The pattern became pretty clear early on during our walk in as we got repeated daily torrential rain as we moved up the valley. Hot, rainy and humid are not good indicators of stable climbing conditions and I said to Ruth on about day two that things were looking bad. So it proved as we arrived at Machupuchare base camp at 3700m in a violent snow storm. Avalanches were already coming off the hills and threatening the very trails we had to use. The next morning we climbed early to our base at Annapurna base camp at 4100m. Spectacular but obvious that we would be going nowhere in these conditions. A couple of days later we made the only possible decision to descend.
As we trekked out in continuing poor weather with rain and leaches adding to our disappointment word came through that in the valley next to us a huge avalanche had triggered a dam burst and swept down killing at the current count 26 with around 100 missing.
I reflect on the privilege of experiencing some wonderful mountain places in the world and spending time with some amazing people, particularly the Nepalis I count as friends but knowing the fragility of life in the mountains.
RIP.
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Pokhara is very different to KTM, 800m versus 1800, and much less dusty! Tomorrow we head out by bus for two hours before starting the trek in.
Yesterday we took a car out 20 minutes or so to Bhaktapur and its famous Durbar square which is much less busy than KTMs equivalent and far nicer. First time I'd been and a revelation. We routed back by the Hindu cremation temples at Pashupathi (a bit voyeuristic and somewhat uncomfortable making as you feel like you are intruding but a well frequented tourist haunt for whatever reason) followed by the more impressive stupa at Bodna. A good long day out finished off by meeting the rest of the group.
I suspect we may well be out of contact now for the next few weeks unless I find a lodge with Internet! In this part of the world that is quite likely!
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First of the steak I ate on my return from AMA Dablam and yes that is 13 individual cuts!
And here's a pic of the hotel we're in!
We didn't get back to the Summit until about six so all plans of heading back down to Thamel evaporated over a few beers and a pizza with Mungo and Rachel, one of the other girls on our trip. A good day! Sadly no photos as I haven't managed to sort out uploading them to the blog but if you can see me on Facebook you will see some there!
]]>The first person we met on arrival was Mungo, our friend who is leading this trip and who we were with in Bolivia. Dump bags, quick wash and on to the beers followed by steak and chips! I think the minute we switched the lights off we were both fast asleep! The Summit is still as great as I remembered it from 2006 so nice to be back! All luggage has arrived too so we are good to go! Now we have a couple of days to ourselves to do some of the sights. I'll need to work out if I can post pics somehow!
]]>So, dear friends, how does one get to below 20kg? Because we CAN'T! I've reassessed the old "how many pairs of boxers does one really really need?" question and whilst the plural still applies I'm buggered if I have enough.....well, perhaps wrong choice of words but you get my drift.
So, we venture forth, at the mercy of the dreaded "check in desk assistant" practising my most winningsome smile and hoping it's a middle aged lonely lady that I can flirt with outrageously while Ruth looks on in bewildered tolerance. If it's a young guy, then no, I'm NOT in charge of the flirting business - it's over to Ruth!
Anyways, tonights packing has been further complicated by a power black out......! I'm back on line, but for how long......??????? So, I sign off for now as I head sharply towards the bloody good bottle of sarf african vino and hope for a better start to tomorrow! More anon! Adieu et a bientot mes amis!
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Anyway, the point of this post is to show you where we're heading to...... after we have a couple of days in Kathmandu seeing some of the sights and soaking up the hustle and bustle, along with the dirt :) we'll head by plane on a short hop to Pokhara where we stay a night before setting off on the trek. If I have time, I'll try and post up a vague itinerary so you can follow where we'll be when. Meantime, here are a couple of maps, firstly of the wider Annapurna region
and here is a more detailed map of our objective right in the centre of Annapurna sanctuary and Machapuchare
our trek in which will take about six days will lead us first to Machapuchare base camp and from there to Annapurna base camp at 4100m from where we will have two further camps as we climb TC.
This is an area steeped in history. Annapurna was the very first of the 14 8000m peaks to be climbed - before Everest - by a French team in 1950. It was not to be without some controversy however and the official book by the expedition leader Maurice Herzog is an interesting read although bettered by the great prose of one of the two who submitted that June 1950 day, Lionel Terray, who's book Conquistadors of the Useless is one of my all time favourite climbing reads. A bit more can be gleaned here
]]>Both my last trips trekking and climbing in Nepal have been in to the Khumbu region which leads up to Everest base camp. A couple of pics from 2001 and 2006 may give some sense of the beauty of the landscape but you can see more by clicking on the links here http://macdonald.zenfolio.com/nepal2001 and here http://macdonald.zenfolio.com/ad2006
This first pic is of Ruth on top of Gokyo Ri at approx 5400m or 18000ft if you prefer old money language! Note the absence of snow. This peak, unlike, Tharpu Chuli is a "simple" walk up but at altitude you still feel it hugely!
And here is a cracking pic from Everest Base camp. Interestingly, the views of Everest itself are far better from Gokyo Ri (you can see Everest very clearly in the photo above) than from Base camp.
Note here the icefall. We were able to walk right up to the base of it in 2001.
Then in 2006 I was on Ama Dablam with a couple of good mates, Hadley and Dean. A better pair to spend five weeks away with in the mountains harder to find - or as H would always say (and still bloody does with regularity!) "Life's a Bargain"! On AD it certainly was, a great group and an amazing mountain. Details of the trip can be read in the link above but here are a couple of photos. The climbing on this mountain is hard but rewarding.
We had the mountain to ourselves pretty much which is just as well given the campsite at camp 2 had just enough space to hold three tents and no more!
So, this was the Solukumbu region of Nepal. Much as I love the whole experience of flying in to Lukla - you can see the runway in the pic below through the cockpit....
....as well as the fantastic trek up to the bustling (during peak season) Namche Bazaar, it will be good to visit a new region.
In the next post I'll put up a few maps to show where we are heading to.
Stay tuned!
]]>In an era of rampant consumerism only slightly tempered it seems by the financial crisis of recent years it is a cleansing experience to refresh ones soul by immersing yourself in a country full of dichotomies and surrounded by people most of whom are rich in thought and smile if not in financial terms. Of course, I generalise. I've only been twice to Nepal and even then my exposure to the people and culture has been limited to the far mountainous regions in the Everest region. Still, it is hard not to let it get deep in to your bones. I know that each time I have returned, whether from Nepal or from the Ladakh region of northern India, I have done so with a renewed purpose, straining at the leash to get going again and looking forward to the next adventure. Equally, I know and recognise some of the vicissitudes and twists and turns some good and some not so good that have given me the chances to do some of the things I love to do.
In the years since 2001 we have both been fortunate enough to visit and trek or climb in various regions of the world with forays to Bolivia in 2003, Tanzania and Kilimanjaro in 2007, Ecuador in 2010, coming at frequent intervals interspersed with climbing trips to the Alps in winter and summer as well as ice climbing in Canada and rock climbing in Greece and Thailand.
Still, it is great to be returning. And particularly great that Ruth is coming too.
This time we are visiting a new area for us in Nepal, the Annapurna sanctuary, with a view to climbing in a short three week burst a fairly regularly climbed "trekking" peak called Tharpu Chuli with a company I've climbed with on a number of occasions Jagged Globe. At just under 5700m it is a reasonably attainable objective in this timeframe when taking into account the time needed to trek in and out.
I shall close this post now but over the next week or so before we go I'll try and give some further information. In the meantime, here are a few photos of our objective which are from the Jagged Globe website
and a photo from the approach from the col to the summit, again copyright of Jagged Globe
