Update 3
Australian Manaslu Expedition 2002
Update # 3
This report is current at 9:30 pm (Sydney time) on Tuesday April 23.
The trekking party left for Kathmandu by helicopter as scheduled on Sunday and arrived back in Sydney this evening. Ralph Pliner, having established a new office for Baker McKenzie in Kathmandu, returned to Sydney with the trekkers.
The trek was a great success and, whilst the going was hard at times, it was enjoyed by all. It also helped the climbing team acclimatise to the higher altitudes.
The climbing team has now settled into Base Camp and is continuing the acclimatisation process. All members are well and happy and looking forward to the challenges of the next few weeks. The Base Camp lies on a well-protected glacier at an elevation of 4750 metres and appears to have enough room for several teams. The move to Base Camp was completed on Monday. It involved 60 to 70 porters (men, women and children from the village of Sama) carrying the expedition equipment into camp from where it had been delivered by the helicopter. The whole operation was executed without a hitch.
The expedition had its Puja today. The Puja is a ceremony conducted by a lama from a nearby monastery who blesses the sherpas, the climbers and their equipment and prays for the success of the expedition. It is a prerequisite to high altitude climbing in the Himalayas.
It is presently snowing quite heavily and the team is now planning the first ascent to Camp 1 (approximately 5700 m) tomorrow. The present plan involves the establishment of three camps above base camp, at intervals of about 1000 metres in elevation, prior to the summit attempt. It may be possible to use fixed ropes for part of the way however they may be buried in the snow and not locatable.
Satphone communications from Manaslu continue to be a problem.
In other news from Manaslu, five people are reported to have summitted the mountain so far this season. They are two Norwegians, two Sherpas and the Australian climber Andrew Lock. Andrew was an original member of the Australian Manaslu Expedition and was involved in initial planning. However, he subsequently parted from the group and set out for the mountain about a month ahead of the expedition.
The Norwegian team established itself on the mountain about two weeks ago. The American and German teams are also settled in Base Camp and are a few days ahead of the Australian team in terms of acclimatisation. It is understood that a 2 person Italian team, a Japanese team and a Spanish team are also on their way to the mountain (how many different ways can you cook a goat ?).
