Arrived at Manaslu Base Camp in 3 h 15 min from 3526 m to 4833 m. The trail to Base Camp is very steep, but Pemba and I rushed up at almost 500 m/h, taking shortcuts to overtake several barrens of mules carrying our stuff up. The 2 oldest men on our permit (David from USA and me) arrived first. The camp looks great: fantastic view, and nice communal tent where the others are slowly flocking in. Everybody seems thrilled and in a good mood. I was just approached by Dawa, who seems to run this place. He asked me whether I snored, and said he will put me in a tent close to the main tent (the best option). So far, so good ! Luckily we were fast as it raining heavily (the monsoon is not yet over) and we are cosily in the communal tent drinking lots of warm chocolate. Slowly, the 11 other members on our permit that make use of Base Camp logistics arrive. It seems a very nice group. Pemba just told me my tent is ready. Up till now, I always slept in a tiny expedition tent, but now we got a spacious tent with even a little carpet on the floor. Never had such a luxurious sleeping spot on an expedition. In addition, the view is superb as I am in the last tent of the camp. Base Camp logistics seems to be a really good outfitter indeed. We got just served a very nice lunch. It’s good to get acquainted with the group: an Iranian lady, a Macedonian couple, a couple of Americans, very diverse, very nice.
