The CTSS Manaslu team has been very active over the last few days.

The 9th of September was a very Auspicious day on the Tibetan Calendar so the team hosted a Lama from Samaguan to perform the traditional Puja Ceremony. The ceremony lasted the whole morning and finished with a traditional celebratory Sherpa Dance.

After the ceremony our climbing team bid farewell to the Trekking team who descended back to Samaguan after 3 nights in basecamp. The Trekking team will continue to explore the valleys, lakes, and monestaries around Samaguan for the next few days before helicoptering back to Kathmandu for a dramatically beautiful finish to their time in Nepal.

Following the Puja our climbing team had an afternoon of rest and preparation for the first foray onto the mountain. On September 10th they departed basecamp after an early breakfast to make their way up to Camp 1. Weather held clear for the morning, giving rise to some heat crossing the lower glacier, but the whole team made it to Camp 1 in good fashion. After spending a bit of time at Camp 1 for acclimatization the team descended back to basecamp and was met at Crampon Point by hot tea brought up from basecamp – not a bad way to break up a long day!

Today the team is enjoying a well deserved rest day as their bodies recover and acclimatize. This follows the tried and true “climb high, sleep low” method that makes our expeditions so successful.

Looking forward the plan is another rest day tomorrow (September 12th) as the team works around a bit of weather passing through the area. On the 13th they’ll head back to Camp 1 for the night and, weather permitting, climb to Camp 2 on the 14th before descending back to basecamp on the same day.