Manaslu means "Mountain of the Spirit" and it comes from the Sanskrit word Manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul".

It is an imposing mountain being a 3092m prominence it extends from crops cultivation area to the area permanently covered with snow and ice. The mountain's long ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions, and culminate in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape.

There are about 6 different routes going up the mountain, and we will attempt the normal route. Many commercial expeditions estblish 4 camps on the mountian. We are not sure what we will do, but hopefully we will only establish 3 camps. Here is a view of the route that we will be taking.

Manaslu is the 8th tallest peak in the world at 8162 m (26, 781 ft), and is located just 40 km from Anapurna. The mountain's long ridges and valley glaciers offer feasible approaches from all directions and culminate in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape.

Here is a bit of information about our next objective - Manaslu.

Manaslu is located in Nepal.

As you can see, Manaslu is in a different part of Nepal, near Annapurna. We will land in Kathmandu then take a vehicle for a 5 hour drive then hike for somewhere between 6-10 days to base camp.

We have hired a company to take us and our gear to base camp, as well as base camp support. This means that they will provide us with a tent at base camp plus they will cook for us there. This is the minimal amount of support that we could get as we do need someone to stay in base camp to look after our stuff while we are on the mountain.

We are a team of two - just Domhnall and me, and the plan is no assistance from Sherpas to carry our gear up the mountain, do our own cooking etc on the mountain, and to do this without oxygen. This climb will be similar to the way we climbed Everest - going up and down to acclimatize and resting at base camp between trips up.

We are unsure how long this climb will take us. It all depends on how strong we are, how we are acclimatizing and of course the weather. We have allowed some extra time in Nepal, and if we finish early we have the option of either coming home early, or going for a walk about. I would love to head over to Portse to see Dawa's tea house, but that will take a flight then a three day trek from Kathmandu just to get there, so we will see.

Stay tuned, I will try to update the blog on a more regular basis prior to leaving, and once on expedition, I will be calling in on the satellite phone.

Training for Manaslu

We are just 3 weeks from our Manaslu expedition and I wanted to share a few pictures of us training this past winter. The training that we've chosen for this expedition is different than any other training we have done. Instead of spending all my time in the stairwell, we have been outside ice climbing. Moving as quickly as we could during the approaches to the climbs, sometime carrying extra weight in a water bladder, then enjoying ourselves during the climbs.

Last week we went up Mount Abraham. Domhnall was in the lead breaking trail after a moderate snowfall. The snow got deeper and deeper and I thought about offering to break trail, but I was having so much more fun relaxing behind. Finally Domhnall turned around and suggested that I break trail. I replied - sure, if you do dishes tonight. With a smile he said we were turning around! I broke trail briefly until I gave up!