Manaslu Expedition

Our full-service expedition includes:

• British, European, or American leader
• Expert climbing Sherpa
• Transport to base camp to/from Kathmandu, including accommodation
• Yak transport of all equipment to and from basecamp
• Skillful base camp cooks
• Three meals each day
• Group emergency equipment and satellite phone
• Private tents in basecamp (no sharing)
• Full base camp with dinning tent, showers, bathroom, and solar charger
• Double occupancy tents above base camp
• All permit fees and liaison officers
• Use of group gear and supplies
• Two nights stay in a Kathmandu hotel on arrival and two nights prior to departure in a double room. Private rooms are available for a small additional fee.
• Airport transfer

What is not included?

• International flights to/from Kathmandu
• Mountain climbing rescue and travel insurance
• Personal climbing equipment and clothing
• Oxygen (available on request)
• Gratuities for staff
• Nepalese visa

Our basic climb includes:

• All permit fees and liaison officer
• Basecamp meals; basecamp sleeping tent, basecamp dining tent, and tables and chairs
• Transport to base camp to/from Kathmandu, for you and personal equipment only (boots, ice axe, clothing, sleeping bag), including accommodation and meals on the road
• A walkie-talkie radio
• Emergency equipment and supplies
• Access to team fixed ropes and camps (sites, not tents)
• Airport transfers
• Other services and may be purchased and hired at minimal expense

Add on High Attitude Support : Click here for prices

• Private Sherpa (personal guide/porter) – Carries up to 10 kg (22bs) of your personal equipment, climbs with you, melts water, cooks, and will be with you every step of the way.
• Personal equipment carriage service – Sherpa carry up to 10kg (22lbs) of personal equipment up and down the mountain between camps

Oxygen: You should consider whether or not you wish to use supplemental oxygen, which is optional on Manaslu. Approximately half of our members choose to use oxygen. Click here for prices

We recommend a three bottle set for Manaslu. The price includes three large 4 litre Russian Oxygen bottles, mask, regulator, hoses, as well as carriage to the high camps by porters. Extra bottles are available for an additional fee. We have a 30% buy-back policy on masks, regulators, and unused oxygen bottles in good condition.

Oxygen supplies may be purchased separately. The same buy-back policy applies.The following may be purchased individually:

• Mask and Hoses which are guaranteed to be in proper working order and match the bottles and regulator.
• Regulator for high-altitude oxygen bottle
• 4 litreRussian Oxygen bottle for high-altitude climbing

1. Arrive Kathmandu, 1,300 metres (4,265 feet.) Stay at hotel.
2. Orientation, training, and equipment review at hotel in Kathmandu (KTM), renting and buying gear at KTM equipment shops, group dinner. Stay at hotel.
3. Ride a bus 9-12 hours to Besisahar, 760 metres (2,493 feet.). Stay at tea house
4. Take a Jeep 7-8 hours to Dharapani, 1,860 metres (6,102 feet). Stay at tea house
5. Hike 6-7 hours to Kharche, 2,700 metres (8,858 feet).Stay at tea house
6. Hike 6-7 hours to Bimthang, 3,720 metres (12,205 feet).Stay in tea house
7. Rest in Bimthang, short acclimatization hike. Stay in tea house.
8. Hike 9-11 hours to Samdo 3,860 metres (12,644 feet) via crossing the Larkya-La Pass 5,160 metres (16,929 feet). Stay at tea house.
9. Hike 8 hours to SamaGaon, 3,690 metres (12,106 feet)
10. Rest in SamaGaon. Acclimatization, re-packing, shopping, etc
11. Hike 6-7 hours to base camp, 4,800 metres (15,748ft).
12. Rest in basecamp. Acclimatization, Climbing equipment review
13. Ice climbing training on glaciers near basecamp.
14. Walk to camp 1, 5,700 metres (18,696 feet), return to base camp
15. Rest in base camp
16. Walk to camp 1 and sleep there.
17. Walk to Camp 2, 6,250 metres (20,500 feet), return to base camp.
18. Rest in base camp.
19. Walk to camp 1 and sleep there.
20. Walk to camp 2 and sleep there.
21. Walk to camp 3, 6,800 metres (22,300 feet). Return to camp 2 and sleep there.
22. Return to base camp.
23. Rest in base camp.
24. Rest in base camp.
25. Walk to camp 1 and sleep there.
26. Walk to camp 2 and sleep there.
27. Walk to camp 3 and sleep there.
28. Climb to Camp 4, 7,450 metres (24,440 feet).
29. Summit attempt 8,163 metres (26,781 feet).
30. Extra day for summit attempt. Descend to camp 2.
31. Descend to basecamp.
32. Pack and prepare to depart. Trek to SamaGoan.
33. Trek to Bimthang. Stay at tea house.
34. Trek to Dharapani. Stay at tea house.
35. Drive to BesiShar. Stay at tea house.
36. Take bus to Kathmandu. Stay at hotel
37. Celebration Banquet. Packing and final shopping in Kathmandu. Stay at hotel
38. Say Good-bye to your new friends and depart for home.

Climbing:

• Climbing harness
• 5 meters (16 ft.) of 6mm accessory cord
• Figure 8 abseil/belay device (tube style devices, i.e. ATC will not work on fixed lines)
• Full size ascender (i.e. PetzlAscention)
• 2 locking carabiners, 1 large and 1 small
• 4 non-locking carabiners
• Ice axe with leash
• Steel crampons with anti-balling plates
• Trekking poles
• Abseiling/Rappelling Gloves

Upper Body:

• 2 cotton t-shirts
• 2 synthetic t-shirts
• 2 long sleeve synthetic shirts
• Light-weight soft shell jacket
• Medium weight insulatingjacket (fleece, down, or synthetic)
• Hard shell jacket with hood, waterproof and breathable (Gore-Tex or similar)
• Heavy down coat
   
  • For 6,000m peaks a very warm down coat with hood or an 8,000m coat with hood
  • For 7,000m peaks an 8,000m coat with hood
  • For 8,000m peaks an 8,000m down coat with hood or an 8,000m suit can be used instead

Hands:

• Lightweight poly-liner gloves
• Mid-weight soft shell gloves – water/wind resistant
• Heavy- weight waterproof gloves – Gore-tex shell with removable liner
• Expedition weight mittens -Gore-tex over mitt matched polar fleece mitt liner

Head:

• Helmet
• Warm hat that covers your ears
• Balaclava
• Face mask
• Baseball hat or brimmed sun hat
• Glacier sunglasses with side shields
• Ski goggles with light and dark lenses
• Glasses with clear lenses to protect your eyes while climbing to the summit on windy nights. (cost less than 10 dollars in Kathmandu)
• Headlamp with extra batteries and bulbs
• Buff/neck gaiter
• Bandana or head scarf (optional)

Lower Body:

• Synthetic underwear
• Hiking shorts
• Hiking pants
• 2 pair lightweight thermal bottoms
• Medium or expedition weight thermal bottoms
• Polar fleece or soft shell pants
• Waterproof/breathable pants with full side zips (Gore-Tex or similar)
• Heavy insulating pants
   
  • For 6,000m peaks: Down or synthetic pants will full zips
  • For 7,000m peaks: 8,000m down pants
  • For 8,000m peaks: 8,000m down pants or a 8,000m suit can be used instead

Feet:

• Boots
   
  • For 6,000m peaks: Plastic or composite double boots (Koflach, La SportivaSpantik, etc) Modern waterproof, single boots designed for 4-5,000m peaks may be suitable if they can be worn with 2 pairs of socks and vapor barrier lines and/or they are equipped with overboots
  • For 7,000m: Plastic or composite double boots (Koflach, La SportivaSpantik, etc)
  • For 8,000m peaks: 8,000m boots - One-Sport Millet Everest boots or equivalent
     
• Sturdy leather walking boots
• Trainers, running shoes and/or sandals
• Down booties (optional)
• 3 pair med-heavy poly or wool socks
• 2 pair poly or wool liner socks (optional)
• Vapor barrier liner socks (optional)
• 2 pair lightweight trekking socks
• Cotton socks for in town

Sleeping:

• Down sleeping bag
   
  • For 6,000m peaks: -18C or 0F
  • For 7,000m peaks:-23C or -10F (If you sleep cold consider -29C or -20F)
  • For 8,000m peaks: -29C or -20F (If you sleep cold consider -40C or -40F)
     
• An additional down sleeping bag for basecamp for the following climbs: Everest, Lhotse, AmaDablam, Manaslu, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Broad Peak, K2, Gasherbrum I and II, Spantik, K2/Broad Peak Everest training climb. For Mastagata a second sleeping bag is optional, but highly recommended.
   
  • Down base camp sleeping bag should be rated to -10C or 15F (If you sleep cold consider -18C or 0F)
     
• 2 closed cell foam kari-mats (sleeping pads) for use in basecamp and high altitude (these can be purchased inexpensively in Kathmandu)
• High quality inflatable sleeping pad designed for cold weather (Thermarest)
• Patch kit for inflatable pad

Rucksack and Travel Bags:

• Medium rucksack/backpack (50-70 litres / 3000-4500 cubic inches, can be used as carry-on bag)
• Waterproof rucksack cover (optional)
• 2 large (120+ L / 7500+ cubic inch) duffle kit bags for clothing and equipment
• Small luggage locks for duffel kit bags

Personal Hygiene:

• Female or male hygiene supplies
• 2 tubes lip sun cream
• Large tube skin sun cream (min factor 30)
• Anti-mosquito cream
• Toothpaste/brush
• Hand sanitizer gel (small-medium bottle)
• Bar of soap small towel
• Hand wipes
• Face Mask
• Hand sanitiser
• Disposable gloves
• Disinfectant wipes

Medical:

• Small personal first-aid kit. (Simple and Light) Aspirin, first-aid tape, plasters (band-aids), personal medications, etc.
• Blister repair kit
• 10 anti-diarrhea pills
• 20 anti-headache pills
• 10 cough and/or cold medicine
• Anti-altitude sickness pills: Diamox, Acetylzolamide
• 10 Stomach antibiotics: Ciprofloxacin, etc.
• 5 Azithromycin tables
• Steri pen or bottle of water purification tablets
• Cough sweets/lozenges (Halls/Stepils)
• Earplugs
• Extra prescription glasses/contact lenses and supplies

Personal Food:

• Snack food/daily energy food
   
  • Everest training Nepal/Tibet, AmaDablam, Baruntse: 2-4kg (4.5-9lbs)
  • Spantik, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Mustagata, Manaslu: 2-5kg (4.5-11lbs)
  • Broad Peak, K2, Gasherbrum I/II, K2/Everest training, Everest, Lhotse: 3-6kg (6.5-13lbs)
     
• Dehydrated meals (freeze-dried dinners) for summit attempt
   
  • Everest training Nepal/Tibet, AmaDablam: 2 Meals
  • Spantik, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, Mustagata, Manaslu, Baruntse: 3 meals
  • Broad Peak, K2, Gasherbrum I/II, K2/Everest training, Everest, Lhotse: 5 meals

• Small roll of repair tape
• Sewing repair kit
• Cigarette lighter
• Small box matches
• Compass or GPS
• Battery powered alarm clock/watch
• Camera with extra cards and extra batteries
• Nylon stuff sacks for food and gear storage
• 2 water bottles (1 litre) wide-mouth Nalgene
• Pee bottle (1litre or larger)
• Plastic cup and spoon
• Small folding knife
• Binoculars (optional)
• 4 large, waterproof, disposable rubbish sacks
• Passport, 2 extra passport photos, flight ticket, flight itinerary
• Separate photocopies of passport and relevant visa pages, proof of insurance
• Dollars, pounds, or euros cash
• Bank/ATM/Cash and credit cards
• Bathing suit/swim suit (you never know)
• Paperback books, playing cards, ipod/mp3 player, musical instruments, extra batteries, etc.
• Travel clothes for basecamp and in town
• Umbrella (optional)
• Small solar panels for personal electronics (optional)

Oxygen:

A 5 bottle set of oxygen is included in the cost of our full service Everest, K2, and Lhotse expeditions. It may be purchased for Broad Peak, Cho Oyu, Shishapangma, and Manaslu.

Group Equipment:

We provide group gear, equipment, and supplies including: rope, ice, rock, and snow anchor protection, tents; stoves, fuel, walkie-talkie radios, bamboo marker wands, etcetera. A personal tent will be provided for each member at base camp. On the upper mountain, team members will share tents. In base camp, a shower, toilet, solar charger, and a dining tent will be provided.

Please fill out an application and return it to us with your refundable ten-percent deposit to hold your place on the team.

• Application for US Team Members : PDF Form or MS Word Doc
• Application for all other Team Members :  PDF Form or MS Word Doc

In addition to your application, we will need the following at least two months before the trip begins:  

• Completed Payment
• Oxygen order (if any)
• Sherpa order (if any)
• Trip Registration form
• 1 Passport sized photo
• A scan of your passport identification pages
• Complete flight itinerary
• Proof of travel, accident, and repatriation insurance. We strongly recommend Global Rescue, with at least $50,000 worth of helicopter rescue insurance.
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance is recommended

Please contact us with any questions you may have.