September 26
Edita wrote this morning “This is our third day of rest after we came back from Camp 2 and after
the tragedy. There are many people and entire expeditions leaving the
mountain. We have 5 people in our group that decided to go home as
well. However, the majority of our group is still staying. Phill has
been around on Manaslu for many years and he knows the mountain better
than many first time comers. The accident that happened three days ago
was impossible to predict and we believe that the mountain will stay
stable for the next few days. The Sherpas are doing assessment of the
slopes from Camp 1 to 2 and above. We got the experts to evaluate the
route and we’ll base our decision to go for the summit on that
expertise . We will not take any chances if there will be a slightest
risk.
What happened that day was that the serac that was hanging above Camp
4 fell. It was so powerful that triggered two simultaneous avalanches
which wiped out Camp 3 and hit us at Camp 2.

It was an accident that could not been predicted. It is a part of what mountains do – their
natural process of accumulating ice and getting rid of ice. It is all
about timing. It was tragic for those who were at Camp 3 at the time.
We are now 7 climbers left in our group. We feel we have enough time
to recover after our last rotation. Tomorrow, if the weather holds as
predicted, after lunch, we’ll leave for our summit push. We’ll sleep
at Camp 1 first, then walk and a night at Camp 2. By Saturday, we’ll
be at Camp 3 and Sunday – at Camp 4. We are planning to head for the
Summit early morning on October 1st. If all goes well, we should be
back at the base camp by the evening of October 1st. This is a very
reasonable and conservative plan and if all of us feel good, and if
weather and the mountain cooperate, it should work well.
Some may say why would you go up after what happened. We were shaken
up by the avalanche and we all have nightmares. Phil, my group leader,
has been around on Manaslu for many seasons. Him and his Sherpas knows
the mountain better than anyone who just came for the first time. They
are saying that the mountain never been in a better conditions as it
is now, after lots of ice and snow came down with the avalanche. We
are climbers and this is what we want to do – we want to climb and
summit. I could not see a better way to honor those who perished as
well as to fulfill their dream and my dream as by going all way to the
summit.
And again, my promise to my loved ones is that I will not take any
risk, not even a slightest one, during my summit push. If there is
one, I will not doubt and turn around. Safety first!”