The 3 rotations schedule means that after a day of rest, we will head up to our rotation 2 and rotation 3 respectively. Tailed end of the climb up to camp 1 and the entire route up to camp 2 is technical challenges of this Manaslu.
These sections proved to be hazardous especially because of the mix of skills on this mountain and the carelessness of the double lane traffic on these mountains. I, too, was taken down by a falling climber. A few climbers and I who have done some alpine climbing decided not to clip into the fixed lines and climb with our ice axes parallel to the lines. This was proven to be the safest method if you have practiced it before.
The chaos in the Bay of Bengal brings a continued 3-day-storm of non-stop rain and ice. We pushed on with our third rotation up to camp 3 after 2 days of rest.
This was proven to be a crucial rotation for me and a right decision from Mingma. I am not going to lie, we had more rotation than most of the other teams which always risks spending our body reserve. Mingma, our lead guide, decided that we are good enough for it. We initially set off with mixed feelings in our hearts. We mixed our days between ferry-loading and light loads.(Sherpa guides helped us with carrying up our down suits from camp 1 to camp 2 on that rotation).
For me, it was not an easy rotation. I didn’t feel the strongest and had trouble keeping the food down. Fortunately, I also managed to find found out some of the other things that might go wrong on a summit push, like my fluctuating ability to keep my blood circulation to my extremities.
It was a harder rotation. I was tired. Upon returning to the base camp, I immediately made adjustments to my food at the base camp and food plans on the higher camps. I decided to carry some small bottles of vinegar and soy sauce to help the food go down a bit easier.
The local chefs tend to cook Nepali/Indian style cuisine with lots of spices, onions, and garlic, a combination that proved to upset my stomach at higher altitudes, thus adjustments needed to be made at base camp. I spent two days stuffing my face with as much food as possible in preparation for the summit push. And, now we wait for the right weather window….
