Mountains are fickle. Strictly speaking it isn't the mountains that are fickle but the weather that affects them. In this respect we have experienced some of the worst. Sometimes I wonder why we try to climb high mountains when constrained by arbitrary time constraints of work diaries reducing us to gamble with small windows of chance resting on the whims of the mountain gods. I suppose this may be a somewhat indulgent, rambling post and I will reflect on our journey over the last few weeks more fully later. Suffice to say, we are safe, back in Pokhara having not summitted due to some of the worst weather locals here can recall for many years. 

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.