How did I get here? Why am I here?Great questions. This trip has been a journey already.
Since I started all this mountain stuff back in May 2022 on the Kahiltna glacier on the side of Denali, and realized it was something I loved, my dream has been to attempt an 8,000m peak. My choice was to attempt Cho Oyu (pronounced Choyou, as I’ve come to learn!). This would be the least technical, and an opportunity to go to Tibet, and drive across the great Tibetan plain. However, the Chinese government didn’t issue permits for Cho Oyu this year, and after waiting until the latest possible moment, Madison Mountaineering, my expedition company, offered Manaslu in its place.
2 of the original team of 4 declined as they had summited Manaslu previously, so now it’s just 2 people, Woodie, who I haven’t met or communicated with, and me. Woodie doesn’t arrive for a few days, as he has done his acclimatization at home. (I think he used a hypoxic tent).
So that’s a long winded story of how I ended up here in Kathmandu, to attempt to climb Manaslu.
Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world, standing at 8,163 meters (26,781 feet) above sea level in west-central Nepal. Cho Oyu is the 6th highest at 8,188 meters, or 26,864 feet. In fact there is only 300 feet in difference between Cho Oyu and Annapurna, which is the 10th highest, but technically there is quite a difference.
I travelled here via JFK, and Doha, on Qatar airlines. What a treat!!! GMy first time on a Middle Eadtern carrier, but the service and quality is everything I had heard it would be. I got to spend a few hours in Doha airport. That was incredible. They have an internal garden, more like a forest or a small jungle. Even has timber tents, for people to sleep in. The biggest selection of high end duty free shops I have ever seen. Fionnuala could have a holiday just in the airport!
Leaving Doha we flew over the Straits of Hormuz, or Harmoooze, as someone infamous calls it! No missiles!!
Kathmandu is as I remember it. Crowded, crazy traffic, and hundreds of scooters. We are here for 3 days, before we helicopter on to Samagoan, so some time to get past the jet lag and do some sight-seeing.
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