Blog in English - Manaslu

 
Another day started today with sunshine. I heard thunder once during the night, but otherwise I slept pretty well. Now I'm sitting in the garden of our hotel and enjoying the peace and quiet before the flight to Samagaon.
Yesterday was my first full day here in Kathmandu. I slept until 8:30 a.m. and then explored the breakfast buffet. As always on trips like this, I first have to get used to eating regularly again. The buffet here is varied and lavish, but I don't eat sausages, beans or papaya for breakfast. So yoghurt with a bit of muesli and toast with salty butter and jam that was way too sweet was enough for me. The main thing is something in your stomach. Afterwards I planned to have a quiet ball, pack my gear into the duffle bags, then have lunch somewhere with the others and then enjoy a massage. As always, you shouldn't make too big plans in Nepal ;)
I saw that my older duffle bag had various holes in it and asked Dean and JC if they could recommend the Everest Outfit duffles and if so, what size. They said that the 150l bag would be perfect so that you don't have to think too much about packing, you can just throw everything in. However, it is too large for the weight of luggage on the plane.
Shortly after the conversation, Phunuru wrote to us that we should have the duffles ready in the lobby at 4:30 p.m. as they might be brought to Samagaon before us. So my plan for a quiet ball was over and I had to go straight into town to buy the duffle, because it was already half past 11 a.m. and at 12 p.m. we wanted to have lunch in the hotel next door. So I went straight to Seeing Hands to enjoy my long-awaited massage despite a little time stress. Luckily they had time for me right away and so I came out of the building an hour later happy and satisfied. Afterwards I went straight to the Everst Outfit Store, where I bought the 150l duffle bag. Almost on time at 12:15 p.m. I was with the others at the lunch buffet and was able to eat in peace. Then it was the turn of the big duffle shuffle, which worked unexpectedly quickly. There is another base camp duffle that comes with us, but is usually stored in some equipment room and is only really accessible at the base camp. The other is the trekking duffle which I will have in the room in Samagaon. I used the time after packing to rest a bit in the hotel garden until we went to the Yeti Hotel at 6 p.m., where we enjoyed our official team dinner in the Resti on the roof terrace. We were there on the last evening of the Ama expedition and the food was once again very tasty and the view was great anyway! 

We used the evening afterwards to have a drink together in our hotel before going to bed. I also had the opportunity to talk to Raphael on the phone in peace and now I'm ready to go to the mountains.
We just received a message from Phunuru telling us to be ready in the lobby in 20 minutes. It looks as if we have received permission for the helicopter flight. We didn't have them yesterday because they couldn't fly for two weeks because of the weather. So it looks like we're actually going to Samagaon today. We're all excited to get out of the city because the air here isn't the best; Dean especially, he doesn't really like big cities.
Hopefully I will have a little more time over the next week to introduce my teammates better. I'm definitely so happy with the team, it couldn't have been better, except maybe if Stu from the Ama expedition was still there. But maybe it will work with him as a western guide for Everest :) 

Once again, one afternoon I sit in a sleeping bag in my room and listen to the light rain. It's not as cold as I expected, but it's more comfortable in the sleeping bag than on the sleeping bag. Yesterday morning we went to the old monastery after breakfast to get a private Puja. This was carried out by the local llama, who is already 84 years old. The Puja is there to get protection for our ascent. It lasted about 40 minutes and took place in a beautifully colorful room. In between we received rice, because we threw it into the lift from time to time and the blessing with a local kata was of course not missing either. In the base camp we will have another Puja next week, which will then last a little longer. After the blessing we went back to the early lunch, so we had enough time to hike to Samdo in the afternoon. Samdo is located out of the valley and is the last village before the Tibetan border. It is 350m higher than Samagaon and a night there should prepare us further for the height in the base camp. The path winds next to the river the pastures and the two sides of the valley, with steady slope you are there in just under 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, lunch plagues me a little, it seems as if I caught a beetle. Stomach cramps and countless trips to the toilet were unfortunately the result. Of course, I didn't really feel like eating something in Samdo. I tried popcorn and a little tomato soup. Unfortunately, the soup didn't taste like tomatoes, which made it even harder for me to eat. At least I managed a third and a half plates of popcorn. At 8 p.m. I went to bed because I felt really uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the night was plagued by cramps and other toilet trips. I didn't really find sleep and time seemed to stand still between my toilet corridors. After all, I managed to drink regularly, so that the risk of dehydration was not so great. When the alarm clock rang, I was definitely happy that the night was over. After the bad cold and the still runny nose, I could have done without this stomach upset. Especially since today it was planned that in the morning we would continue to climb over 4000m high for a good acclimatization. But for breakfast there was first a few corn flakes and tea. Since Dean had a similar night to me and had also caught a cold, we probably looked quite pitiful at the breakfast table. Nevertheless, we wanted to try to hike a little higher, which we all managed. Me with stomach cramps and 2 toilet stops in the bushes, but still at a reasonably good pace. I stopped at 4000m, the others went about 60m further. After a 30' break it went back down to the teahouse, just in time for my next toilet trip. I didn't like the prospect of another 2 hours of hiking, but it didn't help, the plan was to hike back to Samagaon after another cup of tea. I couldn't really enjoy the way back. Every time I drank something, the cramps came back, and my toilet paper supply was slowly coming to an end. Not to mention that the energy level was not that insanely high. But I couldn't force myself to eat a snack, the fear of further cramps was too great. At 11h we were back in Samagaon, where we first ordered our lunch. I tried it with fries, as it seems that the fried food is safer. I even managed to eat half the plate, and since then the fries have stayed nice and good in the body. Before that I could even eat a piece of chocolate. So it goes up in small steps. I'm happy for the free afternoon after lunch, which I used to read and blog. I was even able to sleep for half an hour and now hope for a quieter night with good sleep. At dinner we will discuss when to go to Baislager. I'm not quite confident yet that I'll make the 1100hm tomorrow, but I have the whole day, so it should work somehow. And finally, the sick days should be over now, so that I can start enjoying nature.
Before dinner, Dawa, another of our guides arrived. He was previously busy with the construction in the Basecamp and is also waiting for a private customer who should arrive tomorrow with the helicopter, if the weather cooperates. Today, at least 3 helicopters made it to Sama, so the teahouse is fuller than before our Samdo trip.

We are facing another day of rest today. Yesterday once again came to an end with rain. In the afternoon I got the advice from Claudine that I should just try to eat a portion of white rice to calm my stomach. The obvious solution sometimes seems quite far away in height. I would not have come up with the idea of asking for rice, or specifically for something to eat in general. Until now, I was just waiting for the menus that came 🤷🏽‍♀️

So yesterday I asked for a small portion of rice, which I actually got and could also eat with the help of Aromat. Meanwhile, the others were surprised with yak steak on the hot stone. What they conjure up from the kitchen every day is beyond good and evil. For dessert there was a fruit cocktail yesterday, which I gratefully refused. For this I was able to talk to Raphael on the phone for a couple of minutes, since the wifi was working again in the meantime. At 8 p.m. we went back to the toilet and off to the warm sleeping bag. After a long back and forth, I finally found a comfortable position to fall asleep. The stomach didn't keep me awake all the time and only woke me up 2-3 times. When I once peeled myself out of the tent at night, I saw a breath of light from a distance, which conjured up a beautiful atmosphere and showed me that I once again slept more than I had been lying awake in my sleeping bag.

In the morning the sun was shining again and I tried to get normal cell phone reception on the helipad again unsuccessfully. This seems to work for the locals, but unfortunately not for me. So I also made myself for breakfast, to fill my once again empty stomach with money, that finally another day would pass on which I would not have to disappear several times in the toilet tent. I asked for toast and fruit for breakfast. It took me more than an hour, but I was able to squeeze down three portions of fruit as well as a Nutella toast. It took time and was no fun, but it felt far less like a fight, like nocv 12h before dinner. After breakfast I actually wanted to wash a few clothes, but unfortunately the rain came soon, so I mostly tried to use the wifi when it was running, enjoying the few minutes of sun or reading and playing on the phone. So the time passes somehow and in haob 12 I sat again at the lunch table for the next portion of rice. The Internet has made me smart about what would be good for the stomach besides rice: black chocolate, long black tea and white bread. As a dessert, after the rice with aroma, I treated myself to a few pieces of my Toblerone, which I had actually brought with me for the higher camps. But if icv doesn't get my stomach under control soon, there will be no higher camps for me. In addition, Phunuru shared with us local medicines, blessed by the Dalai Lama himself, so that we have a long and healthy life. I am extremely touched by this gesture of Phunuru, he shared something very valuable with us! Last year, after years of waiting, he had the opportunity to visit the Dalai Lama with his family in its Winter Palace and only yesterday he told us with shining eyes about this moment so important to him. Phunuru is very religious, prays very much and is extremely careful for his fellow human beings. He deserves in my eyes to meet and even touch his big idol.

Now I hope that this medicine will do its thing with the rice, so that my stomach finally, finally calms down. I'm spending the afternoon in my tent right now, because I got cold in the tent. Nicely tucked up in the sleeping bag I try to sleep for an hour and then continue reading.

I lie in the warm tent at 5761m in Camp 1 and listen to the busy and hectic events outside. The sun shines without mercy on my house, which is why I have all the windows open. I just made a puzzle and took a few photos with the Theos. Although the motto is that we carry as little as possible, I could not leave the Theos in the base camp for 4 days. So far, they definitely like it.
We had to postpone our complete rotation by a day because the weather on Friday was miserable. Incestant rain, gusts of wind and that all day. The Puja was a challenge for everyone. First, a dense shelter had to be built from ladders and a slab. Then the mattress for the llama and his assistant to be brought dry to the shelter. The Juniper was wet and had to be lit, while the offerings also had to be brought to the Pujastein. All the Sherpas helped, but we still started a little late. The Puja lasted about 2 hours, during which the llama and his assistant incessantly sang the prayers, often with drum support. The prayers are always dependent on the environment, because not only the mountain to be climbed is important, but also all those around it. At Manaslu these are some things that can be sung. In between, drinks and food are always thrown into the sky, candles are lit and more junipers are burned. At some point, the prayer flags are unpacked, tied to a post and hung in 5 directions over the camp. And all this happened in the pouring rain. Towards the end, rice and flour are distributed and thrown into the air on command. After that, each individual participant was blessed separately with a lucky band and a white kata, that we will have a safe passage on the mountain.
We could also take a group photo with the llama before he went to the next Puja. The poor had 3 Pujas on the rainy day and after that he got something for dinner in our tent, and a place to sleep before he walked back to Damagaon the next day at 6h.
After the Puja, we first warmed up a little in the dining tent before I left for the tent to pack the rest for the rotation. On Saturday we woke up again the raindrops. It was a beautiful morning, which we tackled comfortably. First ftühstücken, discuss the way again, finish packing, eat a light lunch and then shortly after 12h we left. The path was very wet and just before the end of the base camp there was snow. Nevertheless, it is good to walk. At the Crampon point we changed our shoes and went on for another 2 hours to the upper camp 1. the lower one would have been closer, but 150m lower again. Arrived at Camp 1, hot tea and a great tent awaited us. Unfortunately, I didn't feel so great after the arrival, which then culminated in an empty stomach again. The dinner was therefore canceled for me and I ended up in bed at 6pm.
I tried to drink regularly at night, which I succeeded. But I couldn't eat. I was also tormented by severe headaches, but I had already thrown up the tablets, so I wanted to take more. Nevertheless, I was also able to sleep a little and when the sun woke me up shortly before 6h, I felt quite okay. I was even able to squeeze some cornflakes for breakfast. After breakfast we got ready to go a bit into the glacier towards Camp 2. The goal was to go up for about 1 hour and we ended up at the foot of the first very long steep spot. There was a bit of a jam, which is why we decided to turn back there. By then we had come about a kilometer and 230 meters of altitude. I guess it was about a quarter of the way to Camp 2. We'll find out tomorrow if I'm right. It was very hot, which is why I suffered a little today. Especially against the background that I had hardly eaten again. We only needed half an hour back and so we sat back in the tent at 11 a.m. A short time later we got lunch. I ate cornflakes again because it went down so well in the morning. For dinner, I try to eat something real again. Today, many come up from the base camp, which is why dozen tent platforms are smoothed and tents are set up. Let's see what the night will be like with so many people up here.
We made friends with Allan and Tim from Everest One in Samagaon, who are each one day behind us on the schedule. Yesterday they also came up to Camp 1. Unfortunately, Tim got such a strong back pain during the ascent that it took him a whole 7 hours until he finally arrived. After that he immediately put himself in the sleeping bag and since then he could no longer walk or stand in pain. Eating is also not possible and breathing is very difficult. We are all sorry to see him like this and we all hoped that he would greet us in the dining tent after our little hiking trip today. Unfortunately, he is no better at all, not even with media. Fortunately, Phunuru was able to organize a rescue flight during the afternoon. If the weather keeps what it promises, Tim will be picked up tomorrow morning by helicopter, and with a stopover at the base camp, where his bags are invited, direct to the hospital in Kathmandu. Allan tries to fly, but this is probably not possible for insurance reasons. If so, he will go to the base camp tomorrow after the departure from here, pack his bags and then go on down to Samagaon, where he can hopefully take a helicopter the day after tomorrow to meet Tim again in Kathmandu. Tim is doing well with this decision, safety comes before and such a flight is much less risky than from Camp 2, or even worse, somewhere in between. We feel for him, and hope that he will soon feel better and will be able to breathe again with all the oxygen in the city. This story shows how quickly the dream of the ascent can be over and how lucky we can consider ourselves for the last 2 weeks.
I have already eaten dinner (I could eat a little fried rice) and am now back in the not so warm tent, where I will read a few more chapters until a little peace returns in the camp.

The first night back at the base camp was wonderfully relaxing. I almost slept through and felt very rested in the morning, although it was only shortly before 6 o'clock in the morning. I used the rest before breakfast to read a little more. Today was our first planned day off and it should be completely stress-free for us. At 8h I sat in the dinner tent and in exchange it became obvious that everyone had a great night. I'm extremely happy about that, because it's even better for the group if everyone is doing well. Phunuru was definitely also very happy when he heard that we all slept great.

The current remaining days are mainly there to eat as much as possible, to rest and to eat again. Since my stomach and my head have calmed down in the meantime, it is much less difficult for me to eat. I can overcome myself a little and even eat a little over my hunger. Not that I – apart from last night – would have been hungry...
But whatever. Since today was beautiful and sunny, Wolkenstein's weather, we used the day to do a little laundry. This is very old school here. You get one of his with hot water and then a bowl, which you fill with warm water as needed. Then you take a piece of clothing and a soap and off you go. Our handle was mainly to give the clothes a better taste. They didn't have to be clean, but smell cleaner than before ;)
I actually still had enough clothes, but I still washed a lot so that I could put on a fresh shirt even after the summit storm in Samagaon. You never know how long you'll get stuck in the shower somewhere on the way back. I say this because I still owe you the rest of the story of Tim and Allan.
Maybe you remember Tim, who should be picked up in Camp 1 with the helicopter. The flight weather was not good on Monday and so the poor guy had to endure in the tent until Tuesday morning. So everything he had packed together, unpack again for the night and pack it again the next day. He was flown out to Kathmandu at about the same time as we were on our way to Camp 3. The helicopter made a stopover in the base camp to take his things there as well. Our kitchen treasure Devras had packed his bags the day before.
However, Allan's Odyssey is not over yet. After the helicopter was gone, he set off on foot with Dawa, her Nepali guide, to the base camp. In the case of a rescue, the pilot is only allowed to take exactly one person with him, otherwise it is no longer valid as a rescue flight, but as passenger transport and then the permit does not count and the insurance does not pay either. Quite a lot of bureaucracy for such a country. When Allan and Dawa were in the base camp, they packed their 7 things and went straight on to Samagaon. Obviously they are still there, waiting for a helicopter to fill. Because at the moment it is not necessary and chartering an empty helicopter costs around 4000$. In the worst case, Allan will still be stuck in Samagaon when we get back from our summit tour. I feel a little sorry for him because he can't really take care of Tim in Kathmandu.
Now back to our day at Basecamp. The washing was comfortable and we had enough ropes to hang our wet shirts, socks, etc. in the sun. This was very strong, so that in the evening most of it was already dry. We sat in the sun until lunch and exchanged ideas with each other and with other expedition participants. There are many on the mountain at the moment, but someone is always there. I also had the opportunity to talk to a legend. Kamirita Sherpa should be known to anyone who has ever read about records in the Himalayas. He has climbed Everest 2x this year and now a total of 30 climbs in his portfolio. Not to mention the dozen other 8000m peaks that he has successfully climbed. I have admired Kamirita for years, because he climbs the peaks with customers and I can't imagine that he had all 30x good, fit, humble people with him. He radiates a certain calm and a natural interest and it was truly an honor that he took the time to chat with me. He and Phunuru have been friends for decades and have already spent a lot of time together on the mountain. I couldn't resist and had to take a picture with this legend. Similar to Roger Federer for tennis, Kamirita Sherpa is the influence for the Nepalese Sherpas. So if you have never heard of him before, you should google it as soon as possible.
Lunch was used to fill our energy storage and was a burger with potatoes. I ate it whole, even though it has too much cheese in it for me. But just: Calories have to be and if overcoming it already works, then I also take advantage of it nicely.
In the afternoon the clouds came slowly and I strolled from tent to tent to cafe tent and back again. I wanted to finish reading my book, did one of the puzzles I brought with me again and talked to my sister and mother on the phone for a few more minutes.
Today starts the puzzle world championship, which I unfortunately miss this year. It's hard for me to just sit around and eat today, while I could actually get my top 10 place at the World Cup, which I narrowly missed last year. But it's part of the game that I have to do without other great experiences for my Everest project from time to time. That's one of the reasons why I'm somehow happy when Everest is no longer Allan, but memory. Until then, it's still a little bit and I have to be able to put up with it. Today it is very difficult for me, especially when I saw the puzzles in the first round. I would have rocked that like that!
Well, I had an exciting book that I could finish reading. Book No. 4 is now ready. For dinner we got spaghetti on hot stone with fried egg and potatoes. The chef's menu plan is clear: carbohydrates and proteins on the rest days ;)
After that yesterday I finally wrote the blog ready for the days on the mountain and tried to mock my mother a little in the livestream. Since the wifi was too weak for that, it didn't quite work out. After all, I managed to load the results page, so that I knew how she had cut before going to bed. My onschwettet was next, but that was too late for me. I couldn't fall asleep for a long time, but it wasn't that bad.
Today I woke up rested and the first thing I did was of course to check the results of the World Cup. My sister also managed to finish the puzzle, which makes me really proud of the two of them. Unfortunately, both did not qualify for the semi-finals in their qualifying groups, but they had fun and that is the main thing. Today at 4 p.m. the couple is on time and they are much better off. I hope the livestream will work tonight.
For us breakfast was at 8am again. This time toast and banana lassi, of which I even ordered a supplement. Now it's almost 9.30h and my plan is to upload this blog afterwards and then paint a little in the sun. It's another magnificent day and we have to enjoy it. The weather forecast for the next few days is good and there is actually nothing between us and the summit attempt, except for the remaining days. What I forgot: yesterday afternoon, at about 15.30h, the fixing team reached the summit. This means that the route is open and the most important part is reached when you climb an 8000m peak. The boys are now safe again in the base camp for recreation. I am infinitely grateful to them for doing this difficult, exhausting and dangerous job for us. Without it, it would not even be possible to dream of reaching such a summit.

Today we started with our summit rotation. We started the day as usual with breakfast at 8am. We would only start walking after lunch, which is why we started the day comfortably. Everyone was loading their seven electronics so that we could take pictures safely on the mountain. I then went to my tent to pack my backpack again and make sure I didn't take too much and not too little with me. After that I read a little more until I thought it was ready for lunch. It gsb spring rolls with potatoes and eggs and I like to gsb my spring rolls. For this I took a second portion of Nartoffeln. After lunch there was another small mini-puja before we applied. These mini-pujas always make me extremely emotional, because you just never know if they really give you the protection you hope for. The first meters were then difficult, because I was fully aware that it is now really and really starting. We already know the way to Crampon Point inside out. Today the snow had melted away again up to the barrel with our shoes and we arrived there in 1 hour and 10 minutes. The shoe change was also done quickly and it continued towards Camp 1. On the way, nothing worth mentioning happens, except that a crack was now too big to jump over it. That is why there is now a 50m detour and a ladder is already ready, in case the situation changes even more. After almost 4.5 hours we were already in Camp 1, ready to use our rest time here. We set up our tents, got various cups of tea and had an early dinner. This time, with the help of my sea salt, I made my whole bowl of white rice. I was proud and knew I would sleep well. I feel ready for the exhausting day tomorrow, because we would go from camp 1 directly to camp 3.

Steep. I think everyone who reads this has their own definition. Anyone who has read my blog about the summit day at the Ama thinks that he has an idea of steepness in the mountains. Everyone who has ever sat with me in the 2CV knows that with a tank full you can't drive on such insanely steep roads. In the past, the Tour de France stages were driven with a 2CV and depending on the gear used, the steepness was noted in the course book: 1 was very steep here. I would classify today's mountain stage with 0. No 2CV would ever drive one meter of what we climbed today, regardless of the base. In some cases, memories of the Ama summit day actually came up. We knew that the way from C3 to C4 would be our royal stage, but somehow no one had ever explained why 😉
Well, we can now explain it: after 15 minutes of walking I was already soaking wet from sweat and that did not change for the next 5 hours. From C3 to C4 you go with the down suit, because otherwise you would have to wear it up. Steep+down suit = very warm internal temperature. It almost doesn't matter that it's almost windless at the upper mountain at the moment and the air temperature is also only in the single-digit minus range. So I carried my own lake up this steep mountain 😂 and I mean it in my brand new suit. Oh, how happy I was that I have large ventilation slots on both my legs and between my arms.
But now to the steepness of the day.
Right at the beginning it starts comfortably with a small moderate slope and a traverse. If you get around the corner, it starts with the steep, um fun. Meter by meter you have to climb up. Of course with large steps, otherwise I would not mention it. Meter-high steps like on the Ama were left out, but for a rather small lady the steps are simply a little too big. I'm high on the fact that I only complained to my Sherpa Chirrin after 2.5 hours... no idea what he was thinking when I didn't want to breathe during a break, but wanted to discuss the size of the steps. By the way, it is the same Chirrin who was there at the Ama and completed the descent from C2 with me. At least this time there was a little variety: steep in the blue ice, steep in solid snow and my new favorite: steep in the soft snow. You can take every step halfway again, because it's so great to slip. That's a lot of fun if you add the lake...
Irony aside, the funny thing is that it actually never completely denied me the fun. I suffered again, because of my ascender, at least only today and not earlier. Strength training for the arms is definitely on the plan in the next 6 months. But my legs are fit, they can still climb the last steep ramp after 4.5 hours. My shoulders also participate when it comes to carrying the backpack with the 1800l of oxygen in the bottle. But that damn Ascender... after all, I was so intelligent today that I alternated left and right. Now both arms are tired, but at least I can still use them.

The view on the way to C4 was getting better and better. At first we were at the same level as the foothill next to C3. Then it suddenly disappeared in the clouds. Then we only saw a sea of clouds and when we were 5' away from Camp 4, we were in the middle of a thick cloud. This has now given way to the bright blue sky and the route towards the summit is at least partially visible. According to Ang Karma it is much lighter on the summit day. Only 3x steep and the rest Nepali flat. I don't know if I've already explained the term: Nepali flat means that it's anything but flat. It goes up and down, but never steep. Because then it would be called Nepali steep. By the way, that was the explanation from today: it was 5 hours and 11 minutes long Nepali steep. At least for me. JC arrived about 10' after me, Dean needed another hour longer. His body needs more recovery from the ascent days, but you don't always get that up here. But he made it this far and at Manaslu they say, whoever makes it to C4, also makes it to the summit. We are now curious to see if this statement also applies to us. I think I'll make it. So much steep today should be worthwhile 😉

Today's original plan would actually have been the following: start at 5h, go to C4 in 5h. Take a break for 2 hours and then go to the summit for the second 5 hours, so that we will be there shortly before sunset. Then go down to the camp, which is most sympathetic to you. The reasons for this plan are as follows: from the evening of mirgen Tuesday, bad weather with a lot of snow will arise and everyone in the base camp at the end of the rest day has also noticed this and is on the way up here. We are talking about 300 people. The situation at the Manaslu summit is like this: there is a false and a true summit. Anyone who has read a little newspaper last year will surely have noticed this. From the false summit it goes down about 10m and then you traverse 10m and then it goes about 15m steeply up to the true summit. These almost 30m are secured with a single rope. If you want to cross it, you have to stand bombproof. Because if you slip unsecured, you enjoy a pretty long slide. Of course, we don't want to risk that. If only 10 people are waiting at the false summit, you can coordinate that well. At 300 there are certainly some idiots, impatient, overestimating themselves, selfish people who don't care about the safety of others. We also don't want to wait 2 hours at the false summit to get to the true summit. That's why we thought our plan would be good. But since we want to celebrate the summit success as a team, the plan will be adjusted a little. The 300 people are still far away, so we'll see how it turns out. Until then, we are lying in the tent in the C4, breathing our oxygen and drinking regularly so that we can regenerate as quickly as possible.

As explained earlier, we had the information that the summit day would be less exhausting than the day before. In Samagaon, Phunuru told us at the time that the way to the summit was only 4 hours. In the last few days, however, a different number haunted around. Various people said yes. Summit is at least 5h, if not even 6h. In the afternoon at Camp 4 I heard that many guides told their customers the same thing. So I prepared myself for 6h suffering when we left Camp 4 shortly after midnight. Due to the short waiting time I had cold fingers, which is why I turned on my heating gloves even before the march. I was curious to see if they worked at this height and I was not disappointed. After a short time I felt Sonja's warmth on my fingers.
The start of the trail was nice and evenly ascending, perfect to get into a good rhythm. Chirring led our group of 4 at a perfect pace. After about 10 minutes we passed a group of tents. I was surprised because I actually thought that Camp 4 was only stationed in one place. At camps 1 and 2 there was always an upper and a lower part, whereby we always stayed in the upper part. This upper camp 4 was just as musy as a hive. The large group I saw coming up when we got ready was apparently fun here. I still remember how I see relief that the mass had just been reduced in the direction of the summit. In addition, I must admit that some of the Westerners looked quite broken out of the laundry, or rather already apathetic, how they squatted motionless on their backpacks. But we didn't care much, after all we had about 12 hours of rest in Camp 4. In the distance we saw some light cones on the way, but I tried to concentrate on myself. So I trudged through the darkness, always careful to follow in the footsteps of Chirring. There was a lot of snow, but the path was very well stepped on. You never fell in and every 50m there was a small flag in the snow that you didn't get lost even in bad weather. Speaking of the weather: when we were getting ready for the camp, a little wind and snowstorms came up. I suppose Cinderella was just swirling snow and no real precipitation. But the wind calmed down after about an hour. All you heard was the clicking of the safety carabiners, the crunching of the crampons on the snow, the rubbing of the Ascenders on the rope and the breathing or coughing of the climbers. All in all, I remember the atmosphere as very peaceful. I can't say exactly what I was thinking in those hours. But I felt great. Had no trouble keeping the pace up, was able to bring my breathing extremely quickly into a normal rhythm during the breaks and felt very comfortable. On other peaks, I never really liked walking in the dark. I always looked for the first light that was to appear on the horizon and until then the suffering was always a little greater.
This time it wasn't like that at all. I walked there and really enjoyed it. And that at over 7500m. I couldn't believe it myself while walking and now - a few days later - still not. Soon came the first steep slope, which, however, tilted more and more gently. Chirring automatically slowed the rhythm without taking more pauses. This is also where oxygen cylinders appeared again and again in the light. These are attached to the anchorages, to which the ropes are also attached. Sherpas have previously carried them up and deposited them in strategically good places. The oxygen cylinders are each marked with glues of the company, so that you do not suddenly take the wrong ones. This system apparently works well here. However, there are no bottles ready for us on the way to the summit, as we changed ours before departure. Even if we would turn it up full, we would have more than enough oxygen for the ascent and descent to Camp 4. There are then at least one spare bottle and each our half-full bottles from the ascent from Camp 3, which we could use in an emergency.
But since I got along great with my ration of 2.5l per minute, I didn't worry about my oxygen on the climb. I was just surprised by how many bottles I met. At the end of the first steep piece, Chirring asked me if I wanted a break. But I felt good and therefore saw no reason to interrupt the rhythm. So we continue to trudge in harmony in our little universe, which is formed by the light of the headlamp. I rarely looked left or right, focused fully on Chirring's footprints and my breathing rhythm. Gradually I began to wonder if the whole ascent would really be so chilled, because I felt really fantastic. I tried to hold back and thought that I would come up early enough in case I still had to suffer. From time to time I looked up to the unknown part of the route and as we overtook people from time to time, the number of headlamps in front of us became less and less. When I dared to look back just before the second steep stretch because I wanted to ask Mingma and JC how things were doing with them, I had to realize that they were far behind us. They seemed to have taken a break from time to time. So I decided to tell Chirring that we could also take a break at the end of the second steep stretch. That took a while, but it was certainly good, because even if I felt great, my body probably still wanted a little fluid. So we sat down next to the route and I drank about 2dl of water.
We sat there for maybe 10 minutes and during that time some much slower climbers overtook us again. I thought that this wouldn't be so bad, since we were already making good progress before and overtaking was no problem. Maybe here as info: from Camp 4 the entire route is not secured with fixed ropes, because the steepness is not high everywhere. Only the 3 steep sections, plus the last 120hm are approximately secured, the rest marked with flags. So if you want to overtake the changing routes, you simply pass right in the deeper snow. This means that you are quite out of breath for a few amounted, but you are quite safe as far as the danger is concerned. But if you now hang behind a slow group in the steep places, then it is better if you simply take over their rhythm and just slow down. That's exactly what we did after our break. I tried not to get too impatient and just thought that I could save energy for the exhausting part of the summit ascent. Because I expected this at any time, marked by the suffering of the summit day at the Ama last year. In one of the breaks I looked up again at the beginning of the snake on the fixed rope and thought I recognized Dean. I saw someone with a white backpack and a red down suit sitting awkwardly and next to him a Sherpa who looked like Ang Karma. It took us another 25 minutes until we were close enough to see that I was right. It turned out that Dean's Ascender no longer worked properly. That's pretty stupid about a mountain like that, because the Ascender is the only tool that prevents you from slipping down the mountain in the event of a fall. In the upward movement it slides uninhibited over the rope, in the downward movement small thorns dig into the rope to lock it. Now Dean sat at almost 8000m, still at least a steep ramp in front of him, without this brake tool. Since I still felt incredibly good and Chirring is a machine anyway, I suggested giving my Ascender to Dean. He didn't want to, Ang Karma was inclusive, or didn't understand me, Chirring didn't care. Unfortunately, changing is not quite so easy, as de4 Ascender is very well attached and connected to the safety carabiner. The change would therefore affect the whole system. While I was thinking about how we could solve the problem, Phunuru also appeared next to us.
He had started as the taillight of our group, had overtaken Mingma and JC at some point, and when he had seen us squirming around Dean, he had added another tooth to get to us. He said to Chirring and me that we should move on, he will take care of the problem. So we went on and left the others behind to solve the problem. Unfortunately, other slow climbers use the time of discussion to overtake us again. Now Chirring and I were behind approx. 20 creepers in the third steep phase. Since it was also his first ascent to Manaslu, we both didn't know how long we would be on the road. In the meantime, almost 3 hours had passed and my watch showed a height of 8021m at the stop with Dean and AngKarma. Apparently Chirring was as impatient as I was, because not long after we started again, he turned around and asked if everything was okay. I replied “everything perfect” and then he said that we would go a little faster. He clicked my safety carabiner, clicked it in, released the Ascender and low it went with us to the fast lane, aka in the deep snow to the right of the standard lane. After just a few steps I was out of breath, but I knew that everyone we were now overtaking would not stand in line in front of us at the summit. After about 15 people, I needed a short breather. So we went back into line and gave ourselves to the slow pace of the others. In the meantime, I thought to myself that it wouldn't really matter if we had to wait at the summit. After all, it was only about half past 4 and still pitch dark. I didn't want to stand in the dark on the summit and see nothing. Since the weather was ideal and not cold, I wouldn't mind waiting a little at the summit. But after a few minutes in line we both became impatient and restless again and so we set off on a second sprint to overtake a few snails again. Shortly afterwards we had arrived at the end of the steep stretch and de4 Weg meandered moderately increasing. Now mini peaks appeared again and again in the light and every time I wondered if this was the wrong or right summit. Once I was so convinced to see the summit in the distance that I showed it Chirring. He just nodded and went on. I don't know if he knew it couldn't be the summit. Since only very few headlamps z7 were visible before 7 s, it was also difficult to estimate for 7 s where it goes further up and where the route would be finished.
After what felt like 10 minutes we met a group of about 6 people who seemed to be waiting for something. I thought this was the wrong summit and that they were waiting there to climb the right summit. But beside it, I didn't see any elevation, as if I assumed I was wrong. Right next to this group, the route passed into a narrow traverse. Almost 20cm wide, this crosses a very steeply sloping snow wall. You could never see the end of the wall, but my feeling told me that it goes down quite far and steep. I set every step of my elephant shoes very carefully, here you definitely don't want to hang with the crampons, slip, stumble or do anything else stupid. How long the traverse is, I can't say anymore. JC says 15-20m, I meant it must be about 50m, because somewhere in the middle was an anchor point where you have to hang the safety carabiner. This anchor is carved in rock and chirring and I had to be here for a few minutes. I looked at the rock and knew immediately, no matter how far from the summit we are, I must have a piece of that rock. So I took my Ascender and hit the rocks like a wild one. Chirring turned around in amazement, but understood instantly. Shortly after arriving at Camp 4, I hit a rock next to the tent with my Ascender to get a piece of stone. There I didn't know yet if I would still have a chance above the camp. I try to take home a piece of stone from every mountain I climb, preferably from the summit...
So Chirring understood what I wanted to achieve and also took his Ascender to cut out a piece of rock. His project was quickly crowned with success and he put 2 small pieces of rock in my gloves.
I put them with a smile in a leg pocket with a zipper, ready to go further. But somehow the exhaust air was out of the climbers in front of us. They moved very sluggishly and when we arrived at the next bend, we also knew why: the summit was not 7m above us. Before us only approx. 6 people, who all looked up fascinated. I remember how different things went through my head: "Is this really the summit?" "Where is it going, or where are the people going in front of us?" "If this is the summit, they have to turn around, but no one has met us so far" "Is that a Nepal flag up there?" "How the hell do they come down the same rope as we come up? Behind us it is finally very steep and very low down"
And then, while waiting for someone to move at the top, suddenly realized. I am actually and truly at 8163 minus 7m altitude and about to stand on the summit of the eighth highest mountain. I had made it, was enjoying the whole ascent, not suffering for a second and would not be able to stand the last 7m either. I really did it. I, a normal, who just has a little bigger dreams than the others and is so stupid to pursue them. Everyone who knows me or has stood with me on a summit can guess what happened then. I stood there, waiting and howled snot and water on and into my oxygen mask. I didn't care how long they stood up there in their place, took pictures or repositioned themselves. I let my tears run free and tried to convince myself that it was all real. I'm honest, I didn't succeed, it just felt so unreal. I was so close to a peak of an 8000, without suffering and even crying worked without a breath. I tried to get myself together again, because from above came movement into the waiting. Only then did I see the second rope, which was stretched to the right of the one I was hanging on. It was the rope that leads away from the summit and someone was just trying to hang down. I stepped to the side and Chirring directed me up to him that we would be ready quickly when the place on the summit became available. The space up there is really very limited, maybe a square meter, including anchorage of the ropes and the summit flag. The climbers right in front of us were very cumbersome and cumbersome and pissed off because they could not position themselves as they wanted. Chirring also went to their balls because they were not prepared. I had my phone at hand in my suit and prepared all my photo utensils in Camp 4 in a bag for Chirring. When I was at the top, it went very fast. Within a few minutes I had my desired pictures in the box. It was important to me that Chirring also got good summit photos. So it was up to me to conduct him in such a way that he was satisfied with my work. We were lucky that we were more flexible and lively than the others, so we could make full use of the 15 minutes on the summit. Finally, we hung up the prayer flags that the llama had blessed on the Puja. Also the something I have done on every high peak so far. I enjoyed the time at the summit very much, only one thing did not come to. Train: enjoying the view.
Because we were simply too fast for the sun, it was still pitch dark. It took us 4.15 hours to get to the summit, so it wasn't even half past 5 in the morning. Not a single light could show us a detail of the landscape below us. So my gaze only briefly turned to the darkness behind the prayer flags and the Nepal flag, before I went downhill.

I don't know how much time had passed, in any case Chirring suddenly stood in front of my Tent to tell me that he had sparked with Phunuru. We would have to wait for them in Camp 2, as there would still be a lot of discussion about the material and the carrying down of the loads. After that, however, I may continue to descend with him. I was very happy and extremely happy that I had not yet unpacked my backpack. Because I was about to surrender to fate and spread out in the tent. It was already 15h and my hope for the onward journey was pretty much at zero. Now I knew I had to stay awake and ordered another black tea. The others had meanwhile arrived at Camp 3, would also take a tea break and then come to us. It took another more than an hour for JC to arrive at the camp, quite tired and at the end. Dean slowly followed on the horizon. He has had massive problems with his Achilles tendon for a few months and the mountain run is massively on his strength. He is in pain with every step and he deserves my absolute respect that he managed to be in Camp 2 so quickly in this state! When he arrived, we helped him remove the crampons and transported him and JC to their tent as soon as possible. It took only a few minutes for them to have a hot tea in their hands. They wouldn't take a single step today and the goal was just to keep the two of them awake, they had eaten a noodle soup.

For me it meant repacking my backpack so that there is even more material in it, eating a few M&M's and a bar again and having my water bottle refilled. I managed to put all my clothes in the backpack. So the only thing that had to be carried down by the Sherpas was my down suit, an empty Nalgene bottle and the thermos bottle. When the backpack was packed and I assembled my crampons, Phunuru told me that Mingma would also go with Chirring and me in the direction of Basecamp. That was no problem for me. I would have descended alone, but I knew that no one would allow me to. At shortly after 4:30 p.m. everyone was ready to go. My down suit could not fit in any backpack, but that was no problem for me. He would get to the base camp the next day with the rest, and certainly not stay in the camp. Since we were on the road rather late, we expected that we would get through the ice fall well. I expected approx. 5 hours to the base camp, so that we would arrive in the dark. That was no problem for me, I would have hiked even longer if it had to be. I just feel 100% safe again in the base camp and that's why in my head the mountain is only successfully climbed when I'm back with both feet in the base camp.
Before that, I don't allow myself a big celebration and the concentration remains high. I also longed to send my friends and family the long-awaited message that I am doing well and I am back safe and safe. Until now I have not had reception, so they have all been in the dark since Saturday. I also didn't know if IMG had already updated its blog or not. I never know who can deal better with uncertainty. Those who sit at home and have no idea where I am or how I am doing. Or me, who knows that everything is good and absolutely wants to communicate it as soon as possible. It's not about telling them that I was at the summit, but that I'm back safely. Because as already written several times: what good is the summit if you don't come back? For me, it counts for nothing.

When we started running, we were able to pick up a good pace, because the entrance to the ice fall is not yet too steep. The first abseiling point came soon and despite heavy backpack I mastered it without problems. After hanging on the anchor you get around a corner and there I already saw a few Sherpas standing. This in itself is not a concern. As we got closer, Mingma and Chirring asked what was going on. After a short conversation it was clear that a Westerner simply needed a little longer and you don't want to overtake him on the parallel hanging rope, there. I don't know how he reacts. He was on the road with his climbing partner who supported him. Since we knew that everyone present would arrive fairly quickly at the lower end of the rope as soon as the rope was free, we took the situation calmly. I decided to sit down despite my backpack, or rather to lie on the backpack, like a beetle on my back. That was not such a good idea, because since the descent from Camp 4 I was plagued by a slight dry cough. The occupied situation favored this. So I tried to activate my abs and pull myself up again. At that moment, a snowball hit me in the back. Confused, I tried to find out who was behind me, who I knew. And stand there, a radiant Phunuru is standing in front of me. He had decided to leave too, about an hour after us, to catch up with us at Camp 1. He was as surprised as we were that he could catch up with us before the second steep wall. The westerner in the wall was probably slower than we expected. As soon as his companion's rope was free, Chirring called me to him and helped me hang it up so that everything goes a little faster. The goal was that I could overtake the 2 at the bottom so that we wouldn't have to wait so long for the third steep wall again. So I abseiled as quickly as possible. With the heavy backpack in the vertical a very simple undertaking. You just had to make sure you brake early enough, especially if you have rather slippery gloves, like me. So I actually managed to get at anchor in front of the duo and have a little small talk with the two. It turned out that one of the two is Andrej, who we had already met on the rotation in Camp 1. The other turned out to be his customer, who was quite battered. They had left directly from Camp 3 to the summit at 5.30 p.m. the day before and had been on the road ever since. In the meantime, for almost 24 hours, without sleep or a long rest break. They kindly gave me the way and since I knew that Chirring and Mingma were faster than me, I went straight on. After about 50m I came around a corner and saw something unexpected: a huge snake that appeared out of nowhere. About 30 people stood their legs in their stomachs and some looked pretty frozen. Since there is one way in the ice fall, and you can't make a detour, I had no choice but to just line up as well. A few minutes later, Chirring stood next to me and tried to figure out what was going on. I thought there was probably a small problem that they had solved a long time ago and we only had to wait a few minutes before we could continue. Meanwhile, all the Sherpas were behind me, who gave me the way during the first waiting time, including Phunuru. All the Sherpas were arguing around, we Westerners just stood there quietly and tried to keep ourselves warm. I put on my down jacket again, which I had stowed in my backpack in Camp 2. I still had warm fingers and I wanted to leave that as long as possible. Because abseiling with cold fingers in a vertical does not necessarily have to be.

I still took the situation with humor, after all, the problem could not last that long. It was only when a Russian behind me shouted a little impatiently forward that no one had been moving for 15 minutes and what the problem was, I realized that he was right. We had been standing there for about 20 minutes and no one had moved. The Russian shouted again, "This will take forever. If everyone only has 5 minutes to seiling, how long do you think we'll be standing here?” And he was right! I started counting the people in front of me, but stopped after 20, because 20x5 would already be 100 minutes.... I was feverishly thinking about what other options we had. I ruled out climbing back to camp 2. Because the 2 verticals that we had already abseiled were not exactly in good condition to climb them and at least my backpack was full of weight up to the top. I thought that maybe one of the Sherpas had a rope with him that could be attached as a detour. But I saw no rope far and wide. I tried to remember where we stand in the route and I realized that we have to be above the section where the ladder is attached. I wondered if maybe the Serac had collapsed, or the ladder would have to be extended. Or that the ice bridge is no longer there, through which you can reach the ladder. Maybe je,and would be climbing up, but since there were 2 ropes, this possibility was rather unrealistic for me. Unfortunately, we couldn't see anything and I couldn't find out if Chirring knew the answer, because he just shook his head. So I took out my phone and took some pictures of the beautiful view. The mountains lay beautifully in the twilight and somehow shone in unusual color and sharpness. From Jux I turned off the flight mode on my phone to see if I might have reception in the middle of the ice fall. You should have seen my face when messages suddenly popped up... in every camp I had looked for reception and could not find it. And now here, with the view of the mountains and the less great view of having to wait over an hour, I suddenly had the opportunity to tell my loved ones that I was on my way to the base camp. I even managed to send a photo of the traffic jam to the family chat (see photo above) and upload a photo to my status that I didn't have to write thousands of individual messages to calm everyone down. My sister happened to be online and was able to update me immediately about the results of the puzzle world championship. Since I wanted to save the battery, I turned on the airplane mode again after about 20 minutes. You never know how fast you'll get ahead. I already saw myself spending the night in Camp 1 because we have to spend hours here. In this cell phone time, nothing had happened in terms of movement. The only thing was that a Sherpa pushed himself up to the snake's head to somehow speed the whole thing up. I would never have thought it possible, but it was actually useful. After a short time, the first person hung himself in the rope and disappeared into the depths. Of course, it took an infinitely long time for the second person to do the whole thing, but so slowly a little slow momentum came into the traffic jam. I knew there were two ropes to get down: a vertical, almost overhanging direjte, which we had left to the Sherpas during the rotation. And the indirect over the leaning Serac with 2 anchorages, where you have to hang yourself. Especially the second change was shit, because you actually hang with the entire weight in the abseilget and only have gsnz small edges to stand for the feet. After hanging you have to climb down about 50cm, so that you can position your hands well again for the braking. Definitely not my favorite part of the route.
For us it took another almost 45 minutes until it was finally our turn. During this time we also came up with what the problem was. You may remember the unequal duo that had already made our lives difficult on the way to Camp 3. The unyied lady with the impatient Sherpa? Well, this duo hadn't taken a break in Camp 3 and obviously none in Camp 2 either. Exactly these 2 were stuck in this part of the route for over half an hour. I can't imagine what the Sherpa was thinking. This lady belonged with oxygen in a sleeping bag in camp 3 or 2 so she could rest. I saw them standing under the steep wall, or rather swaying. She was completely disoriented and looked around like a curious child seeing a glacier for the first time. In the meantime, she no longer wore a backpack and the gloves that had dangling on her wrists the previous hours had also disappeared... I saw the good in the whole situation. I was standing so far back in the line that the two had caused that I would surely still be standing there if they were far away in Camp 1...

Chirring had proceeded to inspect the route and when it was my turn, the Sherpa asked me if I was traveling alone or with a guide. I said I was on the road with Chirring. Mingma and Phunuru were placed at least 10 people further back in the traffic jam. So the dear coordinator directed me to the same rope as Chirring, which unfortunately turned out to be an indirect line. The upper part was no problem. But in the meantime, the hanging on the two lower anchors was not entirely unproblematic. In addition, there was a small Sherpa under me, whose backpack was so heavy that it automatically pulled him into the depths. So he had no chance to hang out his abseilger red, because he could hang it up. He tried everything, really everything. I felt it because I was hanging in the same rope and being thrown back and forth in his efforts. Not so cool when you have ice-cold hands, fear of heights and for hours a heavy backpack on your back and dangle over a Serac, which has bent even more. Not to mention the crevass that lurked underneath. I really tried to keep a cool head, but that was a bit too much of a good thing. When I notice that I'm in a panic right now, I start to breathe in and out deeply and run. Probably like every pregnant woman gets it sharpened in the birth preparation course. So I'm hanging on the pendulum and trying to focus on breathing. In the meantime, apparently some people who had stood above me had managed to descend on the direct rope. Because when I tried to focus on something, I saw Phunuru standing at the bottom of that other rope. He saw the misery of the Sherpa on my rope and tried to help him. Somehow he managed to keep a reasonably secure stand and unhang his abseiling. Less than 30 seconds later he was down and it was finally my turn to overcome this anchor. I also needed at least 5 minutes in which I fought not only with the rope, but also against the tears. I was afraid of falling and that stressed me - as always on a vertical wall - extremely. From above I got a little encouragement from a nice Sherpa and also Chirring, even further up, tried to calm me down. So the rehanging finally worked for me and I was able to abseil the last 3m. But my legs were shaking quite a bit in the meantime, the worst conditions for the now following ladder. This is now at an angle of about 50 degrees and only on a rung, because the snow bridge had lowered further. I hung up my safety carabiner as quickly as possible and tried to climb this thing as controlled as possible, after all there are only about 20 rungs of second short knotted aluminum ladders. I spoke loudly at every step to me: you can do that, you can do that, you can do that. Once at the top, I quickly hung up and then I took 5 minutes of breathing. I was completely out of breath and couldn't control it for a few minutes. What brought me to my senses again was the realization that it was now more dark than light. Actually, it's been a long time to find the headlamp out of my backpack. But now I didn't want to be reasonable anymore, but just get out of this stupid ice trap as quickly as possible. So I continued walking without waiting for Chirring. The route was still very clearly recognizable and there were ropes everywhere. But after another 10 minutes I had to realize that I could not go on for long without light without stepping into a hole or missing the rope when hanging over. Fortunately, I saw two climbers sitting about 100m further, because I didn't want to take my backpack off my back to take out the headlamp, if not absolutely necessary. The two climbers were none other than Andrej and his customer, who looked even lousier than 2 hours before when standing. Nevertheless, they helped me with the headlamp and whorebd also closed Chirring to us. I could now also hand him the headlamp from the backpack, so that none of us had to take out his backpack. We overtook Andrej and Co and stood a short time later at the last technical point in the glacier. A 5m wall, which you can easily master the abseiling blush if you use the Sherpa technique: both hands on the rope and then backwards step by step down the wall. The last time I bundled my concentration and so I mastered this last hurdle in the dark without any problems. The rest to Camp 1 is walking over some small hills, always nice along the rope and took maybe another 10 minutes.
I was really happy when we finally arrived at the camp, where Phunuru was already waiting for us with a grin. Next to him stood still grinning Devras, our tent-Sherpa, who waved with cola and food. I had a deja-vu, because exactly this scene was already taking place at the Ama. There you walk unsuspectingly into Camp 1 and there is a radiant Devras with food that he wants to give you as a reward. As with the Ama, he unfortunately had the wrong thing with him: a portion of popcorn, chocolate or an iced tea were perfect, his cola and sandwiches unfortunately not. But he wasn't offended when I took a hot cup of tea instead. I think the Sherpas here are slowly getting to know me and hopefully they won't take it too bad for me.

Meanwhile, Phunuru told me that Mingma and Chirring will stay in Camp 1 because they have to go back up to Camp 2 the next day to carry down the last materials, the goal was to have everything material in the base camp before the big storm that would soon come to complete the expedition. But Phunuru would continue with me to the base camp, accompanied by Devras, who takes over the load of Mingma and Chirrin ("only" 6 empty oxygen cylinders...). Phunuru wanted to start organizing the permits for the helicopter flights in the BC so that we could fly back to Kathmandu as soon as possible.

At about 7 p.m. we started from Camp 1. The path was also clearly marked and we started in the bristle Sherpa pace. I could easily keep up with this pace even after the long day and followed Phunuru's every step towards the glacier edge. Now we had no more oncoming traffic or traffic jams and so we made very good progress. It only took us just under 50 minutes - meanwhile through snowstorms - to the Crampon point, where I could finally change back into my small, unclumsy hiking boots and get rid of the crampons. Because my backpack was already full, I simply strapped my mountain boots and crampons on it, although the weight ratio was anything but optimal. But there was only an hour of hiking trail ahead of us and I managed to do that somehow. We had been wsrm for a long time, but I was too lazy to take off my down jacket. In addition, the snowstorm had turned into rain and the jacket was already wet anyway. Why take them off and also get a wet sweater? I'd rather soak my clothes with sweat from the inside.. but I didn't care, I really just wanted to go to the base camp, take off my shoes and have a drink and eat my popcorn. Devras had only stopped briefly at Crampon point and was far ahead of us, because he had to take care of our dinner. I hoped we would remember that I didn't want anything else but popcorn. So Phunuru and kch trudled through the rain, embarrassingly paying attention that no dispute happened to us so shortly before the finish line. We mastered the short climbing passage at the Siel just as confidently as the steep parts of the path short on the Basecamp. The view was beautiful, the whole camp brightly lit and of course we captured that again photographically. Shortly after 9 p.m. it was finally time, about 17 hours after I stood on the summit of the Manaslu, I took my last steps and ran into the base camp. The entire kitchen crew was already waiting for us and congratulated us with handshakes and hugs. I finally felt safe, but I knew I couldn't sit down yet. As with the Ama, it was first my concern to pass by the Pujaplatz and thank you for the safe passage for which we had requested during the Puja. The 2 minutes had to be easy, because I was really grateful that I was back so healthy. After that I went to the tent, where I could finally get rid of my backpack and sit down. Oh, how happy I was and the look in Phunuru's face told me that he was exactly the same.
The poopcorn was not long in coming and there was a sprite that Phunuru and I shared. He enjoyed a noodle soup and then there was an hour of rest, since we were both on the phone. I was able to update the family briefly, tried to answer a few messages from friends, which I succeeded rather badly than well. I was too overwhelmed and didn't know how to put my thoughts into words. So I let the cell phone be cell phone and took care of my backpack. Phunuru didn't want to believe me that I had carried my oxygen tank and all the rest myself. He said that they had been looking for a bottle in Camp 2 because one was missing. I had already told them there that I had the flat in my backpack, but obviously no one believed me. When I then pulled the bottle out of the backpack in front of Phunuru's eyes, he was quite baffled. His comment: "how can such a little girl be so strong?" I have no answer to that, I think I'm just happy with my legs.

Shortly before going to bed, I had to ask Phunuru the question of all questions, namely whether he thought I was ready for Everest. His answer was short but exactly what I wanted to hear: 100%!
That was my keyword to be even happier, but I also slowly noticed the fatigue. We decided to run the stove in the tent through the night and hang all our wet things in the tent so that they could dry. Then I took my headlamp and went to my tent, which I had only left 3 days ago, to go on this summit tour.
I found my tent exactly as I had left it: a loop at the top and two stones in front of the opening flap so that no water would run in if it rained.
In the tent, I quickly put on my thermos, which I use as pajamas, slipped into my sleeping bag and fell asleep quite quickly.

On Thursday, 26. September was the day we had to say goodbye to the base camp. We started the day once again with breakfast at 8am. I dispensed with large Plimborium and ate again a toast with nutella-like spread. The others enjoyed the variant with pancakes and shrimps to strengthen themselves for the descent. After that we had enough time to pack our two duffles. We should again distinguish between a climbing and a trekking bag. In the climbing duffle should all the material that we no longer need until Kathmandu. So the dirty laundry, climbing shoes, air mattress, etc. in the trekking bag came the rest, especially things that we would still need in Samagaon, such as necessaire, sleeping bag or clothes.

After that we prepared them in front of the tent and met in the tent. In the backpack was only the most necessary: something to drink and rain clothes in case the rain would set in. In addition, 2-3 umbrellas were ready for us.

We ate one last lunch together: sandwich and fries, whereby I dispensed with the sandwich. After a last farewell with the kitchen crew we got on our socks in the direction of Samagaon. One last time I went to Pujaplatz to say thank you and say goodbye. One last look up into the clouds towards the summit. I was allowed to do the descent today at my pace, coincidentally that was pretty much the same as that of Mingma, so we were on the road together. The path was steep and of course it started to rain about 10 minutes before our departure. So we all went off with our rain jackets. These give nice and warm and so I enjoyed a sauna one last time while walking. The rain made the path a little more slippery, which is why we had to be careful. We succeeded without any problems and already 45 minutes later we took a break in a "teahouse"

On the way, about halfway up the steep slope. Teahouse is therefore in quotation marks and closing marks, because it is more of a tent. So a wall that was piled up from the stones lying around, then a wooden stick that was placed on two other wooden rods and alw roof gable functions. On the other side another, much deeper stone wall. And above it 2-3 layers of plastic tarpaulin. At the front part, a small entrance was indicated with stones and that's it. So I wouldn't call the Gsnze a house. Inside, benches are improvised with stone slabs in front of the walls and at the back end there is a small sheet metal stove, in which the fire burns and on which a pan with water boils. The tent is run by two ladies who persevere each year during the 6-8 week season to serve Westerners and Sherpas equally. You could even eat Momo's here if you had a strong stomach. Here we waited for the rest of our group and enjoyed the view. The rain had stopped again and the cloud cover had lifted a little. So we saw down the valley, Lake Brendra from our acclimatization tour at the beginning of the expedition, or the village of Samagaon with the monastery. Just before Phunuru came around your corner, three ladies approached from below and it turned out that one of them was the owner of the teahouse in Samso, where we had spent the night during the acclimatization. When Phunuru discovered her, there was no stopping and a real, long break with hot tea was the order of the tent house. We sat there for about half an hour and listened to the incomprehensible Nepalian chatter. Dean gave up the break because of his feet. The continuation seemed more sensible, since he had found a good rhythm. During the break it started to rain again, so that afterwards we came around in the rain again. But as soon as he began, so quickly he stopped again. I was also able to walk the second part at my own pace, but this time I was alone, as Mingma stayed in the middle of the Sherpas. The seteil slope soon passed into the forest, where the path became a little flatter. At some point, lovingly designed stairs began, which were all knocked out of the surrounding stones by hand by the locals. This is an immense work and makes walking very pleasant. The steps are almost too flat for going down, but I can remember that the steps made the ascent much easier for me.

I think, all in all, about 1km of steps and 500m straight surfaces are designed like this. The road builders sleep at the bottom in tents, or under slabs, which they have placed over a stone wall. A thing of impossibility in Europe. But always exciting to see how simple conditions the locals can and want to conjure up so much.

Now the path leads through bushes along the river to Samagaon. On the way I met locals from time to time, especially the guys wanted to exchange 2-3 words with me. Funny how differently they behave when you are traveling alone, compared to the group. No one had ever spoken to me in the group. I still felt safe because I was close to the village and knew the Sherpas behind me. The moment when I saw the main street, or rather the main path of Samagaon in front of me, was indescribable. I was now a big step closer to civilization, would again have walls - so real, not just tent walls - around me and a real roof. Be able to use a Western toilet and sleep on a proper bed. This is still in the sleeping bag, but still a small improvement. As if on command it started to rain again and I quickly went to zim Hotel Norling, where we will spend the night. It was only 5 minutes away, which is why the rain didn't bother me so much anymore. In front of the hotel I happened to meet Asha and Andrew from the 14Peaks, respectively SevenSummit team. We met at the base camp and they had already descended the day before, in the hope that they could fly to Kathmandu today. The strike prevented this and now they have been stuck in the Sama for 24 hours. They would have liked to go back up to the base camp if they could have done it. The food and the company are much better. They had made friends with other climbers, all of whom are still in the base camp, so I can understand them well. And that the food in the BC was fantastic, I don't have to explain to anyone anymore, don't I?! They went back to the neighbor's teahouse while I made myself comfortable in the Norling's dining room and waited for the others. After about an hour, JC came in quite wet. Since I arrived, the rain had intensified and he was glad that he was finally in the Ttockenen. It was no different way for the rest that followed shortly thereafter. We first gathered in the dining room and drank something hot. After that we ordered fries to have an afternoon snack after the hike. But first came a plate of wild potatoes. This is nothing more than boiled potato halves. All you had to do was soil these, dip them in hot sauce, or salt them and then eat them. I held back, because in 3 hours dinner was already waiting for us again. The others, including Sherpas, enjoyed the snack very much. They had to get our trekking bags from the helipad afterwards. In the meantime, 2-3 transport flights were obviously made, including our duffles. They left you climbing bags on the helipad under the blache. Unfortunately, a member of Seven Summit also had the same bag as me, so the poor guys caught the wrong bag. So they had to go back to you for 10' in the pouring rain to get the bag. I didn't blame them at all and just sat longer in the dining room, while Dean and JC could already get in the room. There is not much to do for one night anyway: unpack the sleeping bag, take out the toiletry bag and possibly a pair of warm socks or the ebook reader.

After 20 minutes everything was ready for the night and I sat down again in the dining area. We had expected more people, because it was said in the base camp that a lot of westerners were waiting for the helicopter flight in Sama. But obviously it wasn't that bad. We definitely had plenty of space and enjoyed sitting on the soft benches in the hotel's sunroom. For dinner I ordered fries again, because they were very crispy and fine here. Dean and JC had the same opinion, because there was also a portion on their plate. But they complemented the whole thing with spring rolls. The Sherpas traditionally ate a Dahl Baht. I don't know if they can't order anything else.

This dinner was the last meal together, because the boys would leave for Kathmandu the next day. We made fun together again, group photos, congratulated each other, pushed each other sn and we customers also handed over the summit bonus. New this is determined by IMG and was here at the Manaslu 1500$. I think it's good that the amount is fixed, because how are you supposed to convert such a performance, which the guys have shown in the last 3 weeks, into a value? That's impossible for me. Without them we are nothing on these mountains and if we make it to the summit, they are nothing and we are everything. So how can you thank in the form of a sum of money for this? If you wanted, you could also put something on this amount. We had already done this the day before and handed it over to Phunuru. Because here it is important for Phunuru that the addition is fairly divided by everyone, so that everyone receives the same amount at the end. I also find this very transparent and I can only support it. After dinner, I went to bed with a grateful smile, because I hoped that we could fly out tomorrow.

Yesterday went through the stage without much noise. The helicopters soon remained on the ground again and our daily routine remained for the most part the same. We commuted from the dining room to the room and back again. Since I got cold feet at some point in the dining room, I got hot water for my bottle, for example, and went back to the room. There I put the bottle in the sleeping bag and at least slipped with my legs behind it. I read a little and tried to finish writing the blog with the last power reserves, which I fortunately succeeded. At shortly before 19h we met again for our dinner, which was similar to the previous ones: We ate fries with something. For me there were one more fried eggs and for the other two spring rolls. During the meal I was allowed to charge my phone a little with Dean's adapter, so that I was not completely on the digital dry. My goal was to talk to Raphael again in peace before going to bed so that he has a good start to the weekend. Of course, I filled my bottle again with hot water before going to bed. Sleeping in a sleeping bag is so much more pleasant when the sleeping bag is already preheated by a bottle. Fortunately, the connection was very good this time, so that making phone calls was a blessing again. You didn't have to restart the connection every 3 minutes and you could have a fluent conversation. Thus, the basis for a good fall asleep was laid. I was hoping that this would be my last night in the sleeping bag.

The next day, on Sunday, I woke up as usual shortly after 6h in the morning. As usual, I stayed for a moment. From outside, rather brighter light penetrated through the window, which gave me the hope that the weather outside was actually better than the days before. So I peeled myself out of the sleeping bag and lo and behold: I was waiting for me with tiny clouds on the horizon. In the dining room I met the other three, who were already diligently eating their breakfast. Since I don't usually eat breakfast at home and only do it on expeditions because I have to, I didn't order breakfast. That's why the others didn't want to wait until 8h, which is no problem for me. In contrast, I took our order list. On this, all the amounts of meals that we had distorted since our return to Samagaon had to be noted. Dean helped me with this and after a short time we had the amount together: 47'400 rupees, which is equivalent to approx. 300 francs. So we had spent so much on 4th, respective with the dinner of the Sherpas, in 4 days. Not a lot, considering that we've been sitting in the dining room all day and constantly consuming something.

After that, Phunur gave us the order to pack our duffles so that we would be ready for a flight. We heard the helicopters buzzing around since the early hours of the morning. Of course, the rescue flights were still the priority. Phunuru spent the next few hours on the helipad or near the locals. Because with one of the first helicopters from Kathmandu, 2 government representatives flew to Sama to bring the locals the agreements in writing. Phunuru told us at breakfast that he expects everything to be under wraps at about 12h. Since the flight time from Kathmandu is around 50 minutes, he would expect the first helicopters after 13h. This is what I had in mind when I went to my room after breakfast to pack my duffle. I took my time, because until 13h it was still more like 4.5h. When I was done, I decided to sit in the sun in front of the room and listen to music. After a while, Asha and Andrew suddenly stood in front of me, staying in the teahouse opposite. They wanted to take me to their sun terrace, which I thought was a great idea. I spent the next 2 hours there, chatting with various mountaineers from different countries. I had already seen most of them at Basecamp and some of them had already spoken to them there. When everyone slowly made their way to the dining room to order lunch, I also went back to my teahouse to see what the situation was and to order food. JC and Dean were ready for the order. Normally, the process of ordering takes a long time until the food is delivered and today was no exception. We waited almost 1.5 hours until we had our fries and spring rolls on the table. We actually always stuck to the same 4 dishes, because these are really fine and we knew that they would not cause us any digestive problems. While we were eating, Phunuru came to us from the helipad and also treated himself to something to eat, namely a nice plate full of steamed momos. After that he organized 2 boys who had to carry our dufflebas to the helipad. It actually seemed that we were much closer to our flight than we thought in the morning. I sat back in front of my room to enjoy more sunbeams.
Less than 10 minutes later, Phunuru was standing in the doorway and said that we should slowly move to the helipad. Of course we didn't let ourselves be told twice and only 2 minutes later we were ready for the 5-minute walk. I still didn't believe we were really going to fly, but we've never been so close. My feet only survived the river crossing to the helipad wet, but I thought that this would not matter in Kathmandu. I hadn't tied the shoes, and a stone was wobbly than expected... Shit happens.. When we arrived on the helipad, we saw how much hustle and bustle actually reigned here. There are 2 pads and with both duffle bags piled up, people sat around, material was deposited for the teahouses and from time to time a salvation came, or flew away. You can practically sit on the pad and wait until the helicopter comes. We sat there for 1.5 hours until it was clear that it was our turn at the next landing helicopter Everest Heli. 2 minutes before suddenly 3 important-looking people were on the pad and everyone, including Phunur, was discussing wildly. To me it looked as if the three wanted to get into the next helicopter, exactly the helicopter that was actually reserved for us. Since there is room for 5 people per flight, a Westerner from CTSS was also planned. When the helicopter was about to land, Phnuru put our duffles ready, which reassured me a little. But as the door of the passenger, or co-driver (or what do you call this seat next to the pilot in the helicopter?) Became free, one of the three important people simply sat down in the square. The three of us looked at Phunuru in bewill and he said to us that he would let us fly alone, and came after and sent us to the helicopter. There was nothing left to see from the westerner of CTSS at that time and we were already hoping that Phunuru could take his place. But far from it, the gentleman was just peeing briefly, or maybe on the way back to the village. But they whistled him back and put him in the helicopter. Shortly after, we took off and could only wave to Phunuru. At that moment, I couldn't really be happy that we were really in the air in the helicopter, because our leader was still down on the pad. But what should we have done? Somehow we didn't want to do without the flight and wouldn't have been able to. Because as it turned out, we were in the very only helicopter that flew directly to Kathmandu. All the other helicopters, which were already on the road before, had all only flown to Sodikola (the place where we had to wait a few hours under the bridge on the outward flight). But we flew directly to Kathmandu, because our pilot was no longer allowed to fly and had to bring the helicopter back to the capital. The flight there took about 45 minutes and once again showed us fantastic views. At the annex Jurassic Parc moderate, then with more clouds, but also more horizons with various valleys and at the end an overflight over Kathmandu, including temples. of the floods, which we had read in the media, there was not much to see on the flight. Obviously, the damage was more in the southern part of the city. At approx. 16.15h we actually landed in Kathmandu at the airport. The air was much more humid than in Sama and much warmer. We had to wait a few more minutes at the landing site until a car picked us up and took us to the terminal. On the way, the important man was unloaded from the side pilot's seat at the VIP room according to his status. It turned out that he was one of the 2 members of the governing who had appeased the locals.

Although I was grateful to him for his work, because without it we might not have seen a single flying helicopter today, I was still angry with him because he had taken away Phnuru's place in the helicopter. He tried to make a little small talk while waiting, but I just ignored him and Dean and JC had mercy on him. At the terminal, the officer wanted our passports, and we panicked a little because we didn't have them with us. JC and Dean at least had a copy of it. I had nothing until it occurred to me that I had emailed a photo of my sister's passport at home before departure. It took approx. 10 minutes until I could load this file on my phone, and so our departure at the terminal was delayed a bit. Mohan was already there to pick us up. We were able to take our trekking duffle with us in the helicopter, so we only had half of our material with us. We hope that the Kltter-Duffles would then follow with Phunuru. The drive to the hotel was in the middle of commuting traffic, which is why it took a little. But we were just happy that we had actually made it to Kathmandu. In the morning I would not have bet 5 francs on it. This time we reside at the Hotel Tibet because we wanted that. The rooms are much bigger and cleaner and the showers are also better. Upon arrival, AngJanbu, Phunuru's brother, was already waiting for us to welcome us and give us our original passports. We had stored these with other things with him until the return. After that we went to the room, where we all enjoyed a warm, long shower. At 19h the three of us met on the roof terrace for dinner. Phsnuru plans to fly to Kathmandu tomorrow with one of the first helicopters, ideally with our remaining duffles. Only when all the material is here, we can postpone our return flight home. I hope for the flight on 30.9. or 1.10. and I'm curious to see which one it will be. After dinner we went to the room, all three full of anticipation of the first night without a sleeping bag for 3.5 weeks.

Now I've been back home for not quite a week and I'm trying to find myself back in everyday life. I'm so glad I arrived in the middle of the autumn holidays, so I still have enough time to arrive. But I don't really see myself going back to everyday school from Monday.

The second flight on my return trip was an absolute highlight. We left about 20 minutes later than planned, but I was actually lucky enough to be able to enjoy a Q suite. If you have ever flown with Qatar, you may have already been able to examine Business Class. Usually you sit on larger armchairs, which you can convert into a full bed. The screen is a little bigger than in the Eco and the food is much better. The Q-Suite is even more. You have a door that you can close so that you are on your own. You get a pajama to sleep better. The flight attendant sets up the bed with an additional thin mattress, and a slipper is available for going to the toilet. It was almost a bit of a shame that the flight only took 6 hours and I actually wanted to sleep through most of the flight. So I slept a little less, but still got out with a big smile. When I was at the luggage belt, my bags were already making their rounds and the small detours on the way home to Basel to say hello were all great. So I didn't get home until the early evening, but what the hell. I then tried to clean up the climbing duffle before going to bed, so that all wet things could finally dry. My apartment looked more like a bazaar, but at least I could save everything from mold. The next day I had already had an appointment for lunch with a good friend, after all the lost 5-6 kilos have to be regained as soon as possible. In the afternoon I then went to the big laundry and arranged all the things in the cellar again, so that in half a year I might be a little faster in packing.