American Expedition on Manaslu Reaches Camp 3 and Prepares for Summit Push

Madison Mountaineering's Manaslu Expedition enjoys exceptional weather on climb to Camp 3 - awaits summit push.

Manaslu Camp 3 / Terray Sylvester - Madison Mountaineering

Madison Mountaineering on Manaslu - 2024 Expedition

The Terray Sylvester-led Madison Mountaineering expedition team is climbing high on Himalayan peak Manaslu. They recently returned to base camp after a successful first rotation on the mountain, climbing above Camp 1 and into the icefall that separates Camp 1 from Camp 2. The team has now made it to Camp 3, and they are preparing for their summit push on the world’s 8th highest peak. (Related Article)

Manaslu / Himalayan Ecological Trekking

As reported from the Madison Mountaineering website, the Manaslu Expedition Team reached Camp 3 today behind a light blanket of clouds. Upon reaching their camp, the clouds burned off opening up spectacular views of the route and mountain above, as well as other Himalayan peaks rising out of a sea of clouds below them. The team is doing great and looks forward to continuing their summit push tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester, checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Manaslu Dispatch - Camp 3

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 23rd, Monday. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday morning than the way we just spent it! We left Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) at about 7:30 this morning and arrived in Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) a couple of hours later. Conditions were perfect for our ascent here! We were in a light cloud layer which kept the temperatures down. But now that we’ve settled into Camp 3, the skies have cleared above us, so we have excellent views from Camp 2 up to the east pinnacle. We have great views of the route up to Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft) and the massive north face of Manaslu. We can see a few mountains out in the distance towards Tiber, east into Nepal, but below Camp 2 is a carpet of clouds. So, it’s a really nice day here! We’re about 6,600 meters, just over 6,600. We’re going to spend the rest of the day resting and then we’ll move to Camp 4 tomorrow if all goes as planned.

Madison Mountaineering has returned to the Himalaya for the fall climbing season. Madison Mountaineering is led by Garrett Madison who is currently leading an expedition on Cho You, the 6th highest mountain in the world. His partner, Terray Sylvester, is leading the way on Manaslu. Manaslu is located in the Mansiri Himal range of the Nepalese Himalayas, stands 26,781 ft., and is the 8th highest mountain in the world - known as the "Mountain of the Spirit.” Manaslu was first summited on May 9, 1956 by Japanese Climbers Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen. With their historic achievement, Manaslu became an important and integral element of Japanese climbing culture.

Manaslu Climbing Route

The most common route to the summit of Manaslu is the Northeast Face. The climb begins from the village of Samagaun, where climbers trek to the base camp situated at approximately 15,750 ft. From base camp, climbers navigate a series of higher camps: Camp 1 at approximately 18,700 ft.; Camp 2 at around 21,000 ft.; Camp 3 near 22,300 ft.; and Camp 4 at 24,400 ft. The move to Camp 1 involves a steep, crevasse-laden, glacier climb. Moving from Camp 1 to Camp 2, climbers face extreme avalanche danger while traversing a dangerous section known as the "Japanese Cwm." The route to Camp 3 involves negotiating a series of ice walls. Above Camp 3, the high altitude becomes a significant factor, introducing extreme cold, strong winds, and reduced air.

Madison Mountaineering

Madison Mountaineering is an elite mountain guiding company led by Garret Madison. Garrett is among the most accomplished and premiere mountain climbers in the world, having reached the summit of Mt. Everest 14 times. He has also reached the summits of K2, Lhotse, Nuptse, and all of the ‘7 Summits’. In 2014, Garrett led successful ‘guided’ ascents of K2 in 2018 , 2021 and, most recently last spring in 2024.