Annapurna Circuit: March 2015
I have to start with a huge thanks to Annette who kept a journal while we were trekking, and agreed to go over it afterward so I could have the information I needed. Once she was back home we spent an evening reliving this incredible experience.
On our way to start the Annapurna Circuit.
03/06: After a wonderful Happy Holi, we were finally ready to embark on our adventure. We were picked up by our team (our guide, Prem and two porters, Mois, and Ram) in the morning. Annette and Javier were still recovering, and would be for most of the hike. Before we left to Besisahar, we stopped at Narayan’s guesthouse to drop off the stuff we wouldn’t be taking. At the last minute, Javier and I decided to grab $200 USD just in case of emergency. Javier handed me the money and I put it in my pocket. For the record, I don’t typically carry money, Javier does all the transactions. I don’t have a wallet, so I therefore don’t carry any money. I kept thinking, I need to give this money back to Javier, but we were in a hurry, so we left. It took us a couple of hours to arrive at Besisahar. We unloaded our stuff and sat down for lunch. We met a couple of Dutch girls, I can’t remember their names, but they were very friendly and upbeat. They were also starting the Annapurna circuit, so we figured we’d see them again. We also met a man who was returning from the circuit. He told us that he was the first of a large group that had to turn back due to snow. As we waited, the group’s guide arrived. He and Prem began to speak. Afterward, Prem told us that the trail was closed about 5 days in. Normally, there was some snow on the day we would travel over Throng-La pass, our highest point. Because of an unusual amount of snow, the trail was blocked about three days before the pass. Prem told us that we needed to start thinking of alternative treks to take since we would not be able to cross the pass. We told him that we wanted to go as far as we could, but that we would all decide on an alternative hike once we turned back.
First Suspension bridge
Our walk was warm. The altitude was only 2490 ft. The walk was beautiful. Everything was green. At one point, we had to pee, so we all spread out. While finding a suitable spot, my leg brushed up against a plant, and started to burn. When we regrouped, I told everyone my leg was burning. Prem and Javier knew exactly what it was. Apparently, they also have the burning bush in Peru. Prem went and found some sage and rubbed it on the burning parts- thank goodness it was just my leg. 😛 It helped for a while, but then the burning came back, and I just had to deal with it. We crossed our first suspension bridge, and arrived at our teahouse for the night, only to find out it was fully booked.
Where’s our money 🙁
Prem led us to the next teahouse, where they were partying until late into the night. Apparently, there are Chinese companies that are building hydroelectric power plants along the river, and send their own people to work. So, there was a large party of Chinese workers and their families having a party and eating food that looked and smelled much better than ours. We all took showers, and when I was checking my pant pockets, I couldn’t find the money! I looked everywhere, no money. I remember taking out my passport at the restaurant in Besisahar, and I thought maybe it fell out of my pocket. I was so disappointed in myself. I told Javier, and needless to say, he was not happy, but didn’t make me feel any worse than I already did. I also told Prem, who called the restaurant to see if they found the money. They said, no. And poof! Just like that, $200 gone. It made me sick to my stomach.
Annapurna Circuit
03/07 We woke early and were hiking by 7:30am. Again, the walk was warm and sunny. At one point, we were almost run over by a herd of goats. We stopped at a waterfall for a late lunch, and contemplated staying the night. We waited too long, and a returning group of about 20 took all of the rooms. We kept moving forward. Prem told us that we would have to hike for another couple hours to get to the next town.
03/08 Again, we started early. We passed our first of many mani-wheels (Buddhist prayer wheels that you walk around clockwise and spin)
Buddhist prayer wheels.
There was a mini landslide and some of the rocks nearly got Javier. We learned, from talking to people returning, that the snow at the pass was 6 meters high. While we were walking, it started to downpour. Prem and the boys stopped in a teahouse and asked the lady for plastic bags to cover their packs. Javier, Annette and I put on our rain gear, and by the time we were ready, the rain had all but stopped. We decided to hike the way we were, and on the uphill, realized how hot and sweaty we were from the insulation. Once at the teahouse, we settled in and came up for dinner. We had noticed that the guys always ate Dal Bhat.
Dal Baht… “Dal Baht power 23 hours. 1 hour toilet and shower”.
Dal Bhat is a great choice for the hungry. You start with a plate full of rice, a small cup of soupy lentils, and another small cup of veg curry. You pour these cups on top of the rice and mix. The local guys use their fingers, the rest of us use spoons. The best part of this meal…it’s unlimited. They will keep refilling until you are full. We started into introduce Dal Bhat into our dinner rotation.
03/09 Prem would describe the hike ahead of us as “gentle up/down, steep up/down, and flat.” We learned what Prem’s version of “steep up” was on the second day. We hiked up a narrow road, dodging the jeeps carrying hikers both up and down the trail. Prem took us on a short cut. We basically went straight up through the trees. I almost fell backwards twice on the steep up. I still wasn’t used to the extra weight. I will say that both times I started to falter, Ram was right there to catch me if I really started to go down.
Annapurna Circuit
As we progressed, we started looking for hikers in the jeeps coming down. Just when we would get excited that there were no tourists coming down, there they were…two lowly hikers unable to move forward and forced to come back. We were discouraged, but at the same time, hopeful that we would somehow be able to pass. We stopped for lunch at an absoultely picturesque spot. We met some girls who were hiking alone. They were on their way back. At this point, we hadn’t encountered any snow, but the girls let us know that the snow was just around the corner. They had crossed the first avalanche, but when they arrived at the second, they were unsure, so they turned back. This was their first trek, and they were unsure about the conditions, so they didn’t want to chance it. Fair enough. We decided that we would keep moving forward, but that if we had to turn back, we would definitely want to stay at this place to enjoy the scenery.
Prem entertaining the girls. Annapurna Circuit
By now, Prem was starting to get comfortable with us. He would joke and sing. We became quite fond of Prem’s singing. He would make up songs depending on our circumstances. They all had the same tune, and were very peaceful. Every once in a while, he would be talking with Ram or Mois in Nepali, and then turn to us and keep speaking in Nepali and we would play along and continue the conversation. My answers would usually be something playful like, “That’s what I’ve been saying all along!” He could have been making fun of us for all I know, but one time I must have actually answered appropriately, or ironically, and was rewarded with the surprise, genuine laughter from Prem, Ram and Mois.
That night, we had some local wine after dinner, started our nightly popcorn and Snickers/Bounty habit and learned how to take a bucket shower. 🙂
First time hiking in the snow.
03/10 SNOW!!! We encountered our first patch of snow. Prem put on his crampons, but told us we didn’t need to. After slipping and sliding all over the place, we decided that we were going to wear crampons whenever Prem did no matter what he said. We crossed over two large avalanches. At one point, I had to pee again. I tried to find a place out of view, but the snow was so deep. Every time I stepped off the trail to hide, my leg would fall through the snow until I was sitting on it. The snow was getting inside my socks and shoes, and I was getting irritated. I finally walked far enough from our group and thought I was safe, and this trio of hikers decided to stop and have a break right where I was planning to drop trou. I gave up and decided to hold it until I was at a better place. We walked over a little hill, and I told Javier I was going to pee and to keep the guys from walking over. Next thing I know, Prem is right there next to me. I said, “Prem, I need to pee!” And he said, “You can’t pee on the avalanche!” Haha. Guess I’ll have to wait a little bit longer.
At lunch, we were sitting and enjoying the view. We looked back and noticed a huge glacier and ice shelf in the direction from which we had just come. Prem confirmed that we had just walked under this huge shelf of ice that looked like it could break off at any moment. Yes, this was the place that I wanted to stop and pee. Annette and I were victims of a very small rockslde, which resulted in a couple of bruises on my leg and cuts on her hands. After today, I think we were all realizing how difficult this trek could be. We still had 6 days before the pass, and there was already quite a bit of snow! It was about this time that we had heard the Nepali army was stationed in Manang keeping people from moving forward. Things were not looking too good for us. Although, there was also a conflicting story of a local guy had charged a group of trekkers $400 USD to make a path over the pass. At this point, we didn’t know what to believe. We were going to keep moving forward to see for ourselves.
warming up. Annapurna Circuit
It was finally cold. So much so, that we took part in the tradition of huddling around the fire every night just to keep warm. The entire trekking group staying at any teahouse would all congregate in the dining hall, where we would eat, keep warm, and get to know one another. We vied for good positioning of our socks and shoes around the furnace just like everyone else, and started with an order of popcorn. It was here that we first spotted our soon-to-be Chinese friends who sat by themselves, brewed their own tea (using a kettle-set they brought from home), ate Chinese snacks, and drank plenty of (Nepali) beer. We all watched with much curiosity.
Chinese friends having tea and wine after the long trek. Annapurna Circuit
When we moved to the table to eat dinner, our seats were quickly taken by those on the outer ring trying to get closer to the heat source. It was on this night that we met a duo- one guy from Australia and another from Dubai. They had met the year before trekking Everest Base Camp, became friends, and were in Nepal for another trek. We chatted with them for a bit before returning to our freezing cold rooms, split a Snickers three-ways, and went to bed.
03/11 I couldn’t sleep. Out of the three of us, I had the warmest sleeping bag, and Annette was by far the coldest. She ended up with the most sheltered part of the room, while I had the most exposed. Normally, this wasn’t a problem. While she and Javier were layering up for the cold nights, I would find myself unzipping my bag just to let some fresh air cool me off. However, this night was no fun. My body was still warm, but my bed was situated in a way that there was a cold wind blowing on my face all night. I don’t know how many times I would cover my face, only to wake up to it uncovered and frozen. Needless to say, I was grumpy this day. We crossed two more avalanches without incident, and received word that in Manang, two days journey, there was a group that had left for high camp and had not returned. A good sign for us. We also learned that it was too cold, too high, or a combination of both, to where we couldn’t sterilize water. Both Annette and I had steri-pens, and neither could get the job done. From this point on, it was hit or miss with the pens, and we ended up having to either buy bottled or boiled water. Note to self…from now on, always bring chlorine tabs. ALWAYS.
The View. Annapurna Circuit
We stopped early this day. We had lunch and our socks and shoes were soaked from the snow…and yes, these were supposedly waterproof boots. We opted to do some laundry, which was a bit of a luxury, although our hands froze from the freezing cold water. As par for the course, the Chinese trio arrive at the same destination within a couple hours. They carried only small day packs, and we joked that one of their porters was specifically hired to carry their food and drink. On this day, they were doing their usual tea-brewing, and pulled out a bottle of wine. They realized they didn’t have a wine opener, and neither did the tea house. I asked Annette if she had a wine opener on her leatherman, which of course, she did. I love a woman who is always prepared! She offered her corkscrew to them, and when they couldn’t figure out how to actually use it, Annette graciously opened their bottle for them. They, in return, offered her the first glass of wine along with a handful of their snacks. The wine was delicious, and since the ice was broken, Javier took the opportunity to talk to them about possible treks in China. They were full of ideas, very nice and helpful.
Annapurna Circuit
We were told that at night the toilets freeze, so we had to handle our business before, and if there was an urge in the middle of the night…figure something out. All of the toilets are squatters, and you need to pour water into the squatter to flush everything down. So, the toilets don’t actually freeze, the water inside the buckets and the pipes all freeze at night. It was also here that we met an American named Matt, who ended up joining us later down the road, as well as two Spaniards, Eduardo and Izaskun, who would also be joining our trekking party in a few days. There were some other people who decided, based on the rumors, that they would be turning back, including our new Chinese friends.
Annapurna Circuit
03/12 On this morning, there was so much snow, and it was hard enough to where we could walk on top rather than through the narrow path. This made trekking much easier and faster. The only thing was that we needed to leave earlier because once the sun came out, it’s only a matter of time before the top snow gets soft, and the chance of fall through increases. We had some crampon casualties. We stopped at a small shop, where a local guy brought out some tools to help. Mois was our handyman. He fixed our crampons and we were good to go. We bought a couple packs of coconut crackers from the nice man to thank him for his help. This was yet another snack that would continue to follow us throughout our trek. On the way, we saw another red helicopter flying out to retrieve a troubled trekker. Not good.
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Annapurna Circuit
We arrived in Manang for lunch. I can honestly say that we had the best food in Manang. All of the teahouses offer the same things. They’re all carbs, rightfully so, but there is not much variation. In Manang, we had tuna sandwiches, which sound pretty boring, but when you’ve been eating the same thing for the past week, variety in any form is more than welcomed. We also split a yak burger between the three of us, which turned out to be quite yummy. Later, we splurged on some coffee and apple pie for an afternoon snack. 🙂 Normally, we would continue hiking after lunch, and our days would be around 8 hours of hiking. Manang is over 3500 meters (almost 11,500 feet), and it is usually recommended to spend an extra day here to acclimatize. Manang is a much bigger town than the others we had stayed. They have a shop that sells just about everything you could need to continue the trek. We picked up a few supplies, mostly snacks. We met lots of other people, some we had seen before and others for the first time. We ran into our Dutch girls that we had met on our very first day. They were so happy to have made it to Manang. They had no desire to go further. They would be turning around in a couple days. They were so full of energy and so positive. It was really nice to see them again. We met an Aussie couple who were full of information. After the best hot shower we had in a week, we sat outside and talked with them. They had arrived the day earlier and done a local hike just to get used to the altitude. They had heard stories of small groups of people making it over the pass. They themselves would be leaving the following day to Yak Karka- the next town on the circuit. They told us that there was a storm coming in on Sunday afternoon, so they needed to leave in the morning if they wanted to make it over the pass on Sunday morning. They said there was about 15 or so people that were planning on moving forward the following day.
We spoke to Prem. Since we had cut one of our days short, we didn’t make it to Manang until a day later. If we left with the group, we wouldn’t have our day to acclimatize. Prem thought it over, and at dinner told us that we would be leaving with the rest of the group the following morning. At this point, Annette and I had been joking back and forth about the possibility of successfully making it over the pass. Our percentage went as high as 50% and as low as 0.01%, not too promising. Manang was our hump. If we made it over Manang, we had already gone further than most. I don’t know about Javier and Annette, but hadn’t really contemplated making it past Manang. I didn’t let myself get my hopes up, so now that we were going forward, I was truly nervous. The fact that we also had a downpour that night, didn’t do anything to lift my spirits.
Oh, on a positive note… Javier and I were outside talking and we hear Annette call us from inside the room. When I walked in, she had two $100 bills in her hand. She found my money!!! It had fallen into the side pocket of her porter’s backpack. It was just lying there, not tucked away. It truly looked like it had just fallen there. How did it survive all of the movement of the last 6 days! Either way, I was so happy. It was a good omen 🙂
Mystery local man who opened the trail to another group.
03/13 We started early with the rest of our caravan. Prem decided to stop and go shopping at the start of the day. We were not happy about this. But it didn’t take long, and soon enough we were on our way. We didn’t sleep well, partially due to all three of us waking up at 2:30am with a simultaneous urge to pee. 🙂 We decided to start taking Diamox. On the way, we ran into the mystery man who opened up the pass for the trekkers. Sure enough, he charged them $400 USD, but they made it through.
At our lunch stop, I ate too much, and had the worst stomach pains. I was so bloated, I had to loosen the belt on my pack, which put more pressure on my shoulders. By the time we arrived at the teahouse, I was a mess.
The crew. Jackie, Matt, Kris, and Raymond. Annapurna Circuit
We met with many other people that night, some for the first time. We saw Matt the American again, the Spaniards, and met a Dutch duo, Kris and Raymond. That night, while pow-wowing around the fire with shoes and socks propped here and there hoping to dry, we talked about the next step. At this point, we had a guide and the Aussie couple had a guide. Their guide was very young. So basically, everyone looked to Prem for advice. It was already snowing, so Prem said we would plan to hike to High Camp the following day, but we would have to see how much it snowed through the night. It was after this night, that our team was set in place, and we would all be embarking on this adventure together.
03/14 In the morning, we discovered it had only snowed 3-4 inches. By the time we came down to breakfast, everyone was talking to Prem. He laid it out to us like this… We had three possibilities once at high camp. First and best option, we would make the pass. Second, we would wait out the snow and either pass or turn back once it was safe. Third option, get airlifted out if things became really bad and pay the hefty $2000USD per person. There was a German couple who decided to turn back. The rest of us decided to move forward. Our group expanded to include Matt, the Spaniards, and the Dutch boys. Our goal was High Camp at 4400 meters (14,436 ft). As we were preparing to leave, I noticed some of the porters putting plastic bags over their socks, brilliant! I went to the teahouse shop and asked for bags. They would have given me two for free, but I wanted 8- enough for each of us, and a spare set, so I had to pay. This was revolutionary! Our shoes would get wet, yes. The insides of our shoes would get wet, yes. But from now on, the only moisture our socks would absorb was from our sweat. We went from cold wet feet, to hot sweaty ones. It was beautiful.
Annapurna Circuit
High Camp is called High Camp for a reason. It was quite an uphill trek. We were trekking through the worst snow Nepal had seen in 25 years, and it felt like it. The air was so thin up there, that we could no longer drink while we hiked. We had to stop, catch our breath, and drink. We crossed a landslide area. Part of the reason for this was because of the blue sheep that live above on the mountain. They will sometimes loosen up the rocks and send them down. Prem warned us that people had died at this point from the rocks, so we really needed to be cautious. He was in front and went first, the rest of us waiting until the coast was clear and then scurried across. Javier was in front of me and when he went I was tempted to run right after him, but I heard some movement above. A couple seconds after he cleared the area, a rock the size of a softball came tumbling down. That would have been my head. Thankfully, we all made it across unscathed.
Good times
We stopped for lunch and ate as one big happy family. Prem pulled Javier aside to speak to him. When Javier returned, he told the newcomers that if they were going to continue with us, and Prem was going to be responsible for them, they needed to give some sort of compensation. Prem wasn’t asking for much, and it was more than fair. The group gladly handed over a few rupees and that was that. The hike after lunch was where it became difficult. Very steep up. When we arrived at our teahouse, Prem organized rooms for everyone, we settled in, and reconvened in the dining hall. IT WAS FREEZING!!! Everyone’s shoes were wet, many from the previous day’s trek. As a matter of fact, that morning, Matt woke to find his shoes to be completely frozen. He was still able to use them, but decided that he would put them in a plastic bag and sleep with them in his sleeping bag to help them defrost. They would be wet, but at least they wouldn’t be blocks of ice! It was still early, so we had quite a while before dinner and bed. We occupied ourselves by chatting, reading, and trying to stay warm. The nearest working toilet was away from the dining hall and down a small slope from our room, so every time we had to pee, we had to put our wet shoes back on and trudge through the newly fallen snow. The snow was worrisome. We could see Prem walking around outside, taking it all in. We weren’t sure what was going to happen the following day, but for now, we were happy, together, and frozen.
After dinner, we realized that there would be no fire. We were all really looking forward to the fire, but as there was no fuel. Many of the higher towns use yak dung for fuel, but even that was impossible to come by with all the snow. Annette was so cold, she tucked herself in her sleeping bag with extra blankets and wouldn’t come out for anything. I spent the evening playing cards with Matt, Raymond, and Kris. Both Raymond and Kris decided to bet some money, although I think Kris put in Turkish Lira. I didn’t have any money on me, so I couldn’t contribute, but the boys didn’t seem to mind, even when I won. 🙂 Javier meanwhile stayed in the dining room reading and trying to keep warm. We had to be moving by 6am the next morning, so it was early to bed. Prem told us that he would make the final decision in the morning based on the snowfall and overall weather.
I had to pee in the middle of the night. I grabbed my headlamp, put on my boots and many, many layers. Once I stepped outside, it was absolutely gorgeous and peaceful. There were no lights other than the bright moon. The snow was lightly falling, and I wanted to just sit out there and enjoy the moment. The walk to the toilet was downhill, slippery, and all around treacherous. Let’s just say that I decided against this option, and found out in the morning that both Javier and Annette had made the same decision. 🙂
Annapurna Circuit
03/15 Annette slept on her alarm! Annette had been our alarm all along, so when we woke up late we looked to her. Apparently she rolled on top of it and didn’t hear it going off. Of all the days!!! We frantically jumped out of bed, packed our things and ran down to breakfast. There, Prem told us that we would, in fact, be crossing the pass today. When we were walking to breakfast, we saw a couple of trekkers standing around the stupa. I didn’t know if they were from our teahouse, but I didn’t recognize them. Prem said they had come from the town below, but as the trail was buried in snow, they had no idea which direction they should go. We inhaled our food and went back to finish up our packing. Annette was out of the door before me and Javier, and when we heard Prem yelling for us in a somewhat urgent tone, we knew we had to move. As a result of our tardiness, we ended up somewhere towards the back, but we had Ram to bring up the rear. It was hectic and we were moving quickly. Most of our group was taking Diamox, except for the Spaniards, and you could tell they were really struggling at points. I was a little nervous for them. Javier told me to continually drink water through my water reservoir straw, but I didn’t have time to stop for a drink every few minutes. I was having a difficult enough time with my heavy pack at the high altitude. As a result, the water in my straw froze, and I now have bite marks all over my straw from trying to break up the ice- not the best approach I learned. Annette also had the same problem, actually, her straw broke, so at one point, we were all drinking Javier’s water.
My favorite picture. Can’t differentiate the sky from the earth. Annapurna Circuit
On the way up, the snow became worse. We were just following the person in front of us. There is a teahouse at the pass, and the worker lives at high camp. When he heard we were attempting the pass, he took off ahead of us to open up shop. Prem used his footsteps as a guide for the trek up. Everything was white. There was no horizon. You couldn’t tell where the snow ended and the sky began. The only indication was the people in front of you. If you looked left or right, it was just white. There very well could have been the edge of a cliff, and you wouldn’t have been able to tell.
Jackie hugging Prem. Happiness! Throng-la Pass.
After a couple of hours, we finally arrived at the teahouse. If we thought it was cold at high camp, it was nothing compared to Throng-La. There’s a huge sign that has the name of the pass, its elevation, and hundreds of colorful prayer flags all around. That was all but buried in snow when we arrived. We took a couple of pictures, but were freezing, so we sought shelter inside the warmish teahouse. We drank tea and hot water to try and warm up. I detached my straw from my reservoir and stuck it in the same compartment, hoping that since it was now closer to my body, it would thaw. The tiny house became packed with trekkers while we were there. We noticed no one was leaving…they were all waiting for Prem since they had no idea where to go. Prem approached the teahouse worker and offered him $40USD for an hour’s worth of trail blazing. You know what this guy said??? Life is more important. HA!
Love!!! Throng-la Pass.
It seemed all of a sudden that Prem was rushing us out. We needed to get moving and soon. He told some of the guys in our group that this was the most dangerous part of the day. This is where people die. Last year, a group of 40 trekkers died in this same spot. They were making their way down, the snow and wind kicked up, they were stuck in a whiteout, wandered, and all died. They still haven’t recovered all the bodies because of the snow, but are waiting for the monsoon season where the snow will melt and the bodies can be discovered. We started to move. It was risky business. Prem would use his trekking pole to confirm that there was sold earth in front of him rather than a cliff drop-off. The way down from Throng-La is dotted with flag markers. Under normal conditions, you can see the next flag in the distance. No such luck here. Prem has done this trek so many times, he knew the direction we should head, and found the next flag once we were close enough. The flag after that, however, was really tricky. At one point, Prem was running, and we were all running after him. There was a bit of panic and this is where everyone started to get scared. We couldn’t find the next flag. Prem was running here and there, but there was no sign of the flag anywhere. As we were moving all over the place, I looked up from the narrow path in front of me and misstepped. When I tried to catch myself, my body turned and my pack pulled me down. I started sliding down the hill. I stuck my trekking poles as deep in the snow as I could, and eventually came to a stop. Mois pulled me back up onto the trail, and I had two bent trekking poles. At one point, the snow gave way and Prem was stuck up to his chest. We were a few people behind, but could see everything from our angle. Javier started yelling for Kris to pull Prem out of the snow. Annette started sinking as well. Later, Kris told us that just that short jolt of adrenaline and effort really did a number on him. He couldn’t catch his breath for quite a while afterward, to the point that he was really scared.
Kris going to to pull Prem out of the snow. Annapurna Circuit
Matt started walking up the hill trying to find another route that proved to be inaccessible. During this chaos, there was a trio of two Aussies and a Chilean who had been hiking with us from the beginning. None were that friendly, so one really got to know them. They were also really proud, and didn’t think they needed any help from anyone. We could see them on the other side of the ravine walking in the same direction as us but far from the flag. Prem yelled to them that they needed to come to our side of the ravine before they got lost. It was starting to snow harder and the wind was picking up. It was getting difficult to see them. The girl of the trio didn’t waste any time, and started hiking toward us. As she was at the bottom of the ravine, she said, “I can see the flag!” It was in the distance a bit, but more or less in front of her. We all waited for Prem to act. He was concerned about where the girl was walking saying that it was actually very deep and if she fell through, it could be disastrous. She said that she could see a path, so someone recently had gone this way. That was enough for Prem. He pulled out his plastic bag/rain cover and slid down the hill to the bottom of the ravine. We all looked at each other and started sliding, rolling, walking downhill. Javier tried to hike down but each step ended with his leg falling through and him sitting on the snow. I ended up with a wet butt, but slid down with no complications. Once our group had made it down, we moved forward.
When I looked back, our group size had quadrupled. We had spent an hour and only moved about 50 meters looking for the next flag. We knew the Aussie couple had caught up because their guide had passed our caravan to talk to Prem, but it seemed like within the hour we were standing around in near panic, the rest of the trekkers had caught up and were waiting for our next move.
When we arrived at the next flag, we realized we had to go back uphill. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much snow on the side of the hill due to its angle, but there were plenty of rocks. The Aussie/Chilean trio had gone ahead and scaled the hill. Then one by one we all started climbing. At one point I looked over at some eager beavers who thought they would skip the line and charge ahead only to end up chest deep in snow and then cutting into our line. Javier was ahead of me and I waited until he was a good deal ahead just in case of falling rocks. When I started moving up, there was one of the eager beaver Americans right on my heels. I told him he should give me a little space, but either he didn’t hear or didn’t care. As Javier climbed up, he sent a rock down. It was about the size of a baseball and could have cleared me, no problem. I had my right knee bent and out to the side as I was taking a step up. I could have moved my leg, but at the last second decided to catch the rock on my knee knowing the American was right below. The rock had only fallen about 10 feet, but boy did it hurt. When I looked down, sure enough the American guy’s head was right in line with the rock. Maybe he would have moved, maybe not. All I know is my knee was bruised and in pain for the next few months.
At one point, I was stuck. The hill we were climbing was too steep and I only had one free hand as my other hand was clutching my trekking poles. Mois appeared out of no where and offered his hand for help. I gave him my trekking poles to free up both hands. From here, I climbed hands and feet to the top. The top is a ledge, so you really have to be able to pull yourself up and over. Thankfully, once I was there, there were two hands waiting to grab me and pull me up. The Chilean and Aussie girl were at the top pulling people up one by one. Talk about trust. Once I grabbed onto their hands, I realized that if they let go, I would surely tumble all the way down. Once at the top, I looked to see two lines of climbers being pulled up by two groups. Behind the Chilean and Aussie were others holding onto them, so they wouldn’t get pulled over. There were even people behind them waiting just in case two wasn’t enough.
Watching this made my heart happy. Everyone was working together. For those minutes, there was an incredible camaraderie. Strangers helping strangers. It was beautiful.
Intense. Annapurna Circuit
When the final person was pulled over the top, we started moving again. I reattached my thawed straw and since Javier’s reservoir was now nearly empty, we started using mine. The atmosphere was a little more relaxed. We weren’t out of the woods yet, but we had made it through the worst part. The snow and wind had slowed, and we didn’t have trouble finding the subsequent flags. Instead of walking downhill on the ice, we opted to slide on our butts, which was not only fun, but time efficient. 🙂 There was a steep downhill that was mostly free of snow, but I could hear this big guy behind me coming down fast. I stopped and asked him if he wanted to go ahead of me, and he declined.
Snow. almost a white out.
At one point, he slipped and I braced myself to be bowled over by this large man. He stopped only inches from me, and from that point on, he walked ahead. It was also about this time that I felt my big toe pushing against the tip of my boot. My nail was starting to get really sore, but I didn’t want to stop to readjust. We needed to keep moving forward. As a result my nail bruised, fell off, and I now have this weird-looking deformity of a nail growing ever so slowly.
When we finally made it down we cheered. We were hugging each other and singing. We had been hiking for hours and anxious the whole time. We all seemed to have to pee as soon as we arrived. 🙂 The other groups of trekkers that didn’t have guides arrived one by one. The guys in our group approached some of these people (there were about 20 in total) and encouraged them to tip Prem at the very least for getting them through, which almost none did. This bothered our whole group, as they were relying on Prem to make a path that they would have otherwise had to pay a local.
we reached the safety zone. Annapurna Circuit
We actually weren’t at our destination yet. We still had a few hours to go, but we were going to survive the day. While we were waiting for the rest of our group to arrive, Raymond told me, “You know. It was actually very stupid, what we just did.” I just smiled and had to agree. Looking back, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We left it up to the professional, and he brought us through. We would never have been able to attempt this on our own. We met some amazing people that we are now bonded to in ways that only we understand. This was definitely the scariest experience of our lives, but seeing as we made it through, we wouldn’t change a thing.
to see more pictures of the Annapurna Circuit (part 1), click HERE.