Phew, what busy and action-packed spring it is! I just got back from Chamonix on Monday and am now furiously finalizing all the necessary preparations for my departure to Nepal!
Amazingly good skiing we got into at Chamonix! Went there climbing but as the conditions were not favorable, we jumped on skis! Find a couple photos at my Instagram.

It is now confirmed that I am arriving to Kathmandu on April 7th and starting the long trek to Kangchenjunga BC on 8th or 9th. This way I will be reaching the base of the mountain at around April 20 to start the rotations.
Kangchenjunga (8586m.) is huge and it will be taking quite some time to get the route in. Furthermore, I am expecting the weather to be windy, snowy and in all less favorable until mid-May and thus expecting summit-pushes no earlier than May 15 through 30.

For now it’s mostly about pulling all the gear together! I am very grateful for Rab, Valandre and LaSportiva for their support and for making the best products in their fields!
Another huge thing is getting all the satellite communications functioning properly. Thank you Pentti Kotiaho at Savantum for helping me out with things I have no understanding of!

I hope you find it interesting to follow my trip through occasional blog-posts here at samulimansikka.com and on daily-basis at Twitter. I am also active on Instagram!

Altitude Junkies are already in Kathmandu and gearing up for Mount Everest and Lhotse! We are expecting the dispatches to start soon here.

You might not be able to sign-up for Everest 2014 anymore, but check on our upcoming trips here to see what we are up to later this year! Please take note on our Peru Huascaran program as well as Manaslu and Cholatse in Nepal in autumn! Do not hesitate to email me on requests on all the upcoming trips!

Take care, all of you!

Samuli