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Manaslu 2003: Jeff Justman Dispatch
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Manaslu, at 8163 meters, is the eighth highest
peak in the world. It is located in the
west-central part of Nepal, and our team will
climb it by the original route. |
JJs
Dispatch: I remember in the documentary film Sherpa
Unsung Heroes; The Making of a Sherpa, a climber
mentioned that most Himalayan expeditions would have a
difficult time succeeding without the support of the
Sherpa people. In our case that is definitely true!
Our crew of Sherpas fixed the rope from Camp 1 to
almost Camp 2. Our Team followed helping punch in the
route towards 22,000 feet. However, we spend very
little time out in front. Instead Lhakpa Sherpa would
be trudging through the knee-deep snow. We spent 3
days above Camp 1 punching our way through the snow.
The only problem is that every night it snows more. We
spent the night at 21,000 feet after 7 exhausting
hours of climbing on fixed line through deep snow.
That
evening it snowed over 12 inches ruining our efforts
of breaking a trail. The next day we climbed 500 more
feet before we called it quits. I could see that
everyone needed to rest especially our crew of Sherpa.
When I told Lhakpa that we were going to cache our
gear 500 feet below Camp 2, all the Sherpa smiled and
they are still smiling at base camp, which is where we
are now.
The
first team consisting of Bruce, Shane, Will, Arnold,
and myself will rest and relax at base camp for
several days. Our plan is to climb to Camp 1 then to
Camp 2 finally to Camp 3 and then hopefully the
summit.
Our
second team of climbers has arrived and they are
beginning to carry gear to Camp 1 in order to
acclimatize. There are also several international
expeditions on the mountain including teams from
Holland, Slovenia, and Poland. I am sure my mother,
her maiden name Kawleski, is glad to know there are
fellow Poles on the Mountain! And, No Ma, they have
not heard that song, I am a Pollock from Paulownia
Hope all is well. I will call again soon! JJ
 Dispatches
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