THE ADVENTURES OF ANNAPURNA Pt 10 - the end of the road
Day 19 Tatopani – Ghorepani Tatopani lies beside the Kali Gandaki river. Ghorepani lies atop a hill. And when I say hill, I mean just over two Ben Nevis’ stacked on top of each other. Between them, as we would soon discover is a staircase – actual steps all the way up. This to my mind sounded a pretty easy ride considering some of the climbs I’ve done. But have you ever, ever, walked upstairs continuously for 10 hours? No, neither had I. Until this day. The day starts in beau
THE ADVENTURES OF ANNAPURNA pt 9 Kalopani - Tatopani... and a day off!
Day 17 - Kalopani - Tatopani We wake up at the foot of a beautifully clear Dalaugiri, thankfully we remain unmolested by the cabbage zombies that Susan had feared. I exit the room and walk the short distance along the balcony to the shared sink to clean my teeth. And there in the reflection behind me are the Annapurnas. So vast and distant. My first pang of sorrow that the trek is nearing the end and that these incredible peaks are now literally and metaphorically behind me.
THE ADVENTURES OF ANNAPURNA pt 7 - The Thorung La Pass
Day 14: The Thorung La Pass For the past few months I have been worrying about the seemingly random nature of altitude sickness and how my body would react and how it would affect the trip. I’ve also researched the severity of the trek across the pass, reports ranging from almost impossible to a walk in the park. I’ve trained hard to give my lungs and limbs the best possible chance at making it over. It has been the one day that I have had doubts over all this time. The day h
THE ADVENTURES OF ANNAPURNA pt 6 - burnt faces, dodgy wiring and washing pants at altitude.
Day 11: Tilicho Base Camp – Sri Karka – Thorung Pedi High Camp It’s 9.30am and I’m sat in the bright teahouse in Sri Karka we passed two days ago. I’ve just been offered lunch, which just three hours after a huge bowl of porridge is a stretch too far. So I sit and wait for the others, listening to the singing in the kitchen, sipping a scaldingly hot lemon tea and making notes in my sketchbook. I’m so far ahead as I feel I’ve been tested. We were put one-on-one to get through
THE ADVENTURES OF ANNAPURNA pt5 - Tilicho Peak
Day 9 - Manang – Kangsar – Sri Kharkar – Tilicho I was sad to leave Manang and it’s peanut butter on toast. Glancing behind as we took the left hand path (that no one else was taking) I felt a twang of regret that maybe, possibly, I won’t have the pleasure of visiting this little dusty town and Gangapurna Tal again. I also had another, very good reason to be a bit sad to leave, I just didn’t know it yet. Our ‘easy’ day would soon turn into a mammoth effort and a day that woul
