autumn 2012 - 4-Seasons.de

78
Equipment Advice
choc olate. In the lower camps we had a lot
of freeze-dried food and muesli. The higher
we went the worse the food got – we ate pureed
baby food because it is easily digestible.
Often you don’t have any appetite and
only drink soup because of the liquid.
Your husband Luis and you slept in a
single-wall tent. Why didn’t you take an
expedition tent with
an inner tent?
A single-wall tent is
lighter and takes up
less space. You usually
have to hack a platform
into the ice anyway.
On the Manaslu,
some climbers used
double-wall tents in
the higher camps.
They were torn up after
the first couple of
storm nights because
the wind got under
them better. Our tent
was in mint condition.
A disadvantage of a single skin tent is however
that exhaled breath freezes immediately
on the tent wall. You turn around and
it basically snows down on you inside the
tent. Very annoying.
Before you set foot on the Manaslu you had
to walk to the base camp for nine days.
How did you carry all your luggage?
Sherpas and donkeys carried our main luggage
to the base camp. So I only travelled
with a light backpack. In it I had a drinking
bottle and rain clothes, as well as a spare
shirt. In case it gets cold when we take a
break I always have a Power Stretch Hoodie
and a Primaloft jacket with me. Sun cap,
a Buff, a pair of windstopper gloves and a
Beanie are compulsory. Often we were at
Dinner is ready! Alix’ husband Luis Stitzinger.
»A few tents were torn up
after the stormy nights. Our
tent was in mint condition.«
the camp before the Sherpas arrived so we
had to wait for our tents.
So the food was probably much better in
the base camp than in the high camps…
There was a chef with us who even baked
bread. Two kitchen hands took care of the
supplies during those four weeks. They
brought chicken and fresh vegetables
from the valley. >