Manaslu

Alpenglow Expeditions offers expeditions to Manaslu in conjunction with Himalayan Experience and owner, Russell Brice. Himalayan Experience has helped bring more than 300 clients on the summits of 8,000-meter peaks. Himalayan Experience has the best safety record in the business and because of this success, Brice was featured on Discovery Channel’s reality series, Everest: Beyond the Limit. This 8,000 meter giant is a great opportunity to experience the surreal world of extreme altitude and provides unparalleled training for Everest.

Himalayan Experience ensures the same care and attention in the preparation of Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp, as for Everest the same detailed safety precautions on the mountain and, of course, the same degree of service from guides and Sherpas. At no extra cost, partnering with Alpenglow Expeditions as well ensures that you will receive the same pre-trip care and attention that has come to be expected from Alpenglow. Head Guide and owner, Adrian Ballinger will be guiding each one of these expeditions and will be able to offer extra support and guidance. You will also benefit from the communication from our U.S. base.

Route Description

The trek from Samagaon to BC is up a steep trail through the lush valley with hanging glaciers and icefalls. BC is located at 15,305 feet (4,665 meters) and while it is well situated on rock and protected from winds, the valley’s clouds condense at this altitude and often result in significant snowfall. After a short walk to the Larkya, we will put on crampons and climb through the sometimes broken glacier to Camp I at 18,045 feet (5,500 meters), which is located in a comfortable col. From here, we climb up to a massive and often highly active icefall, but pass underneath it to gain a steep slope that will be fixed with rope up to Camp II which is sheltered by a series of ice cliffs at 20,670 feet (6,300 meters). Himex has opted to put up four camps on Manaslu, making the trip from Camp II to Camp III less strenuous, traveling through a series of snow shelves before ascending a steeper snow slope to reach a large col with magnificent views of the surrounding peaks. From Camp III at 21,982 feet (6,700 meters), the route goes directly up the steeper northeast slopes, passing through some short ice bulges to reach an upper snow slope and finally a traverse to Camp IV at 23,950 feet (7,300 meters). The summit, which has not been in our view since Samagaon, is now deceivingly close, however, it is still a long way up snow slopes which involve short, steep sections in potentially deep snow. There is a comfortable false summit just below the true summit, which is a spot where many people stop. If conditions allow, we intend to have enough rope, oxygen and time to fix a line up the last corniced ridge. The descent is fast, reaching Camp II and possibly even Base Camp on the same day. It will take a few more days to clear the camps before our descent to Samagaon. We must allow for a couple days of waiting as our exhilarating 11⁄4 hour helicopter flight back to Kathmandu is weather dependent.