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"Analysis paralysis" is an accurate summation of my last few days here at Manaslu Base Camp. I've been reviewing weather information for the coming week collected from different teams and sources, paid forecasts, free forecasts, second hand forecasts. Of course, they all project different weather conditions. There is a general trend though... starting Thursday the 25th to Sunday the 28th looks like it might be a decent window for my summit day. The 25th being the worst day with 30+mph winds at the peak. Saturday, the 27th, is forecast to have 5 to 10mph winds but possibly precipitation. That precipitation could just be the result of a few days of good weather causing afternoon snow showers or a larger deposit. In this part of the Himalaya it can be hard to predict - and this is too many days out for a mountain weather forecast to be highly reliable. Decision time - It all comes down to this, the time, the money, and the mental dedication. I will depart in the morning tomorrow, the 23rd, for Camp 1, the 24th I'll climb directly to Camp 3 then if the weather window looks decent the 25th I'll move Camp 3 to Camp 4 and push to the summit the morning of the 26th. I'll keep the 27th as a backup day as it is currently forecasted to be the best day. I do not plan to stop at camp 2 on purpose because the entire area around camp 2 is unstable and dangerous. The many seracs and ice cliffs higher up the mountain - with large slopes below to accumulate snow - is a bad day just waiting to happen. This site is not for me. I'll just push through to camp 3, which is in a much safer location - as I described in an earlier post. I'll check back in from the upper mountain in the next couple of days with a weather update and my progress up the mountain. The photo below shows a view from base camp up towards the peak of Manaslu, my objective for this week. RMI Guide Alex Barber

RMI Guide Win Whittaker and his team of climbers with the Climb for Clean Air in support of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The Four Day Summit Climb July 15 - 18 led by Elias de Andres Martos reached the summit also. The skies are clear above with warm temperatures. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before starting their descent. The teams will stop at Camp Muir then continue their descent to Paradise this afternoon. The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise has enjoyed several days training on the mountain. Yesterday, the team practice their crevasse rescue techniques (see photo below). Today they will ascend to Camp Muir for some additional training. They will make their summit attempt early tomorrow morning. Congratulations to today's summit climbers!

RMI Guides Jake Beren and Andres Marin checked in at 7:45 a.m. PST to report they were just a few minutes from reaching the crater rim of Mt. Rainier. The teams were experiencing lights winds and cool temperatures with a cloud deck below around 7,500'. The teams enjoyed some time on the summit before starting their descent to Camp Muir.

A thick bank of clouds rolled into Namche last night as we left dinner, the fog giving the Himalayan village the look of a Maine fishing village. The cloud bank failed to lift overnight and by morning a light layer of snow lay across the stone streets and blue roofs of Namche with more snow lightly falling out of the mist. The usually vibrant town lay muted beneath the snow as we climbed out of the amphitheater and the world was quiet around us as we walked along the trail out of Namche. Snow continued to fall lightly during the hike and we hardly encountered others along the way, only a handful of porters and trekkers and a few dozen yaks. For a couple of hours we made a long traverse along the valley's side, the valley floor slowly rising to meet us at the village of Phunki Thanga. There we crossed a brand new suspension bridge built only last year to replace the rickety wooden construction used previously, before beginning the long climb out of the valley floor to the ridge top monastery at Tengboche. Although the clouds never offered to lift, the snow let up for a bit midday before returning half way up the hill to Tengboche. By the time we reached the Monastery several inches of fresh snow covered the ground, capping the white chortens and gilded crests of the large building. We retreated to a nearby bakery where we brushed the snow off of our shoulders and sipped cups of hot tea, gradually rewarming ourselves. Continuing on from Tengboche, we descended the other side of the ridge for a few minutes to reach our teahouse in Deboche, sitting among the rhododendron trees covered in Spanish moss and new snow. We spent the remainder of the afternoon watching the snow fall and the clouds play among the trees and nearby valley walls. Despite the snow it was a wonderful day on the trail as everything was eerily quiet and calm with few passerbys and the trail largely our own. The team is doing well and sends their best to everyone at home. We have enjoyed everyones comments and well wishes. RMI Guide Linden Mallory

On The Map

Hello from Namche - We arrived at Namche this afternoon in great spirits. After a nice big breakfast, we started walking around 8:00 am. At first the trail follows the contour of the valley floor and then gradually climbs to Jorsale, the offical boundary of Sagarmatha National Park. While the permit was issued in Kathmandu on Friday, this is a formality and gives us the permission to enter the park. After confirming the details of the expedition, we were back on the trail. All of the elevation gain today occurs in one stretch called the "Namche Hill". It is not so much steep as it is long, but we climbed right up it. Keeping a solid pace, we passed through 9,000 feet, then 10,000 feet' and finally 11,000 feet. The reward at the top is a stunning view of the village of Namche terraced into the hillside. A incredible sight. We made our way to our teahouse, called Camp de Base, our home for the next three nights. After a cup of tea and a change of clothes, it is now time to do a little exploring... The RMI Everest Team

On The Map

The Five Day Climb July 19 - 23 led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Mike Bennett reached 11,300' today before strong winds forced them to switch their ascent to a descent. The teams have returned safely to Camp Muir. They will pack gear and enjoy the morning sunshine from 10,000' before continuing down the remaining 4.5 miles to Paradise later this morning. There adventure will conclude this afternoon at Rainier BaseCamp. 

We woke up early today for the long hike to basecamp. The tents were wet from the fog that rolled through moments earlier and was still visible slowly making its way down valley. After a quick breakfast, we packed our duffles for the trip to basecamp began the longest walk of the climb. It would be 10.7 miles over dry, undulating terrain and across streams fed by snow and glacial melt as we slowly gained elevation. It was the clearest and sunniest day so far. Great for sightseeing, not so great when trekking through a high altitude desert. The summit of Aconcagua even managed to make a brief appearance once or twice along the way. After 10 miles of hard walking we made the final push straight up hill for the last .7 into basecamp. The team crushed the trek coming in two hours under the expected time, far outpacing both guides estimates. This team is Muy Fuerte, as they say here in Argentina. We are definitely feeling the altitude here at 14,500', but it’s nothing a rest day can’t fix. Tomorrow we relax and soak in the base camp vibes while planning our move to the upper mountain.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

RMI Guide Andy Bond and the Kautz Seminar July 30 - 4 August team reached Point Success today!  The second highest of Mt. Rainier's three named summits, Point Success at 14,158'.  The Kautz route was challenging for the team today with large penitentes and route finding, but they reached the summit with all of their team members, 100% success!  The team will return to camp for their final night on the mountain.  Tomorrow they will return to the trailhead and celebrate their week of training and climbing accomplishment.

Way to go team!  Congratulations!

Greetings from the beautiful (albeit a little smelly) Plaza Colera, our high camp at 19,600'! We endured a very cold night last night at Camp 2 but awoke to clear skies yet again so we got ourselves in gear and broke camp. Three relatively pleasant stretches later the team arrived at Colera and quickly set up shop. Right now everybody's chilling in their tents, resting up. Hopefully, we won't be here more than a couple of nights as we intend to set out very early tomorrow morning for the summit! Much love to our friends and family following along back home... RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Leon Davis and Team

On The Map

Today marks our fifth full day back at Base Camp since coming down from our third rotation on the mountain. The days have managed to slip by surprisingly quickly, filled with big meals, visits from friends, time spent reading, playing cards, throwing horseshoes, and most of all - resting. Tuck organized the 2011 Everest Base Camp Horseshoes Tournament a few days ago and filled our small camp with dozens of people from various teams bent on vying for the coveted crown. Besides a few errant throws - we lost a cooking pot to a high flying shoe and somehow managed to tangle a horseshoe in the prayer flags strung overhead - it was a really enjoyable afternoon. Yesterday Dave, Sara, and I spent the morning exploring the lower reaches of the Khumbu Glacier surrounding Base Camp, making our way through the tongues of rock moraine and among the fins of vertical ice that jut up from the glacier. But the overarching focus of these days has been on resting, and it has been paying off. Dave, Sara, and I are all feeling the gains from our leisurely days down here. The solid nights of sleep have calmed any minor altitude coughs and strength is seeping back into the legs. Our Sherpa team descended a few days ago as well and the whole team is now down at Base Camp, enjoying the rest and preparing for the final push. Every morning over the past few days we pull up the latest forecast and discuss the options for our summit bid. This season's weather has been unsettled to say the least and that trend has continued into the summit season. Several teams have made summit attempts over the past few days and the occasional eruption of cheering and clanging pots and oxygen bottles can be heard coming from camps as they celebrate the radio call from their climbers standing on the summit. But the summit season so far has been far from smooth and dozens of climbers have faced real challenges up there, battling high winds and cold temperatures in their attempts. While the temperatures and the snowfall are factors, our big concern is the wind. The jet stream is still playing around this part of the Himalayas, occasionally drawing close to Everest and then receding again, and causing nothing but confusion for the forecast models. The 60+mph winds reported yesterday are a sure indication the jets proximity. And so we are sitting down here, reading over the forecast every morning, hoping that these small snippets of good weather that lay scattered over the upcoming days materialize into a substantial window for us to feel confident to head up on our summit bid. Thus begins the waiting game, a trial in its own right. To sit in Base Camp after so many weeks of hard work, feeling ready and prepared for the summit bid, but stalling over the unstable weather conditions, is a huge mental challenge. On occasion a helicopter lands in Base Camp, picking up climbers returning from the summit - both those who made it successfully and those who did not but battled the cold and wind nonetheless - and whisks them back to Kathmandu in dozens of minutes. It's easy to let the mind wander to all of the luxuries and comforts that await the passengers when they disembark, but not a very helpful exercise. Nevertheless, the focus around camp remains, the days of rest are paying off, and our excitement is building for the upcoming climb. A great number of unknowns lie ahead of us, but we are feeling ready. Tomorrow we will wake up, print out the forecast, sit down in the morning sun to look over what the forecast models predict for wind speeds, temperatures, and precipitation amounts. Hopefully that window we know is coming begins to materialize. RMI Guide Linden Mallory