherpa advance, we will not leave BC and start our summit attempt tomorrow. New plan I hear you say!! If the snow stops, and we get some rain, then the Sherpas might move tonight, and we would move up on Sept 21 to Camp 1, and then go Camp 1 to Camp 3, skipping Camp 2. Clearly, it’s who knows?

People already up the mountain are also stuck. There are a number of sides to that,

a) it’s much more comfortable to be stuck in BC

b) they are further up and may be above this snowfall

c) depending on where the snow is falling, higher up one might have to wait to dissipate any avalanche risk. We have heard those in Camp 3, should be clear to attempt a summit push.

All that said, we are where we are, and we wait. The possibility of summiting before the storm are diminishing quickly. At this stage my gut says we won’t make it up and down before Sept 25. If that’s the case we will go back to Sama, wait out the storm there, and see if a post storm attempt is possible. Like I say everyday, today’s plan is to wait for tomorrow’s plan!

In the meantime we used today to get some downsuit awareness, – on, off, vent, wee, poo – the essentials. Also did our oxygen cylinder practice. All important stuff.

Will probably watch Clarkson’s Farm this afternoon. I have finished the book London Falling, and have started Theo of Golden – a beautifully written book – let’s see if it matches the hype. Little photography to share.

There’s been another adjustment to the plan! Having arrived, pretty tired, at Camp 1 yesterday, the plan was to get up as far as Camp 2 today, and return to have a 2nd night’s sleep at Camp 1, before descending back to BC, to prepare for a summit push. However, my climbing colleague did not feel up to going to Camp 2 today, and had a terrible night’s sleep. So Terray said we should all return to BC. This was after I woke for our early start at 5 a.m. I asked if it was possible if I could try and get part way up to Camp 2, as this is the most technical section of the expedition, and technical capability ain’t my thing! So it was agreed that Ang Purba could take me up a bit, and then we would return to Camp 1, and the group would descend to BC. Another reason for me was we may not get back up here, and I did want to see the technical section, called the ice fall. Given the non-opening of Cho Oyu, most people have now focused on Manaslu. This, of course, brings the risk of crowding, especially on the more difficult sections. Groups had started up through the ice fall about 3 am, even though Camp 3 isn’t very far from Camp 2. Terray has said he is not concerned about crowding our delays, as the mountain is, generally, big enough to take the crowd.

Anyway, Ang Purba and I took off to see my capability. The technical sections begin quite close to our Camp 1, and we quickly joined a short line as we made our way through the initial section of the ice fall with massive crevasses, and narrow pathways. Of course we were double attached to the fixed lines. The secret – put your feet in Ang Purba’s footsteps, precisely in his footprints! Of course my heart was pumping – I could have sold the excess adrenalin – , and I was thinking how do we get back if there’s a big one heading up? Relax buddy!!! Then we came to a short vertical section. Out with the ascender, and look at exactly where Ang Purba put his feet in the 5 moves he took to get up. Okay, one false start, but then boom! The last move required an ice axe to secure traction to pull up. I was so chuffed. I was gasping. This was as far as we could go, so we had to belay down a hundred feet or so. Pretty steep, but slowly, slowly! That whole time was one of the most exhilarating hours of my life! Unfortunately with my hands locked to the ropes for the entire time, I didn’t grab a photo – but Ang Purba got 3.

Getting back through the relatively few people going up was quick, being careful as one unclipped then reclipped to the fixed line as you passed a person. After getting back to Camp 1, we packed our stuff and it took 2 hours to reach BC.

So the current new plan, is to rest tomorrow the 19th and pack up for a summit attempt rotation beginning the 20th. We will go on consecutive days to Camp 1,2,3,4, summit, and then descend to BC in one shot from Camp 3 or 4. That keeps us ahead of the storm on Sept 25. How far we get, who knows? For me, as far as I physically can, and out before any storm.

In the meantime we continue to feed like beasts. In base camp we have 3 large meals a day. Last night in Camp 1 it was an enchilada, and for breakfast some very eatery porridge. So eat in BC, even if it takes an effort. My snacks are quite good, but the ate out is the maple syrup sachets from Vermont. So delicious!

A serious day of uphill! I woke about 7 to get my bag packed for what I imagined could be a tough day. When you have the crampons, the ice axe, the harness, the belay device, a figure of 8, and a bunch of caribiners, you know it ain’t going to be a dawdle. Also packed up a few days snacks and lots of layers. T

he sherpas left at 1 am, and carried our sleeping bags and air mattresses. (They then went on to Camp 2, cache’d some stuff, and we passed them as we ascended as they were heading back to BC).

After breakfast, so much food, we gathered at the Puja and tossed rice before heading upwards. The trail out of camp is absolutely brutal. Steep uphill immediately. I’m gasping, trying to catch a breath, all short breaths that are effectively useless. Super slow pace, to try and gets the air deeper into the lungs. WTF I am doing here!!! We worked ourselves up a significant boulder field, heading to crampon point. The glacier had retreated a lot it seems, as this boulder field/moraine is the remnants. After half an hour, still not breathing great, we reach the first of the day’s fixed lines. A steep section of rock that requires the use of the ascender. After that section, the slope became less severe, and normal breathing commenced. It was a glorious morning, sunny, warm, with glorious – scary – views of Manaslu to our left, and North Manaslu straight ahead. Now I know why I wanted to be here – but there will be much more questioning in the days ahead.

We reached crampon point – where, dah, you put on crampons! – after about 90 mins, and we were on the glacier thereafter. The glacier is riven with crevasses, so we were always attached to the fixed lines. Large snd small crevasses, some requiring a simple step over, some a short jump. We could hear and see occasional avalanches in the steep ground (well) to our left and right. We moved slowly, never taking unscheduled stops, but Terray said we were cruising!

We had a view of Camp 1 for quite a while, and reached it about 2pm. However, this was lower Camp 1, and our tents were in upper Camp 1. Naturally!! That last 50 minutes were rough – another wtf am I doing here moment. Every group of tents we passed, I prayed was ours. Nope, ours is the absolute highest, surrounded by a crevasse – careful weeing at night! We reached our site at 2:50pm. Encouragingly, everyone was pretty wrecked – is it bad that I was encouraged that everyone was as bad or worse than me? We got our gear into the tent, had a bowl of noodle soup, and now it’s rest.

This morning Terray presented a dilemma. A weather front that we’ve been watching looks as it will intensify, and impact our planned summit window. We have 2 choices, push ahead a little bit faster, or wait out the storm and see if the mountain is accessible in its aftermath. The question remains, on when, and how big the storm, will be. In these mountains this is unpredictable until the storm is much closer.

After much discussion, examination of contingencies and off ramps, we agreed to pull our schedule a little forward. The downside is lack of acclimatization, and my attempt would have to stall. The upside is we can get ahead of a storm.

So we will head to Camp 1 tomorrow, Sept 17 (I have no idea what day that is!), and sleep there for 2 nights, train and acclimatize, and return to BC. If everyone feels good, after a days rest, we would progress up towards the summit hitting each camp on successive days. We can abandon and return to BC at any time, if anyone is not feeling good. If that happens, we would wait out whatever storm happens in BC, and re-evaluate our options thereafter.

So, as I have noted previously, plans change. Weather determines everything, and we will take our direction from that – always assuming that one feels physically strong enough of course.

Today therefore, was all about prep – no hike today! It did snow lightly overnight, so we woke to a light covering, and a brief amazing view of Manaslu.

P.S – Camp 1 is at about 19,000 ish feet.

It is seriously raining today, occasionally turning to sleet and snow. Apparently the Nurbi valley, where we are, is known to be very wet. This morning Woodie and I were guided through some technical stuff as we prepare for the more technical aspects of the expedition – the main message being stay attached to the rope!! So we did some ascending on fixed lines, belaying, how to do things in the right order, so we would always be connected to the line.

The big event of today is our Puja, a religious ceremony to ensure us safe passage on the mountain. Due to brutal rain we did most of our ceremony in our dome tent, and finished it at the Puja outside. The Sanskrit the lama is reading and chanting is classical Tibetan, which no one understands. The ceremony lasted 70-80 minutes, involving the mostly the lama chanting, beating a drum and clashing symbols, and occasionally throwing various food objects (sacrifices) over the altar, presenting us with a white scarf and string necklace, then throwing flower over the outside Puja, and we all getting “blessed” on the face with flour. Very cool ceremony, quite the honor to be involved in, and extremely meaningful to the local Sherpas.

The plan is we stay at base camp for quite a while, and do our acclimatization and training from here. We may sleep at Camp 1 and Camp 2, but we won’t move up until after a storm currently forecast for Sept 25. Everything, of course, is subject to change!!

Today we headed to base camp. Base camp is literally vertically overhead from Sama. We carried a pack containing layers we would need for the hike – warm layers, gloves, hat, buff, waterproofs – but we had those on, as it was bucketing rain – daily snacks, first aid. The rest we left to be carried up by porters. This is the difference in the Himalayas versus Denali, Aconcagua, Vinson where one gets to carry all your own stuff.

It was almost exactly 5 hours. We walked at a slow deliberate place, which suited me, so I needed no unscheduled stops. Woodie arrived yesterday, so I got to see first hand the impact of his hypoxic acclimatization. He was flying, A couple of stops along the way, including a mid mountain tea house – absolutely wild – where the owners live for the season. We reached base camp at 12:50, 15,900 ft, or just over 4,000 ft of elevation (and 5 miles). No headache – woohoo!!!

Base camp is just enormous, and I haven’t seen it all. Hundreds of tents, domes, mostly operated by Nepali outfitters. I hope to see more tomorrow. All of this will be dis-assembled and brought back down at the end of the season. It’s mad!

Our camp has a super comfortable dining tent, a dome tent for hanging out, a basic toilet, and individual tents for sleeping. Pure luxury.

Tomorrow we head to base camp so today was just hanging around. Base camp is about 4,000 ft higher altitude, so we’ll see how the headaches go.

So spent the day strolling around Sama (doesn’t take very long) and visiting the monastery. It seems a lot of time so far has been visiting monasteries and shrines.

Life is very different here, to our experience on the western, or first, world. Life is hard, mostly manual labour, although women seem to do more than a significant share. You see mean as more craftspeople – masons, carpenters, trekking guides, but also porters. Despite this hard life style, there appears a contentedness, people are friendly, smiling, always greeting with “Namaste”, people gather in groups and chat. It’s like 75-100 years back in time. However, cellphones are prevalent, and you can get a cappuccino in a local cafe!

Today was so exciting!! I actually saw some mountains, and even got a glimpse of Manaslu. Omg ……..intimidating!

After breakfast – the usual, porridge and 2 boiled eggs – it was quite a surprise to notice a brightness outside. Outside the cloud was definitely at its highest since I arrived, and I even caught a glimpse of the northern Manaslu glacier. Terray claimed he could see base camp, to which I nodded in agreement, but I saw nothing.

Our hike today took us a little way along the route to base camp, and then we branched off in search of Milarepa cave, a mediation spot up in the hills. The sun did break through, even to the point that sunscreen and sunglasses were required, and I took a photo of a blue patch of sky. The view of the Manaslu glacier was incredible. Below it is Belindra Tal (a glacial lake called after the last royal monarch). At one point the glacier reached all the way to the lake, but now it knew hundreds of feet above the lake. Around this time the cloud lifted, and we caught a brief glimpse Manaslu. As we watched the cloud continued to lift to eventually expose the summit. It looks like an upside down ice cream cone, it looks scarily steep, and so high. Our viewing point was at about 13,000 ft, so halfway! Base camp was obvious now, pitched on the grass slope just below the glacier. This area of Nepal is so interesting, you have lush forests running up to the glacier. Our ascent brought us closer to a second massive glacier, before we dropped into the woods to find Milarepa cave. Festooned with the mantra flags, this is another meditation spot, and houses a small Buddha shrine. The spirituality of the Nepalese Buddhists is impressive.

The current plan, always subject to change, is another hike tomorrow, and then we will head to base camp. The luxuries of the Mount Manaslu hotel will soon end.

Today was a day of two firsts, hiking with an umbrella, and drinking yak yogurt – and living to write about it!The plan is to spend 3 or 4 days here in Sama to start getting used to the altitude. Proper acclimatization is a slow process, not drastic changes in altitude, so the plan is to do a number of 5-6 hour daily hikes.

We hiked up the Pungen valley to a Buddhist monastery at about 13,500 ft. The hike up the valley was spectacular, skirting a roaring glacier river feeding from the Pungen glacier. The power and the noise was crazy. Passing a yak herd along the way, was as close as I want to get to the running of the bulls in Pamplona. It rained along the way, so we used our umbrellas, my first time ever. It was very pleasant, compared to putting on waterproof layers and sweating.

As we reached the head of the valley, the steep path opened into a huge meadow, which is used to graze yaks in the summer. Very basic huts house a few yak herders (if herder is the correct term). They stay there the entire season, helping the calving, milking, and making yogurt. We were invited in to sample. Ang Purba declined the going in part, but we did sample the yogurt. Seeing it being poured nearly made me retreat, a white very lumpy “liquid”, but it tasted amazing. Super creamy and fresh. A first, and not a last if I get another opportunity.

At the far end of the meadow is the Pungen Gumba (monastery). A small monastery inhabited by about 3 monks, with living accommodation. Just above the monastery are a number of caves, now fronted with a “modern frontage”, where monks go meditate for very extended periods, as long as 3-7 years. Seriously! It was a super day, being exposed to the culture. Nepali living is tough living. Oh – the acclimatization hike was fine.