Update 11
Australian Manaslu Expedition 2002
Update # 11
This report is current at 6:15 pm Sydney time (2:00 pm local time) on Monday May 13.
The expedition summitted Manaslu today. Greg, Geoff, Andrew, Henri and Nawang are now on their way home via a few intermediate high altitude camps. They appear to be fit, well and thrilled with the achievement. More importantly, all body parts are intact.
The summit was reached by midday local time (4:15 pm Sydney time). The summit ridge was extremely narrow and nerve-wracking, it fell away steeply on both sides and the only evidence of others having visited this amazing spot was a few tattered old ropes. The views were sensational.
They are now at C 3 re-hydrating with a well-deserved cup of tea and having a meal before packing up the camp and descending to C 2 where they will spend the night. They hope to be back to Advanced Base Camp early tomorrow afternoon.
In the meantime, George will climb to C 1 tomorrow morning, clean up the mess left by the others and bring it back to ABC in the afternoon.
Weather-wise it was an almost perfect day for a summit attempt with no cloud and little early wind although the wind built up through the morning and it was quite windy by the time the summit was reached. Cloud started to build up at lower levels in the afternoon and now appears to be moving in above C 2. The upper mountain is no longer visible from ABC.
Congratulations are due for an absolutely fantastic effort which was well planned, well executed and well supported. It seems that all of the good wishes from friends, family and supporters have worked and we will be able to hear the full story in a few days. I hope be able to provide some more news when they have got their collective breath back.
