1 September 2012, Manaslu Base Camp (4800m) – News in from the Moguls to Manaslu crew whose mission is to ski from the summit of the eighth highest mountain in the world without oxygen. Rémy Lécluse, Greg Costa and Glen Plake have arrived in base camp and when we spoke to them via satellite phone they were chilling out, playing video games, reading, and wrenching on electronics and communication equipment.
Greg Costa: “We’re at base camp at 4800 meters. Resting, reading, playing computer games, and taking it easy. We’re planning to take a trip up to the foot of the glacier soon.”
Glen Plake: “As far as our technology goes, it’s been like herding cats. We’ve got the solar panels going but we still can’t get the BGAN to work. [ed note: a BGAN is used to connect a computer to a satellite phone in order to send/receive emails]. The weather is so nice we’re running around in our underwear but then the sun goes behind a cloud and you have to put on a jacket.”
Rémy Lécluse: “Everyone is healthy and acclimatizing well. The weather has been very nice – quite clear in the morning and light showers in the afternoon. Manaslu itself looks quite dry, not too snowy but every night we get a few more showers and from base camp we can see that there have been a few slabs releases at the top of the mountain. We’ve got our fingers crossed for more snow!”
While you’re keeping your fingers crossed, keep in mind that the team is there at the start of the monsoon season and snow conditions will improve the longer they stay. There is a fine line to be negotiated between dry conditions that are good for climbing and enough snow to allow a successful ski descent.
According to their schedule, the team hopes to summit between 21 and 25 September, depending on the weather of course.