Kathmandu

Annapurna XII

This is from a few days after the previous posts.  I didn't take many pictures in the interim, or at least many that I liked.  We stayed in Tatopani (literally translated as hot water) which has a hot spring you can bath in, then decided rather than busing from there we would continue the trek via Ghorepani in order to see the view below.  This view was the result of at least a kilometre ascent which was exhausting for both of us.

Annapurna XI

From Muktinath to Marpa via Jomson.  Most people take a bus from Jomson as there is a road now and people say it's not a nice walk.  We disagreed, I think people just quit early as they already made the pass and are tired, using the "it's dusty and boring" argument to justify finishing.  Some people even fly from Jomson.  I understood their feelings, in some way the trek seemed over for me as well once you stop after the pass, yet if you keep going you quickly realize that it is worth the effort.

This is the path down to the riverbed which you then walk down all the way to Marpa.

You can see how the mountains are folded seabeds raised up through eons.  The riverbed is littered with fossils which you can find for yourself if you take the time to look for them or you can buy them from enterprising locals at each town.

The scale of the environment is stunning.

I think if I were to do this trek again I'd bring my own tent, cooking gear and some food as aside from the main route there are dozens of adjuncts you can take if you are prepared.

Annapurna X

This is the morning of the crossing. Those that stay lower start earlier as the winds pick up, others who stay at the high camp can begin later.... we didn't bother with crossing at sunrise which would have required a much earlier start yet we had to begin before first light. Our camp was beneath the clouds and during the climb you are quickly brought above them, the climb was ardurous due to the altitude and temperature and while at times you sprinted a little to get ahead of people you paid for it.

Nothing really grows up here, aside from the snow it is otherworldly.

This is Throng La Pass, one of the highest in the world. The flags are Tibetan payer flags placed by trekkers and before them the traders who used this pass to transport goods between the Manang and Mustang districts. Each has a unique culture and biology. The Manang being more lush and vegetative while the Mustang is more desolate and dry.

Now the descent and the shift in both micro-climate and culture becomes evident.

I couldn't decide which perspective I preferred the most so you get two.

The town is Muktinath, most stay here for at least one night and it was here that I had my first enjoyable shower in more days than I wish to say.

My somewhat obligatory pano which is the view you get when you arrive in the valley.

Annapurna IX

The day before the Throng La pass, at the high camp. On the way up there was a sign which denoted the that you were currently passing the height of Mont Blanc.

Annapurna VIII

This is a Yak herders town, essentially a collection rock buildings for Yak herders to stay in with the Yaks from what I can tell.

The Yaks.

The same Yaks.

Yak town in the background, Yak in the foreground, compositional magic if you ask me.

We met the sisters again, this time at their other store... the highest tea shop in the world... it's not actually, that would be the one at Throng La pass.

The view to the south.

I've been looking for the eagles for a long time, since the beginning of my trek. This is as close as I got.

This guy spends the trekking season hanging out here in his tent, his horse grazing the hill behind him. He sells drinks, snacks, hash and cocoon things which are dug from the ground. They are considered very valuable, how valuable you ask... well two people from a different village were beaten to death because they were digging for these things around the town of Manang.

Annapurna VII

This is the hike to the highest lake in the world. Or one of them, which I don't actually understand as couldn't that sort of thing just be determined. Either way it's pretty high, 4,949 meters which is over 16,000 ft for the metrically handicapped. For comparisons sake Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe is only 4,810 meters. I say 'only' as since I completed my 18 day hike, I am now a foremost expert in all things mountainy, that's the technical term for it.

So you hike to the Tilico basecamp and spend the night there, barely sleeping due in equal parts to the cold and high altitude. You then get up early and begin an agonizing climb up, I think it was 800 or so meters, might not seem that much but the CN Tower is 550 meters including the TV tower on top and the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa at 829m also including the antenna on top. So next time you go to Dubai, walk from the ground floor of the Burj to the top floor and you still wouldn't have climbed as much as we did that morning.

If you look closely there is a Spanish dude we met doing the climb with 20 kilos on his back as he and a friend were going to camp the night there. I thought to myself, that would be awesome, what they said later was that they spent 16 hours in their tent freezing. Still awesome in my opinion.

And here it is, Tilicho Lake.

The way down.

The part of the sign you can't see reads, LAND. And those are prayer flags tied to it.

Jacqueline, poised on the edge, literally. Sorry Bill and Anna but it's safer than it looks.

It's important to always stay uphill of a donkey.