Yesterday, we arrived in KBC after an horrendous and exhausting climb from Yalung Glacier Camp. Although Glacier Camp is only some 375 m higher than Ramche, the actual climb is 700 m as the glacier goes up and down continuously. From Glacier Camp to KBC it is similar: 900 m climb to get 675 m higher. The weather was way better than the day before, but the melting slow made it very slippery and dangerous to move. It took 7.5 h to reach KBC where Pemba Nuru was waiting for me. All the tents had already been set up which was very nice. We are in the highest of all camps at ~ 5500 m. The views are superb. This morning (21 april) we had the traditional Puja ceremony and the rest of the day is just to relax, what we really need. I met Shasko and his wife who were also on Manaslu last year. He is again with Mingma G. He said that Gina and Jill are also there. It is a small world up here.
In the course of the morning, after the Puja, I ran into Sashko and his wife who were both on Manaslu last September. An hour later, Mingma G. came to fetch me to have tea with his team. Jill and Gina were there too. Sashko told me to sit in ‘my own corner’ and it felt like Manaslu was only yesterday. Mingma G. and his team climbed Dhaulaghiri first and flew in to KBC yesterday. They will start climbing straight away and hope to summit within a week. We will most likely climb tomorrow to crampon point or Camp 1, just to get better acclimatised.
