Manaslu Peak Expedition

The thrill of the climb begins at touchdown in Kathmandu. The energy of this bustling capital city screams of the determination required for big climbs. Its colourful, crowded streets are packed with shops stacking trekking and climbing gear, here is where you will brush shoulders with all those known in the mountaineering circles.

Other than settling into the hotel, exploring the city and getting a taste of Nepal, we use Day 1 to settle into the new altitude in case you are coming from sea level. It is also a good time to meet your fellow climbers and the entire team that backs this climb. We discuss some dos and don’ts, the route we will take and what to expect on the trail of this splendid trek known as the best long-distance trek in all of Himalayas!

Going through your gear list multiple times, making last runs to the shops to buy any missing equipment and getting through the essential paperwork is an important first step to climbing these high mountains. Today, we get everything in order and prepare ourselves for the big start tomorrow. 

Post breakfast, we start our drive to Dharapani. We go towards Pokhara on the Prithvi Highway. It takes about an hour to make it out of the city. From there on, the highway up till Dumre, which is 148 km from Kathmandu, is mostly comfortable with smooth roads. The next 50 kms from here to Dharapani are on bumpy roads. 

Today we start our first day of trek towards the Manaslu Basecamp. With close to 440M of altitude gain, the trek from Dharapani to Tilje is an easy start. The trail is forested with blooming rhododendrons adorning the way. We spend the night at a lodge in Tilje.

Today is a long day as we gain a little over 1,400M in altitude across 16 kms. The alpine pastures and rhododendron forests are a worthy distraction, though. The altitude gain may put pressure on the body, remember to take it slow and maintain your pace throughout the day. We take frequent breaks to ensure optimum acclimatization along the way. We spend the night in a lodge at Bhimthang.

After a long day yesterday, we give the body some rest and a chance to acclimatize to this new altitude. Explore the surroundings of this beautiful location and spend as much time outdoors as possible to acclimatize better. We spend the night at the same lodge in Bhimthang.

Today is exciting as we touch the 5000M mark and cross our first pass of the expedition. Larkey Pass, at 5,100M, as one of the highest passes in the Himalayas is a spectacular vantage point for the valleys and glaciers below. We also witness unobstructed views of Cheo Himal, Humlung Himal, and Annapurna II. After the pass, we start our descent towards Samdo, once again finding ourselves amidst scenic villages, old monasteries and mani walls. 

After an eight hour long day, we spend the night at a lodge in Samdo.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of long days on this expedition. Today, we spend almost all our time walking along the Budi Gandaki River through forests thick with birch and juniper. Manaslu stays by our side all throughout. Samagaon is yet another village on this trail which is an open window into the high-altitude culture of this region. 

We stay the night in a lodge.

It is time for yet another acclimatization day. Take in the enticing culture and views of this quaint village and rest well. We head out for the Basecamp of Manaslu tomorrow; needless to say, you will need all your energy reserves. 

We spend the night at the same lodge in Samagaon.

It is yet another long day but one that offers thrilling views of all that you left behind below and all that you hope to achieve above. With a 1200M gain in altitude, we are leaving behind the warmth of trees and people and moving towards colder ground. 

Here we spend our first night in tents on this expedition.

There is a lot to achieve in these 3 days. After we are done familiarizing ourselves to the Basecamp where we will be spending a lot of our time during the expedition, we do the prayer ceremony. Praying to the mountain gods for the safety of the climbers and success of the expedition is a big part of climbing anywhere in the Himalayas.

Another important thing to achieve during these three days is distribution of gear, brushing up on our climbing techniques and practicing our climbing skills as much as possible to prepare ourselves for the climb to come.

Night in tents. 

Day 14 is when we shift gears to climbing. Once we step into this zone, the conditions become increasingly unpredictable. There is a constant readjustment of plans to adapt to the situation at the time. Providing fixed day-wise schedules is tricky. But roughly, the schedule includes rotation rounds between camps which is a standard acclimatization process on high-altitude expeditions. Manaslu has 4 camps between basecamp (4,750M) and the summit (8,163M) at elevations 5,7000M, 6,400M, 6,800M and 7,500M. 

The climbing time between each of the camps is an average of 4-5 hours. Summit day is as long as 15-17 hours. 

Major challenges to be prepared for are steep gradients, crevasses, high winds, tricky terrain, drop in oxygen levels and of course, an extreme drop in temperature. 

Once back to Basecamp, we clean up our campsite; remember to leave the campsite cleaner than you found it. We start to descend down towards Samagaon and back to the warmth of the lodge at night; our first night in warm beds after a very long time.

We will get our flight out to Arkhet (on a sharing basis) and drive back down to the bustling city of Kathmandu. Night in a hotel.

The expedition ends here but not before some celebration. How can we end this adventure without a summit party! 

Night at a hotel.

Plan your departure post breakfast.

We have 4 reserve days that can be used any time during the expedition in case of bad weather, unavoidable circumstances or unforeseeable emergencies.