After leaving Poon Hill and Ghorepani I embarked on the next leg of my journey which
would take me east to the village of Chomrong, then north up into Annapurna
base camp. I would now be going up into the heart of the Annapurna range,
which I spent the last 17 days circumnavigating. The hike from Ghorepani
to Chomrong usually takes two days, but I was getting fit and feeling good so
I did it in one long day. |
Machhapuchhre AKA Fishtail Peak (6993m - 23,000 ft.) |
Passing throught the village of Tadapani on the way to Chomrong, I was walking through
the fog, then all of a sudden in front of me the clouds briefly parted and
I was able to get this photo of Fishtail Peak. Just seconds later I was
socked in by clouds again |
Heading up the glacial moraine to Annapurna Base Camp |
Since leaving Chomrong 2 days ago I had descended back into the leech infested rainforest
then began the long climb back up to 4200m (13,800 ft.) This shot
is at the head of the glacial moraine, now only about 1 hours walk to Annapurna
Base Camp. |
The "camp" at Annapurna base camp. Annapurna South 7219m - 23,700 ft.
in backround |
The are 4 very comfortable guest houses here and the location is mindblowing.
You are surrounded by gigantic peaks and throughout the day and night the silence
is punctuated by the crack and rumble of avalanches and icefall. The
following photos cant really convey what its like to be here. I have travelled
extensively in many mountain ranges and I have never seen peaks of this
scale or majesty. This place was the highlight of my trip and I will never
forget feeling of standing in the shadows of these giants. |
Annapurna I 8091m - 26,550 ft. |
spectacular fluted peaks |
The steep rock face of Fishtail Peak 6993m - 23,000 ft. |
Memorial to Anatoli Boukreev |
I spent a couple of days exploring the mountains around base camp, then headed downhill
for the 2 day walk to Pokhara where I spent another few days before catching
the bus to Kathmandu. By the time I returned to Kathmandu the place
was a buzz of tourists getting ready to trek or climb. I had walked for around
30 days on the Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Basecamp treks encountering
very few other tourists which was very fortunate because in the coming weeks
the trekking routes would be extremely crowded |
"Slow Drive - Long Life" on the road to Kathmandu |
The road from Pokhara to Kathmandu is narrow, steep, and crowded. Its notorious
for gruesome accidents with busses and TATA trucks going over steep cliffs.
The slogan on the bumper of this TATA truck nicely summed up my Nepal experience.
" Slow Drive, Long Life," words of wisdom for sure. If you
ever have to opportunity to do a trek in the Himalayas I can assure you it will
be the experience of a lifetime. Thanks for taking the time to read about my travels. Now I'm looking forward to next years adventure. I have two choices. One is to go to Delhi India, buy a 500cc Royal Enfield and ride it over the highest road in the world at 19,000 ft to the town of Leh, then down to Goa on the coast, then back to Delhi. My second option is to trek the famous Karakoram Highway and Baltoro glacier in Pakistan. I wish I could do them both.................... |