Manaslu - Climbing the 8th Highest Mountain in the World

Dec 3, 202450 min read

At the end of August 2024 my adventure to climb Manaslu, the 8th highest mountain in the world, finally arrived. I was trained, I'd packed and there was nothing more to do than go and have a go. Here's my daily diary to give you a flavour as to how it all went.

Day 1 - Leaving Home - 30th August

The day had finally arrived and the countdown was over. Three years of talking and I was just a few hours from leaving home. I longed for more time all of a sudden, I wasn't ready to leave the family.

We all popped into town for the usual pre expedition haircut appointment and a bite to eat. Of course, there were yet more final bits to purchase which had to be crammed into my already bulging duffle bags when I got back home. At 2pm Colin, Naomi's Dad, arrived ready for my 2:30pm departure to Penrith Station. One last cup of tea...

2:30pm soon came, it's time. Izzy started crying, and Finn is subdued. Naomi is putting on a brave face. The bags are loaded and I hug the kids and go to leave. I return inside for one last cuddle, whilst wearing my sunglasses which hide my watery eyes. The car door shuts - The adventure begins.

As we move off I have one last glance at my family. I can't help but wonder what they're thinking, especially Naomi. She knows what can happen on big mountains - well, any mountain. Is she thinking it's the last time she'll see me? It crosses my mind. I certainly hope the kids get to see their Dad again, and I already long for my next cuddle.

Colin and I chat all the way to Penrith Station, and before I know it we're saying our goodbyes at the station door. And then, I'm alone. My train is busy and I end up sat on my bags in the corridor, burning time on my phone and occupying my mind. The opening 24-48 hours is always the hardest when I go away, but knowing this trip was 37 days long (my longest so far) seemed to exacerbate the feelings.

The train ride passed without hitch and deposited me right in the airport. Until just a few days previously, Colin was going to drive me to the airport. I'd decided I'd take the train instead as it was just simpler for both of us. I learnt soon after arriving at the airport that there had been an issue on the motorway and that it was closed for the whole day! My luck however soon expired as I went to check in my bags.

My luggage allowance for my flight was 25kg, so I knew months ago I'd need to purchase extra hold baggage. I'd explored this online and it came in at £10 per additional KG. When packing my bags I put as much as I could into my cabin bag (heavy things like the flapjacks etc) but decided to wait until I got to the airport to pay for exactly what I as over, which I thought would be better than paying for kilos which I maybe wouldn't end up even using. The check-in man told me what I already knew, I was overweight. 'I'm happy to pay'. 'Right OK, that'll be £452'.

...

My jaw nearly hit the floor. It turns out that the £10 per KG is in advance only, and when you get to the airport the cost triples! Yep, £30 per additional KG! I had no option but to pay it. Gutted.

The hours airside were passed with eating and messaging Naomi a few final times. I always find those final minutes on UK soil, and in the same time-zone the most emotional. Subconsciously, I think I also know I could pull the plug on it all and just go home too. My eyes fill again as the plane takes off - there's no going back now.

Day 2 - Arriving - 31st August

By 5:30pm Nepalese time I'm with my Nepali friends (family) Basant and Siddik. Basant has let me stay at their accommodation called 'The Perch'. It's a super cosy apartment and perfect for my needs for the night. It doesn't take long for us to get a beer in our hands, and we're away chatting about my trip, upcoming trips, and potential new trips we can run. As always, I enjoyed their company, and the distraction was most welcomed. Their friendliness and the familiarity of our decade long relationship helped to prevent the realisation of finally being in Nepal to climb this mountain from becoming overwhelming.

Day 3 - Kathmandu - 1st September

I slept like the dead and woke around 8am. The beers with the guys certainly would have contributed to that, especially as I've hardly drunk all year thanks to my training. I enjoyed the lazy start, and then went around the corner to have some breakfast that Basant had kindly organised for me at a local cafe.

About mid morning I was off with Basant to meet Rishi, the owner of Satori Adventures. Satori were the expedition company I'd chosen to book my trip with. There really are scores of options when you start researching such expedition providers. Price was a driving factor (I think the difference between top and bottom end was about $90,000!), but I was keen to go with a provider who have a solid reputation, and of course a keen eye for safety. Basant helped me do some research and due diligence, and in the end we landed on Satori. Later in the expedition I will come to see that I had indeed made a very good decision.

As well as meeting Rishi I also got to meet our expedition Sirdar (head Sherpa and expedition manager) Mingma. His CV was jaw dropping, with about 10 ascents of Everest, more of Manaslu, and even K2 under his belt. I immediately felt like I was in good hands. There's no way you gain that many ascents of those mountains and still get to walk around on this earth without being safe. Of course, there would also be a big dose of luck involved at times I'm sure, but that's all part of the mountaineering game too.

I also got the opportunity to meet some of my fellow expeditioners. I'd booked onto the trip not knowing anyone, but as an outgoing person I wasn't hugely phased by this. I knew the other members weren't British, and understood how there would be potential cultural and language barriers to overcome. Of course, I just wanted them to be nice and friendly, as the last thing you want is to have to spend a month with someone who you're not a fan of. My team mates were Chriag, a 45 year old guy from India who works for a men's clothing brand, as well as running India's only Outdoor clothing brand called Gokyo. Then there was the Romanian father-son duo of Dan & Dan. Father Dan, who from this point will be known as John (a name we actually called him not one I'm making up now!) is 51 and runs his own Geophysical survey company. Dan, is a 23 year old student studying Geophysics, with the aim of working with his Dad. First impressions were that they seemed nice, and we all seemed to be in the same boat in the sense that it was all of our first times on an 8000m peak.

I'd now moved from the Perch to Garden Hotel in the tourist district of Kathmandu (Thamel) and Mingma was making rounds of our rooms to come and check our gear out. I had nothing else to do so laid it all out on the beds for him to inspect. Apart from needing to grab a thermos, and some rope to make up my ascending kit I was all set. It was also recommended I grab an umbrella as it can be useful for trekking in the post-monsoon.

I wiled away another hour or so repacking all the kit, with one bag to be untouched until we got up to Basecamp. This bag naturally contained the climbing kit, down suit and sleeping gear for up on the mountain.

In the evening we had our first team meal together.

Day 4 - Kathmandu - 2nd September

A day of chill, consuming calories, and formalities. This morning the team was issued our permit, and we had the chance to head about town and pick up any final bits. It was great getting to know my fellow expeditioners better, and we were already getting on well. It was clear already we were going to have a lot of laughs.

Day 5 - Kathmandu to Dharapani (1885m) - 3rd September

Due to a late coffee, a lack of exercise, and probably some nerves, I only slept about 3 hours total. The 5am alarm came way too soon, but I had to get up and gather my things for 6am. After a quick breakfast we hopped in the minivan and it was time to leave Kathmandu!

Overall, we spent about 7 hours in the van to a town called Besisahar. Here, we offloaded into just one 4x4. Bags were placed on the roof and then on the back seats surrounding Mingma. The plan was to do another hour or so of off-road driving, but we cracked on and ended up doing an additional 3 hours and heading all the way to Dharapani. As with any drive through the mountains in Nepal, it wasn't without it's anxieties. Our driver was clearly very capable, but at times the situation seemed to probably warrant more than one hand on the steering wheel - but he clearly didn't think so. At one point we came to a huge boulder in the middle of the road, right outside a house. There was just enough room to squeeze by the boulder if the driver basically drove on the front doorstep of the house. Apparently, the boulder had fallen down just hours before thanks to the recent rains. From this point onward I spent the rest of the drive worrying about being crushed by a falling boulder. Fun.

Once we were in our rooms and sorting ourselves, I took off my sock to reveal blood around my ankle. My leg and ankle was also swollen. My initial, knee-jerk reaction, was that I'd been bitten by a snake or something. Chirag was immediately more sensible and told me it'd have been a Leach. Shortly before Dharapani we'd stopped to see the incredible Boon Waterfall. Here we stood in the short, wet grass taking photos and it most likely hopped on then. The swelling was probably down to being sat down all day, and the fact it was quite warm. It seemed I'd likely live to tell the tale.

Day 6 - Dharapani to Surki (2700m) - 4th September

I don't know what possessed me to get into my -20c sleeping bag (lightly clothed), but I woke up pretty hot at one point! Apart from that, I had a solid 9 hours of sleep which certainly helped to make me feel a bit more human again. The teahouse was situated right on the riverside, and I think the crashing river added an element of white noise.

We set off trekking, and you could tell there was an air of apprehension as our trekking adventure was finally beginning. I think it took about an hour for us to relax, and with that the conversation started to flow more readily. My thoughts were dominated about what was to come. The suffering, the cold, the fatigue - I'm happy to admit I felt a tad overwhelmed. In part, I just wanted to be getting stuck into the tough stuff, but I'm sure that'd come around before I knew it.

Meanwhile, the trekking me were doing at this point was pretty straightforward. We were certainly moving faster than I've ever trekked (uphill), but that said at this point our altitude was fairly minor.

We saw countless waterfalls, most of which would probably fall into the UK's 'Top 10 Waterfalls' list and be an Instagrammers dream, and yet here they're just another addition to the already stunning scenery.

We arrived in Surki for about 2pm, way ahead of our Mules (and kit bags). I took the time to read some of my book, stretch and write my diary. I figured that thanks to our driver being so efficient, we were about 1 day up on the broad itinerary we had for the trip.

Day 7 Surki to Bhimtang (3700m) - 5th September

It absolutely hammered it down overnight, and by the time we were up at 6:30am we did briefly enjoy some clear skies. The trek started steadily though the forest, and a fair amount of the trail was pretty boggy - a nice reminder of home! We made really good progress, and after about 3 hours we stopped at a dwelling known as Habu for some tea. Oddly, once we set off again I felt lacking in energy. Either, it was the modest altitude, or I was actually low on energy.

We arrived in Bhimtang about midday, which is a place I remembered from when I trekked the Manaslu Circuit in 2017. It had however grown a bit since then. I spent a couple of hours feeling a bit low, so decided to occupy my mind by watching my first Netflix movie of the trip.

I'd spent a lot of the trek daydreaming, and I think I was still overwhelmed by what was to come, and not feeling 100% on such an easy section was always going to plague me. It reminded me a lot of my Lakes, Meres and Waters run, and how I started my 105mile journey feeling pretty rubbish. In retrospect I put that down to overwhelm at the size of the task ahead. That feeling did pass as I made progress into the run, and I was sure that as the expedition continued the same thing would happen.

Day 8 - Bhimtang to Phedi (4400m) - 6th September

Frustrating, reoccurring dreams meant that although I was asleep for a long time, it wasn't a particularly restful sleep. That said, I did wake up feeling much more positive on the whole.

The morning rain ended shortly after setting off. Over breakfast, we'd all agreed we had been walking too fast, and so we set off much slower. The itinerary had stated a huge 1500m ascent day from Bhimtang over the Larke Pass (5105m) and this always gave me a little concern. It felt like a huge amount of ascent, over a high altitude, quite early in the trip. Fortunately, Mingma informed us we'd break the the ascent into two days and stay at a small dwelling at the bottom of the pass known as Phedi.

The walk really was quite straightforward, and I spent the time in my mind projecting more positive thoughts. I was visualising returning home after a successful expedition, or even just letting my family know I'd reached the top. I think the overwhelm of the expedition had driven me towards negativity, all of which would pile up and derail my trip as it gets harder. About 10 mins before we arrived at Phedi it rained again, but soon enough our 2.5 hour walk was over. Shortly after lunch the weather cleared and we took the opportunity to gain another 150m to aid our acclimatisation.

Day 9 - Phedi to Samdo 3800m via the Larke La (5105m) - 7th September

My 5:15am alarm wasn't totally required thanks to another rubbish nights sleep. Struggling to sleep has never been an issue for me on an expedition before, even when having the stresses of leading them, but for some reason this trip was throwing up poor nights regularly. By 6:30am we were out the door and on the trail, slowly making our way up the valley towards where the path leading up the Larke La becomes much steeper. When we crossed the pass in 2017 we'd come the other way, and I seem to remember the side we were now ascending was shorter and steeper, with the other side of the pass being quite long and gradual.

We got stuck into the ascent, and as it got steeper, I slowed...and slowed...

Towards the top I was feeling pretty beat, but this was to be expected given that it was just day 4 of the trek and we were already heading over 5000m. The theory was that we'd subject our bodies to an altitude higher than that of our basecamp, therefore making life a bit more comfortable for our bodies when we do get there. The top of the pass eventually came after a few false summits. Apart from just wanting to sit for a minute to take it all in, my mind was also dominated by my Sherpa friend Phuchetaar who had sadly lost his life somewhere on the pass a couple of years back.

With the bulk of the hard work for the day done, I popped my earphones in and enjoyed some music whilst we hopped through the moraine as we slowly descended. Darashalla, another small dwelling was our lunch spot, shortly before which we saw the most blue lake I'd ever witnessed with my own eyes. I remembered this spot well from the Manaslu Circuit Trek all those years ago. We had spent the night here in tents before heading over the pass in the early hours of the next day, and I remember the food was pretty awful. The place had also grown a fair bit since then, and thankfully our lunch wasn't horrendous either.

As we left the lodge to descend to Samdo the weather broke and the heavens opened. Given that it was the post-monsoon, this would be the first bit of rain we'd have to trek in. I had acquired an umbrella in Kathmandu, and it didn't take me long to realise I probably should have spent a few more rupees! The umbrella soon got put away again and I just relied on my waterproofs to keep me dry. Over the last couple of days we'd seen a couple of guys from Sweden called Frederik and Kenneth. I'd come to enjoy my time with these guys every time we got a chance to chat, but on this day we had our first proper conversation. They'd both been to Manaslu in 2022, but said their walk in that year was plagued with horrendous weather and it rained pretty much every day, all day. This translated to a huge amount of snow up on the mountain, and sadly for some it ended in tragedy as there was a deadly avalanche. For Frederik and Kenneth their expedition ended at Camp 3 due to these conditions. They were back for a second try, and it was reassuring to hear that despite poor weather through the night etc, it could certainly be worse!

Towards the end of the trek it started to become a bit of a wildlife safari as we spotted 'Blue Sheep' (basically a Deer) and plenty of Vultures overhead. Samdo sits at a pleasant 3,800m, and by the time we reached it I think we all felt suitably accomplished.

Day 10 - Samdo to Samagaon (3400m) - 8th September

I was graced with over 9 hours sleep, which led me to feeling totally reinvigorated. We had a slower start than that of the recent days as we only had 2 hours of descending to do to get to Samagaon. The trails we were hiking were nice and easy, which allowed plenty of opportunity to take in the views. Again, we enjoyed seemingly countless waterfalls. A good way through the hike I looked up to my right and peering through the clouds were the unmistakable twin peaks of Manaslu. Finally, we were seeing our objective. Immediately I felt like it was 'Game On' even though over 4,500 vertical metres separated me from the summit.

By 10:30am we were in the village we'd come to know very well. We now had a day and a half rest before heading up to Basecamp. The joint most exciting highlight of the day was also having my first proper shower since we started the trek. I say proper...it was one measly spout of water from a broken shower head, but it did the trick.

Day 11 - Rest Day in Samagaon (3400m) - 9th September

The dramatic drop in altitude certainly aided my sleep, and I woke around 7am with strong sunlight coming through the window, and the sound of a dozen or more porters down in the courtyard vying for their loads to carry up to Basecamp. Other than eating and mooching about there wasn't really much to do to occupy our rest day. After a couple of days of not having my normal appetite (which was worrying so early in the trip) it had fully returned, so I took every opportunity available to me to get calories in.

One thing that felt strange on this day was this sudden level of 'goal sharing'. For years I've been bleating on about 'climbing Manaslu', with few people truly understanding the objective. When I landed in Nepal I was suddenly with 3 others who had the same goal, and now in this small village there are hundreds of people with the exact same goal. It felt like the whole village was geared towards getting up Manaslu.

Now situated at the base of Manaslu, I'd managed to continue to supress my overwhelm. I took the time to break the remaining elements of the expedition into smaller chunks. By learning what we had to do rotation wise up on the mountain, I now had just 11 'tough' days remaining. When sat there with the prospect of '20 something' days remaining, it suddenly felt a lot more achievable. This was of course on the basis of all going well!

Day 12 - Samagaon to Basecamp (4800m) - 10th September

For me, this was to be the most momentus day of the expedition so far, and what felt like us moving into the second phase of the expedition. Once up, I started gathering my things into the duffle bag for the last time in a while. Every morning we'd had to repack our duffle bags so the mules could transport them to the next village. As well as doing this we had to put the duffle bag into a white sack to protect it from excessive wear, and also the weather. Every morning, Chirag and I would battle our slightly too large duffle bags into the slightly too small sack. It was such an effort it often left us sat panting on the edge of our beds, and probably sounded quite strange from anyone in an adjoining room. Once we get to Basecamp, we wouldn't have to do this again - I couldn't wait!

From Samagaon we could just about make out some of the tents at the lower end of Basecamp, an unbelievable 1400m above us. I say unbelievable as it really didn't look like 1400m! I can only assume the sheer scale of everything else made this jump in height look quite minor.

I started the walk in 'tortoise mode' despite feeling quite well rested from pretty much 2 days of having done not a lot. The ascent to Basecamp soon leaves the forests and climbs up the steep mountainside quite steeply. Over to our left was the Manaslu Glacier, which at times would let go of another chunk of ice to then go crashing down the cliffs. The walk up to Basecamp took us about 4.5 hours, and our camp was set up as one of the first - a real benefit on this day, and probably the day we leave, but not to be much use on many other days! Irrespective of where we were, this was to be home for the next 3 weeks. Once my bags arrived I excitedly got stuck into arranging my tent space, gathering gear into sections etc. At Basecamp we'd all have our own tent, and they were quite spacious, insulated, box tents. I'm sure over the next few weeks I'd rack up an impressive amount of hours in this tent. As a very active person who exercises pretty much most days, sitting about resting, acclimatisation, or awaiting weather was always going to be one of my biggest struggles with a trip such as this where there's a lot of that required. Time will tell how I handle it.

We soon got to meet some more of our trekking team, and this included our Basecamp cook, Nima, and the assistant cook Gelje. The first meal they served us was of toasted cheese sandwiches, chips and salad. The dining tent was just a standard, large tent. The big white dome tents that have become increasingly popular over recent years were in use by other expedition teams, but our tent seemed well stocked and would likely serve us just fine - especially as we were such a small team.

It was like Christmas came early when it came around to dinner. Bebek had asked Nima to make us a pizza, and Dan had donated some of his ample Salami supply to the cause which really upgraded the Pizza. As well as a huge Pizza, the guys had made us pasta and fried chicken too. Compared to the food in the teahouses, it really was out of this world, and we all knew we were probably going to eat well enough to help fuel us up the mountain. To top it all off, they'd made us a 'Welcome to Manaslu BC' cake!

Day 13 - Basecamp Rest Day & The Puja - 11th September

Until your expedition has had the Puja Ceremony the expedition can't progress. The date of the Puja ceremony is based on the the chosen Monk's observations on the Lunar calendar, as some days will bring more fruitful blessings than others. I don't know if the thunderstorm the night before was a good sign or not, but as the day came around our Puja ceremony started. The trek team had prepared a series of offerings, decorated a stone plinth, and erected a flag pole in the centre of our camp. The monks began their chanting and there was also occasional instrument playing too. If there was any climbing equipment we wanted to be blessed we were also invited to put this by the plinth too.

The Puja ceremony lasted around 2 hours, and we were fortunate enough for the sun to be shining on us for the whole duration. Towards the end we scattered rice over the plinth, drank rum and also threw flour into the air. I somehow ended up with about 4 shots of rum...all before 10am. Prayer flags had been spun out from the flag pole part way through the ceremony, and the expedition banner was now up too.

Immediately after the ceremony we were introduced to the remaining members of the trekking team, which mostly consisted of the climbing guides who would be helping us reach the top. We then moved onto a skills refresher, or rather an opportunity for us to display to the guides that we knew how to ascend and descend the ropes.

Day 14 - Basecamp to Camp 1 (5700m) and back - 12th September

Finally we were in a position to start our rotations. On bigger peaks, rotations are used to aid acclimatisation, develop familiarity with the route, and to transport kit up the mountain (load carrying). This first rotation was the simplest one of the expedition, just a journey to Camp 1 and back, with no overnight requirement. We were however using the rotation as an opportunity to stow our 'mountain' sleeping gear at Camp 1 for use later in the expedition. For the trip we'd been told to bring one sleeping bag for use on the trek in and basecamp, and then a second, much warmer bag for use in the higher camps. Along with this went my insulated, inflatable sleep mat, and a Z-lite foam mat too.

Camp 1 is situated on a wide shelf at 5700m, so just a 900m ascent - nothing too complex. Well, that's what I told myself.

We tucked into our breakfast of pancakes quite early, and just as we finished the heavens opened. Despite being quite ready to start the day, I was suddenly faffing with my heavyweight waterproofs.

Off we went, our big boots on for the first time too. It didn't take long for me to start panting away, but my trek in had taught me all I needed was one gear - low gear! This was the first time I'd aimed to leave basecamp, and it took a good 40 minutes or so to make the 200m ascent required to get past the last camp which would have now been situated at about 5000m. By this point I was sweating away and had my first kit faff of many of the day.

After about 2 hours or so of walking we reached 'Crampon Point'. 'Crampon Point' is exactly what it says on the tin, it's the point at which you put your crampons on. As well as crampons, we'd also deck ourselves out with our harnesses, attached to which was our safety line (a length of rope with a carabiner we can clip into the fixed lines to keep us safe), ascenders and descending devices. Given the conditions and nature of the mountain, we would be wearing both bits of kit for any movement on the mountain above this point.

Onward we marched into the snow, following the fixed lines as they weaved around the yawning crevasses of the glacier. A short and steep wall also gave us the opportunity to get our ascenders out, by the top of which we were all left gasping for air. It was shortly after this I suffered from my 'power down' moment. Typically, I seem to struggle around the 5200m-5500m mark. It has happened on multiple expeditions. It is almost like a hurdle my body can never seem to manage, but once above this I can perform really strongly. With my 'low gear' still churning away, I dropped in behind Chirag, following his every step. The slope ahead drew upwards, and my Romanian teammates were charging on. Up and up we went, with the mist obscuring any opportunity to gauge where the slope abated. Despite having the mist, and some falling snow, it was still pretty warm which added to the challenge of the whole thing. Eventually, we came to some tents on a small plateau. 'Yes, we'd made it!' Or so I thought. It was at this point Mingma broke the news to me that there was a lower and an upper Camp 1. After a short break I pulled my pack back on and got set for what was to be another 150m ascent up to where our tents were actually positioned. As we reached the tents I gladly dropped my bag into the snow, and started delving into the pockets for vital calories. The kit to be left at C1 was popped into a tent, and after about 20 minutes we started our descent back to basecamp.

As we descended we passed people on the same journey up as we'd just made, with many of them looking as bad, if not worse than I had so that gave me some hope. Our descent speed was quite quick, but sadly not quick enough to beat the torrential rain. As we'd dropped in height, and the temperature warmed, the falling snow had turned to sleet, then rain. We didn't bother to stop to put the waterproofs on, but the final 20 minutes in the rain was enough to totally soak us through. This was certainly one of those occasions where being at the bottom end of basecamp was less than ideal.

As soon as I got into my tent and got changed a headache kicked off. I took to laying down and ended up falling into a sleep. I missed our late lunch, but made it to dinner - a superb chicken sizzler. Later on it dawned on me that my headache was probably a result of not only a lack of fluids for the journey, but due to the fact I'd caught the sun. Despite it having been overcast with falling snow, there was still an element of sun being reflected off the snow and I'd not done enough to prevent this. Another lesson learned.

That evening we met the final two members of our expedition - Tony and Nam. The brothers were from Vietnam, with Tony holding the accolade of being the first Vietnamese person to have climbed Everest (16 years previously). His brother, Nam, was a guide in Vietnam, but hadn't ever been in crampons. He was keen to climb the 14 highest mountains in the world. They had hired their own, previously used guides, but were using Satori Adventures logistics support (basecamp and higher camps) to aid their ascent, which is why they'd only just joined us.

Day 15 - Basecamp Rest Day - 13th September

The heavy rain and winds that had me running into my tent the day before continued all night, and when I woke, it was still raining. I was quite glad we had a rest day scheduled in, and I was also quite glad that we were down at Basecamp still. I can only imagine it would have been pretty wild at the higher camps. How would the conditions on the mountain be now after so much snowfall higher up?

Shortly after our breakfast Mingma came to let us know that we'd be having at least 2 rest days at Basecamp. This was fairly normal, but it was also being driven by the fact the recent snowfall was causing issues for the rope fixing teams higher up the mountain. The ropes between C1 & C2 had been buried, and so before any progress could be made they'd need to get these out.

The day was spent mostly eating and drinking in the dining tent. Dan did produce his laptop and we all watched 'The Godfather'. Somehow I'd never seen this film, and it's 3 hour play length was also ideal for such a day!

Day 16 - More rest in Basecamp - 14th September

A second consecutive day in basecamp was always going to feel tough, especially when you wake to perfect weather. The crystal blue skies were only broken by the white peaks. It was stunning, and so very different from the previous 24 hours. I took the opportunity to have a 'shower'. The shower tent was equipped with a bucket of hot water, on the side of which was a little valve. I found holding the valve open and trying to wash myself quite unorthodox, so I just reverted to pouring a jugful of water over my head. Either way, it was a superb shower and I felt nice and clean after. Most of my day was spent reading and listening to music. The large cliff opposite basecamp was also avalanching regularly thanks to the recent snows.

Later in the day Mingma let us know that our second and final rotation would commence the next day, so I got about sorting my kit. This rotation was to be longer, and would of course take us higher than the previous one. It was also to be the gauge as to whether we were capable of taking on the summit bid which would come afterwards. The plan of the rotation was to head to:

Head to C1 - Spend the night
Head to C2 - Spend the Night
Head to C3, descend to C2, spend the night
Descend to BC.

I was excited and apprehensive. It was going to be tough, but that's what I was here for, right!?

Day 17 - BC (4800m) to C1 (5700m)- 15th September

Initially it felt good to be on the move again, but the joy soon abated as the heat of the day rose. My power once again dropped to 1%, I really am classically crap when it comes to hot weather. Combine this with altitude and a heavy pack and it's a great combination.

I had however learnt that there was no point trying to force it, and by the time I got to camp 1 I was a full 30 minutes slower than my effort on the first rotation. Again, I was at camp 1 and felt pretty beat. My brain was spiralling as I knew my pack going forward was going to be much heavier, seeing as I hadn't had to carry my mountain sleeping gear up to C1. I was also curious as to how I was going to fit it all in. I decided to forget about it and worry about it in the morning.

Day 18 - C1 (5700m) to C2 (6400m) - 16th September

My sleep was good, surprisingly good given the new sleep height. I was glad, as ahead of me was the toughest day of the expedition so far. We'd seen the route up to C2 from afar and it was pretty steep. The route weaved it's way around crevasses, under seracs and up steep ice walls. There wasn't going to be much, if any flat sections throughout the course of the day.

We got stuck in, and the change in terrain was really interesting. It felt like the expedition was getting meatier, and it was also getting more technical. We found ourselves tackling ever increasingly steep slopes, all of which inevitably ended in a near vertical wall that required some grunt on the ascender to get up. There were a number of people making the same moves up to C2, so this led to a bit of waiting around for people to get up some of the tougher sections. Some folks made a much better go if it than others, put it that way. I really enjoyed the challenge of each ice wall, and could push quite hard on them. I would however still reach the top of a panting mess! On this section we also encountered our first crevasse crossing by means of a ladder. The yawning crevasse below wanted to draw the attention, but I made sure I focused on putting my crampons carefully between the rungs.

Camp 2 was much like Camp 1 in the way that it was situated on a series of ledges, the view from which was pretty sensational. Far below we could see basecamp.

Day 19 - C2 (6400m) - C3 (6700m) - 17th September

A night of restless sleep came and went, and before I knew it I was forcing down another bowl of porridge made by one of our Sherpas, Pema. There was similarities between my attempt to get through the porridge as there is when when Finn eats porridge back home. 'How many more spoonful's do I need to eat?'. I knew every calorie counted, so I ate as much as I possibly could.

The day was a simple one, to head to Camp 3, dump some bottles of oxygen, and come back to Camp 2. The distance wasn't great, but it was evident as we got going, the angle of the slopes was mostly going to sit in the realm of 'awkward'. We actually did really well as a team, despite breaking into a new altitude for our bodies. After about 2 hours we reached the much smaller ledge which was going to somehow house all the tents for the various teams. Camp 3 was also to be a new altitude record for me which was exciting. Pema and Thupten cordoned off an area which was to be the Satori Adventures camp, and we piled up the oxygen cylinders. Whilst at the camp a man who very much looked like they were likely to be a sponsored athlete appeared. Moving fast, and light they stopped briefly and we engaged in a short conversation. It transpired they'd come up to C3 from Basecamp in one hit, and in just 4 hours 30 minutes too. He then continued on up past C3 to see where the rope fixing team had made it too. We could see a the fixers not far above Camp 3, and later it would transpire they managed to fix the route to Camp 4 in a single day, which was a sign the conditions high on the mountain were favourable. Usually this task would take at least 2 days. We descended to C2 quite fast, and we spent most of the day watching other trekkers finish their journey from C1 up to C2. Some of them looked pretty buggered already, with a few even using oxygen already. One lass was basically walking like a very tired drunk, with her Sherpa coaxing her along with the rope attached to her harness.

Day 20 - C2 (6700m) to BC (4800m) - 18th September

My eyes opened from my sleep and I could see it was getting light outside. I was compelled to get out of the tent (plus I needed a wee) and I was very glad I did. The sun was just breaking out over the ridge on the opposing mountains, and it took me right back to the morning scenes when climbing Mera Peak in 2013. I enjoyed that scene so much in 2013 I've actually now got it tattooed on my arm.

By 7am we were all packed up and ready to go. I immediately stripped down to just a t-shirt as it looked like it was going to be a warm one. The steep ice walls we'd pulled ourselves up were were now to be descended by means of abseil. The abseils certainly added lots of interest to the route, particularly the 30m vertical abseil down to where the ladder waited for us. Interestingly something had clearly changed / fallen whilst we were at the higher camps as the ladder had gone from being horizontal to slanted. It was still pretty wobbly though.

Just as we got near C1 we hit some traffic and it became slow going getting through the final maze of crevasses and steep walls. The downside of using fixed lines is that you are at the mercy of those in front of you, or coming towards you at times. This is exactly how those queues on places like Everest (and Manaslu of course) occur, but most of the time I didn't find the hold ups too much of a problem.

At C1 we ditched our sleeping gear again and soon pushed on with our descent to BC. The much easier terrain and lighter packs meant we could stretch our legs a bit and before long I was chasing one of our aptly named Sherpas, 'Speed Nima'.

I arrived back to BC feeling very satisfied. The 4 days out had been vert satisfying, and above all, a successful rotation. Again, I proved to myself that I could battle on when the going gets tough at altitude, and my training seems to be paying off. My ability to recover was now going to be brought into question after what was my hardest effort of the expedition.

Day 21 - Rest Day at BC - 19th September

I didn't do much on my rest day as I knew the focus really had to be recovery. I made sure I was getting in as many calories as I could whilst listening to music, podcasts and reading my book. That evening we had quite a jovial night in the dining tent as a team, listening to music from our respective countries. I think Punjab MC was the real hit, and seeing Chirag pull out some of his Indian moves was brilliant.

Day 22 - More resting at BC - 20th September

During the night I woke with a shortness of breath, and it felt like it took my quite a while to settle it back down. My day soon improved as Dan went and cooked us breakfast using some of the meat and cheese him and his father had brought from Romania (they weren't short of it!) He pulled together an amazing omelette.

Straight after what was without a doubt the best breakfast of the expedition, we gathered outside the dining tent with the trekking team so we could not only hear the plan for the summit push, but to pair us up with our climbing guide for summit day.

Throughout the expedition Rishi had been feeding us forecast information, and when we'd seen the outlook for the next few days the day before, it looked like the 24th was going to be the best opportunity for a summit bid. Bebek had however made a comment insinuating it'd be later than this, and although as a team we thought it a bit odd given the weather outlook, we trusted his experience and wisdom on the matter.

'We will go for the summit on the 24th' Mingma announced.

'Yes!' I thought. I was super happy about this on so many levels. Not only did it confirm our thoughts on the best weather day, but it meant we could get stuck in again sooner. I don't think any of us really wanted another rest day in basecamp either. Mingma explained the plan to us, and as the weather window was looking pretty tight (more like 3 days compared to the usual 7) we would be launching our summit bid from Camp 3, rather than heading to Camp 4 (7500m) and then going from there after a little rest. This would make our summit push a much longer, tougher affair, but the idea of 'resting' at 7500m in a tent never really appealed to me anyway so I was Ok with this.

When it came to being paired with our climbing Sherpa, I had a feeling I would be teamed up with 'Speed Nima' after I chased him down the hill, and when it was announced I was going to be I was pretty stoked. Nima is a pretty unassuming chap, from the Makalu region of Nepal (as were most of the team). His CV was incredible, boasting icons like K2. last year he climbed 5 8000m peaks, and he also held the record for fastest time climbing Everest, Lhotse and Makalu in succession. I think the time was something crazy like just 8 days.

Nima came to my tent to double check I was packing the right gear, and I'd learnt a lot on the rotation about what I did and didn't need.

Once the kit was sorted, I focused myself on more rest and recovery.

Day 23 - BC (4800m) to C1 (5700m) - 21st September

There was a definite air of excitement around the breakfast table. We all felt like me had a chance to summit, and the weather proposed on the 24th really did look quite good too. A low chance of snow, and 15kph winds - perfect. We gathered our kit and stood around by our Puja plinth. The Sherpas said some final prayers and then Pema led us around it twice before heading off up the hill, for which was going to be our final ascent through basecamp and beyond.

Yet again, this leg of the journey to C1 hated me, and I hated it. I don't know if it was my 'altitude hurdle' still, or performance anxiety, but I just found the whole thing a struggle yet again. Time wise, I did make it to C1 in my quickest time so far, and probably by about 45 minutes, so I in theory I must have been better acclimatised than the previous journeys at least.

Day 24 - C1 (5700m) to C2 (6400m) - 22nd September

I don't know what Pema had put on my porridge that morning, but I left C1 like I had a rocket up my bum, I felt great! Yet again, my 'altitude hurdle' had been leapt, and I was feeling strong. I'd put a bit of distance between myself and the rest of the team, and just moved to suit how I was feeling. I was having to stop far less and the steep ice walls felt easier than our previous journey, despite having about 20% of my bodyweight on my back. The route from C1 to C2 really is the most fun part of the mountain we'd tackled so far and I was enjoying myself. All in, every member of the team made excellent progress to the familiar C2. After getting our kit sorted, we took to another now familiar pastime - resting.

Day 25 & 26 - C2 (5700m) - C3 (6700m) - Manaslu Summit (8163m) - BC (4800m) - 23rd & 24th September

Despite having spent 2 nights at C2 previously, I slept poorly. I just couldn't switch my brain off and I seemed to spend the whole night turning in my sleeping bag. As our trip to C3 was to only consume a couple of hours of the morning, I was sure I'd be able to catch up on rest when I got there. On our way up to C3 we met a few folks descending who had already made successful attempts on the summit. I couldn't wait to be in their shoes, hopefully walking downhill triumphant. we arrived at C3 by 10am, and our plan was to leave at 7pm for the summit, so we had the whole day to chill, and hopefully I could catch up on the sleep I didn't get overnight.

C3 was a very different sight to the last time we were there. It was now packed with tents, with pretty much every flat (or almost flat) spot being filled with a tent. I was put into a tent with Dan and John and we didn't hesitate in getting out sleeping gear out and making ourselves comfortable. Thanks to the heat of the day, the tent became a bit of a sauna. I succumbed to sticking my head out into the porch area whilst laying down so the light breeze could keep me cool. Nima seemed to find a spare tent outer from somewhere and threw it over the top of our tent, creating some shade and a much comfier environment. Sadly, after a couple of hours somehow came and took it off, clearly needing it for their own tent.

Sadly, getting any means of sleep, or even a snooze, was proving futile, so I made sure I was at least putting in calories and hydrating in preparation for what was to come.

It got to around 5pm and it was suddenly announced to us we'd be leaving at 6pm, instead of the previously planned 7pm. Loads of other groups were preparing to leave at this time and I think our team felt we should go then too. It'd later become clear that this move was fairly pointless.

It all became a bit of a mad rush. One second I was preparing my dehydrated meal, and then the next I was being encouraged into my harness, crampons, and oxygen mask. I never did get back to my dehydrated food, so forfeited a meal at the most crucial of times (So now I was down on sleep, and calories! Not an optimum approach). Whilst this was all happening, the sun was setting and the view was stunning. I made sure I took a moment to soak it all up.

All good to go, Nima and I left camp probably only 5 minutes after a massive group from Asian Trekking. The opening section from Camp 3 gains a narrow ledge which after just a couple of hundred metres leads to an ice wall. Of course, we had to queue for a while, and probably long enough to have justified waiting at camp until 7pm. Queuing was however the least of my worries as I thought my expedition was about to be over thanks to the Oxygen mask, and this was one of my biggest fears about this expedition. I've never been a fan of masks on my face as they make me feel claustrophobic. Prior to the trip I'd tried to source a similar mask to try out to help get used to it, but never quite got it sorted, and so apart from wearing one for 10 seconds when Nima came to my tent to size it up on me, I wasn't too sure what I was to expect. The initial section out of C3 had me drawing for breath, and I kept pulling the mask from my face to gasp for air outside. To add to the struggle I was also seriously overheating. We eventually emerged from the top of the ice all and as soon as I could I collapsed to my knees and started unzipping my jacket and pulling off my hat. My usual 'Be Bold, Start Cold' had gone out of the window in the rush to get ready, but I couldn't be blamed too much as I'd never worn a down suit before, nor climbed an 8000m peak so I'd just thrown on my laters. Nima was unsure I should be taking off my down jacket, but I really wasn't cold and I needed to stop sweating. I also can't be the only one that feels lethargic when they're overheating?

We regained the fixed line and continued our ascent, with just our headtorch beams for guidance. The first part of our journey was to take us up to C4 which was situated at 7400-7500m. The terrain leading up to it was mostly steep slopes, with a few features to negotiate. I tried to place myself on the mountain based on having seen these features from below the days previous. Nima, who wasn't using oxygen at this point, and was carrying 5 cylinders, plus other stuff, was setting the pace. He didn't suffer slow people on the line and would often get me off the line to overtake. I was happy about this, as long as we didn't try and overtake too many people too soon, as each little push to overtake someone would bring on a small oxygen deficit I'd need to recover from. Nima was constantly checking on me, and would regularly produce calories for me to eat or drink.

Shortly before a trickier section Nima got me to put my down jacket back on. Despite still feeling fairly comfortable without it, I heeded to his experience and layered up, but made sure I got the vents open. As we made our way through a steep, consequential traverse, Nam had caught me up. It was great to see a familiar face, and we became a little team to head to the top together.

By the time we reached C4 it was sometime around midnight and was certainly cooler. We took a short break which I certainly needed in order to refuel a bit . By this point I'd been in the oxygen mask for a good number of hours and had got used to the sensation of wearing it. The mask causes your face to get warm and sweaty, and inevitably the sweat and dribble comes out of the mask, turning to ice on your jacket. It'd probably taken me about an hour and a half of gasping to get used to the mask, but I was seemingly getting on with it now. Just before we set off again Nima reached over my pack and fiddled with the oxygen canister. He was increasing my oxygen flow, and when I enquired I'd been on just 1 litre per minute to this point, and he was putting my up to about 2Lpm for the next section. Given the numbers go up to 6, I'd been using a fairly low dosage - but that said, if we'd gone with the ordinary plan and launched our summit bid from C4 and not C3 I don't think I'd have used oxygen from C3 at all - we were simply using it as our summit day was much longer now (but I could be wrong?).

Now past C4, I really felt like it 'was on'. There is a point in every hard endeavour when you feel like the successful outcome starts to become the likely outcome, and with just about 600m or so of ascent to go, combined with the fact I was feeling pretty strong overall, I started to feel really positive. I didn't let my mind get too carried away however, as I was now in the 'Death Zone'. The 'Death Zone' which is associated with all 8000m peaks, and often conjures up scenes of bodies on Everest, is the section above 7500m. Oxygen in the atmosphere is so rarefied that life can't be sustained for any prolonged period of time, cells don't regenerate, and you are essentially dying - hence the name. My additional litre per minute had a superb impact and I was moving well up yet more steep slopes. Nima had used oxygen intermittently up to C4, but was now using it more continuously too. I'd never considered not using oxygen for climbing an 8000m peak. Oxygen enables you to maintain a higher performance level (physically and mentally) and also keeps you warmer. Those on oxygen are far less likely to succumb to the likes of frostbite. The downside is that should your oxygen fail or run out high up on the mountain you could find yourself in a sticky situation. Coming into the expedition I was also advised to get an extra bottle of oxygen if possible as this helps to relieve some pressure, so I now had 3 available to me instead of 2. Ethically, it causes some debate. Some believe that using oxygen is essentially cheating as you're making the demand of the climb easier, and only by ascending without oxygen can you claim the summit. Of course, the risks of climb 'No 02' as it's known are pretty high, and really it does need a special kind of person to undertake this. My personal outlook is that you let people climb in a style to suit them - whether that be with or without oxygen, sherpa support, logistics support etc. As long as people are respectful to the mountain, and honest about their approaches, then people can climb in whatever way suits them. Of course, if those climbers can support the locals / local economy when visiting then even better.

As we looked ahead into the darkness, there were just a few headtorches lighting the way. Our good progress had clearly put us ahead of the vast amount of people going for the summit. Given the short weather window, and the fact there were about 300 climbers total attempting Manaslu in the season, I reckon about 120-150 were heading up at the same time as us. The angle of the slopes were best compared to that of Skiddaw, the 4th tallest mountain in England. That lovely angle that you simply have to assign the word 'slog' to. The fixed lines were helpful, as you can just give yourself a little pull to keep your momentum moving forward.

It really was a gorgeous night, and brilliant one to be climbing one of the tallest peaks in the world. I still hadn't had to deploy my big down mitts, and I think the 'balmy' temperatures were thanks to the fact there was such little wind. There was one small period of light snow, but the morning was mostly a clear one. We could see the cloud below, and the silhouette of what was left to come up ahead. I could just about see that we were drawing level with Manaslu's subsidiary summit, which was the point which we spent so much time looking up at from Basecamp. At this height, we were now around 8000m, a real momentous occasion, and within the next 50m of ascent there would be just 11 peaks in the world higher than me - and in 100m just 9. It was at this time we realised our progress had been almost too good. We'd continued to overtake people and realised that at our current rate we would be summiting about 3:30am - and the sun didn't rise until 5:30am. The dilemma arose that we either crack on and summit under darkness, and get no view from the top, or we start to pile on some stops to delay ourselves. It was certainly warm enough to do this, but it would mean we'd end up queuing behind even more people. For me, the decision was however obvious. I didn't see a great deal of point in spending weeks climbing a mountain to not see anything from the top (if there was a chance of a view), and as one of my motivations for climbing the peak had been to see what the world was like above 8000m, it would have been a bit restrictive in the dark to achieve this. We sat on our packs at the side of the trail, chewing down more calories, watching people trudge on by.

Shortly before 4am we reached the top of the final steep section, and we just had the final couple of hundred metres of walking to do to reach the summit. Until just a couple of years ago, the accepted summit of Manaslu wasn't actually the very highest point, however it has since been 'unlocked' and the true summit (the very highest point) is what you must reach to be able to claim the mountain as climbed. The true summit is a narrow pinnacle, and to get to it there is a very narrow ledge that traverses a steep slope to below the pinnacle. From here you head directly up to the top. To descend you reverse this. It sounds simple, until you take into account that the ledge was at times less than 30cm wide, there was a drop of thousands of metres below you, two way traffic, and just one rope to clip in to. This process certainly woke me up and I was ensuring I was being extra cautious when clipping in, and when people were moving past me. We joined the queue for the summit at around 4:30am. The summit could only hold half a dozen people at a time at an absolute push, and naturally when people got there they had photos and videos to take. All this meant that progress was less than snails pace. Apart from being highly conscious of the consequences of messing anything up on this section, I was still fairly comfortable - and for every minute we waited, the more chance we had of it being light.

At 5:30am, I stepped up and reached the summit of Manaslu, and the timing could not have been better. The sun was just breaking over distant hills, providing an orange hue to the sky. I could see all the valleys were covered in cloud, which spread as far as the eye could see. This was it, the goal I'd worked so hard for being achieved. For a fleeting moment, I was the highest person in the entire world, and quite possibly one of the most elated. We took our pictures and videos as promptly as we could before carefully getting onto the descent rope. As we reached the narrow ledge again, I saw John and Dan waiting patiently for their moment of glory (It later transpired they had to wait for over 2 hours!). The ledge reversal thankfully went smoothly, and I was certainly happy to be back on the broader slopes again.

At the start of the expedition Rishi had actually told as that the previous year all the clients managed to descend from the summit to BC in the same day. I didn't know this was even possible, but once heard, I couldn't forget it was an option. When I got paired up with Nima, I asked him what his thoughts were on this, and he was keen too. I turned to Nima and said 'Right then, are we going for it?'. He nodded, and down we marched. With 3300m of descent to do, I knew my day was far from done, but I was keen to try and make it work. BC is comfier, and safer, and if I had the fitness and energy to get there, I was going to make it happen. Despite this mammoth journey, I was still taking in my surroundings as I descended. The cloud carpet was gorgeous, and we even got some brocken spectres. I was now able to see the slopes we'd climbed up in the daylight and couldn't believe how long and steep some of them were.

We zipped past C4 in great time, shortly after which we had to abseil to get down some steeper and trickier walls. We reached the top of the ice wall just above C3 and hit traffic. It was now about 8-9am and there were groups coming up, making their way to C4. The seemingly endless line of people coming up meant that we just had to sit there and wait. Eventually, there was a lull in people ascending and we managed to descend the wall and get to C3. Nima double checked with me that I still wanted to go to BC and I confirmed I had it in me. He also asked me if I wanted to have a break and a rest at C3, and I said I'm good to go - I just needed to strip out of my down suit and load up my rucksack with my sleeping gear that had been left in the tent. At this point I took my oxygen cylinder out of my bag and placed it on the snow outside my tent. Once my bag was packed I stood ready waiting for Nima, but he was charging back and forth looking for a sixth cylinder. I helped him look and then it occured to me he hadn't already picked up the one I'd previously put outside my tent - it had gone! Like an absolute idiot, I hadn't secure the cyclinder or dug it in, and it's slipped away down a slope. What a prize plum I was. Nima must have thought I was one too. He did head off down this slope for a look with another Sherpa, but it was nowhere to be seen.

We made light work of the descent down to C2, but by the time I got there I was starting to fade a little. The next section is the most serious on the mountain, and I knew I'd have to wake myself up in order to get down it safely. I gave myself a couple of slaps and put some energy in. Nima started taking down a tent and it transpired that between him and the other Sherpas they were stripping all the camps on the way down, rather than leaving them and coming back. Nima loaded up his bag, which was now looking insanely heavy. I was astounded. Apart from a small hold up on one of the ice walls, the descent was nice and quiet. I made sure I checked and double checked my gear before committing my weight to the rope each time. My loaded pack made the abseiling quite uncomfortable as it forced my lightweight harness with minimal padding to dig in. I knew this was the last day in which it mattered, so dug in and cracked on.

Down at C1, Nima managed to get us some cold mango juice from another providers dining tent which was pure luxury. Coming into the expedition I had best laid plans on my summit day nutrition, but it's fair to say my plan went out of the window. Since we left at 6pm the night before, I'd maybe drank about a litre of fluids, and consumed 500-600 calories. I was oddly not very hungry, but that's not uncommon when in a state of fatigue. We didn't linger long, and before I knew it I was chasing Nima down the hill. Despite his huge rucksack, he was still stripping me on pace. What a machine.

This part of the mountain as most familiar to me thanks to the fact we'd done it the most. We had roughly 6km to go, and 90km of walking all being well. The glacier seemed to have changed so much over the last few days, with snow bridges missing having melted into crevasses, and with chunks of the trails sitting snow free showing exposed rock. I kept my focus, as I thought being rescued from a crevasse was something Nima really didn't need to deal with! We reached Crampon point and Mingma and Bebek had come to meet us. Bebek handed me one of the tastiest apples I've ever had, although as always, the occasion probably exacerbated the taste. Bebek also told me he was taking my pack to rest of the way to BC, but I refused to let him. The thought of handing it over so close to the end wasn't going to happen. Mingma also let me know that the others, apart from Tony, had all summited, but were feeling quite tired so had opted to stop at C3 for the night. They'd follow on the next day.

The final 30 minutes to our BC was fast. Nima unsurprisingly led the way, hopping over the rocks like he was still pretty fresh. I did my best to keep up, but was definitely starting to empty the tank. Finally, we got back and I dropped my bag to the ground - I'd done it. I sat in a state of shoch having accomplished what I'd come to do, and I'd got myself back to relative safety too. It was now about 3pm, so I'd been on the go for 21 hours, and this doesn't include the time being awake before we left, and the poor nights sleep too. It had been a long, and exhausting day or so, but so very worth it. I got some messages off to the family, ate my dinner and promptly went to bed and slept like the dead.

Day 27 - BC (4800m) - 25th September

When I did my Bob Graham Round, and my Lakes, Meres and Waters run, I again woke earlier than you'd think the next day. I think it's the stress the body has been put under, plus the fact that you're usually uncomfortable from muscle soreness too. I ate my breakfast on my own and grabbed a shower. I also got about sorting my kit out as I knew we wouldn't be hanging about in BC for many days at all. It was around midday when first John, shortly followed by Dan, appeared in BC. It was superb to see them both again, and to see them so happy for each other too. Tony appeared and told me about how he couldn't summit due to having to help his Sherpa out who had turned poorly high up near C4. (His Sherpa deteriorated and eventually made it back to BC by the help of the other Sherpas. Nima actually ended up carrying him from crampon point to BC! On the 26th he was flown by rescue helicopter to Kathmandu and treated for High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema). Tony was clearly gutted, but I quickly reminded him that he'd saved a man's life, which is a much bigger, and more meaningful achievment than climbing a mountain. Charig appeared a bit battered later on, as did Nam. We were all back to BC and we spent a lovely evening together eating a great meal, and being spoilt with a cake to celebrate. Mingma came and informed us we'd be leaving BC the next day. The weather that was cutting the summit windows short was now looking pretty serious, so bad that they wanted the whole of BC to be pulled down before it hit.

It was also that evening that Charig saw on the Himalayan Times online that the locals in Samagaun had 'Gone on Strike' and were preventing any non-rescue helicopters from leaving the village. I thought 'Ah, it'll be OK, they'll have sorted that out by tomorrow....'

Day 27 - Descending to Samagaun (3400m) - 26th September

We enjoyed our final breakfast of BC and I went around tipping the members of the trekking team. With our duffle bags loaded, we said our goodbyes to BC and started descending. A few days previous, we'd been told that there was always a chance we'd fly the same day we reached Samagaun, and 11am was the target time to be down there for in preparation for this. I popped in my headphones and made light work of the 1400m descent. I did most of it on my own, but enjoyed the last mile or so with Dan and John, reminiscing about elements of the expedition amongst other things. We got ourselves to the teahouse we'd used on the way into Manaslu and as we walked into the dining room we saw Charig sat there. I was shocked, as there was no way he overtook us. It turned out his feet were in such a bad way from his boots rubbing on the summit bid that he'd been ushered onto a helicopter at the last minute at BC and flown down to Samagaun. Lucky git!

Bebek arrived and informed us that the local issue was still ongoing, but was confident it'd soon be resolved. Essentially, the Manaslu region is a restricted area, and if a local wants to get medical evacuation via helicopter it is a long and bureaucratic process. On top of this, even if a 'tourist' or 'foreigner' helicopter was leaving with a space on, they were unable to just hop on. Sadly, recently a pregnant lady had passed due to a delay in their request. The locals saw the fact that over 300 people were descending Manaslu towards Samagaun as an opportunity put pressure on the government and therefore shut the helipads to any traffic that wasn't an essential rescue. At this point I still thought the problem would solve itself quickly...but it'd turn out I was wrong.

Day 28 - 31 - 27th to 30th September

Over the course of the next few days, we saw the locals having meetings over at the helipad. One of which I went along to in order to see if I could read the body language on what was happening. Even Bebek was unsure of which way it would go. At one point we were told that the government would 'make a decision within 2 weeks'. Whilst this was going on, the poor weather that closed the summit window and had us rushing down from Basecamp hit the whole of Nepal and Northern India. The rain that arrived was so severe it was regarded worse than what happens in monsoon season. Samagaun was certainly wet, but other areas in Nepal got absolutely smashed, including a large swathe of Kathmandu. Sadly, over 200 people lost their lives over the course of the 24-48 hour period due to flooding and landslides. We were relatively safe in Samagaun, where the weather hadn't been all that bad compared. Up at BC the there had been over a metre of snow overnight, and so the decision to collapse base camp quickly was proven to be genius. So many other providers who were still up there were dealing with massive amounts of snow and broken / buried tents. Higher up the mountain, the fixed lines were all buried and the slopes would be no doubt well loaded with snow, therefore increasing the avalanche danger. To me, it seemed like the season was over, and boy, we'd been lucky. The 2024 climbing season had just a 3 day summit window and we'd managed to make it up on one of them. Phew.

On the 28th we heard that a government official was going to be flown into Samagaun on the 29th to talk with the locals. I had tried not to pin too much hope on this, and wouldn't believe it until the official actually touched down either. As much as I didn't like being held in Samagaun, we were safe, had food, entertainment and communications. On top of this my international flight was still over a week away. Above all else, I sympathised with the locals and their reason for doing it. Even if we were held for many more days, I still felt fortunate to have managed to climb the mountain I'd put so much time and money into climbing, and I did my best to not lose sight of this fact.

At about 1pm on the 29th word got around that the talks had been positive, and although the locals hadn't secured everything they were after, they were prepared to allow the tourists to leave. A flurry of activity occurred almost immediately and the helicopter relays began. There was a slim chance we'd fly that day, and I resided myself to the fact it'd be the next day. Afterall, there were a lot of people in Samagaun to fly out and I didn't know where on the list we were.

We went to the helipad for 7am the following day, and having travelled many times by air in Nepal (although never Helicopter) I know that there is always an element of 'hurry up and wait' to it. Alas, it all seemed like good progress and I hoped everything would come together to enable us to fly. Helicopters did indeed come and go, with other groups getting on, until we were then weighed and told the next helicopter was ours. The next helicopter unsurprisingly wasn't, but the one after that was. I was pointed towards the front passenger seat (win) and the helicopter soon took to the air - we were away!

The next 17 minutes were amazing. I'd always wanted to fly in a helicopter, and where better to do it than through a stunning, steep sided valley in the Manaslu region of Nepal. We touched down by a small dwelling and waited for the helicopter to go and get the rest of the team and baggage. Now we just had a 5 hour bus ride back to Kathmandu - simple right.

Well...the 'it's not over until the fat lady sings' as they say and the day was far from done. The entire route back to Kathmandu was fortunately open and had seen minimal impact from the recent landslides, but there was some damage. This meant that things were slower than usual, and there was quite a lot of traffic on the road too. The hours went on and a couple of hours outside Kathmandu we came to a complete standstill. Our driver pulled some cheeky manoeuvres to skip some of the queues, but we reached a point so log jammed this trick couldn't be played. There were vehicles facing every which way for as far as we could see, I felt like we were going to be here a while. Chirag calmly said 'We should get a beer'. Fortuitously, we'd happened to stop right next to a bar, so we promptly disembarked and grabbed ourselves a big bottle of Ghorka each, as well as a packet of Nepal's finest cheese puffs. The beer disappeared and just as Dan was reloading us the bus boy came running over, frantically signalling to us to get back on the bus. I ran across the car park and boarded the bus. I looked out the window and saw Dan legging it across the car park with two full bottle's of Ghorka and couldn't help but chuckle. The driver got us onto some mad side road and we popped on some tunes and drank our beers. Once back in Kathmandu we just dropped our gear and shot out for the pizza we'd been dreaming of for so long. It was ace.

The following evening we had a meal with our team, and it was great to celebrate the success of the expedition. Before I knew it I was on the plane flying home, the adventure was over, but I'd achieved something I'll be proud of until the day I die.