The weather is not making it easy for us. It never stops snowing. It is true that these last few days have given us a little truce, but the sky is cloudy again and we expect more precipitation between now and the end of the month. We weren’t expecting so much snow, to be honest. In recent weeks more than 3 meters have accumulated and, of course, this makes it impossible for us to continue going up. For now. We are optimistic. Me I’m the first to be. I expect February to be a much drier month.
We are at the halfway point of the expedition. We did 40 days and we have still time. We are going to try until the end, but for that we need the snow to settle. We constantly measure the danger of avalanches and have even flown over several points in a helicopter to see the evolution. As I said, it has fallen a lot of snow and several areas are quite dangerous (on the European scale, 5/5). This is what is in the winter expeditions. We knew it in advance
I am optimistic by nature and I believe that the situation will change. Iñaki is also of the same opinion. Many times things look easy from the outside but when you get here the mountain decides for itself. It is what it is. We cannot fight against nature. We have to understand it and know how to interpret it. And, of course, be patient and wait for our moment. Adapt ourselves. I am sure that Manaslu will open its gates for us and we will be able to start climbing during the next few weeks.
Meanwhile we are still in Samagaun, the last village before reaching the base camp and which is located at 3,400 meters above sea level. The people have welcomed us with open arms and we are increasingly integrated into the local population. They treat us wonderfully. Their hospitality moves. Last week we even went to a funeral, during it a neighbor was fired. Buddhism never ceases to amaze us. It is completely different from what we are used to. The bright colors, the music… with each passing day we learn something new. Eskerrik asko Samagaun!