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I had a much better nights sleep and my heartrate is a lot more comfortable now. Hari wanted to give me a little 'test' before we set off for Thorong Phedi which is the final frontier before the pass. We climbed up probably 100m above Yak Kharka on a very steep trail. I went very slowly and was able to reach a decent height without any serious discomfort. Thorong Phedi is around a 450m climb and I was sure I could do that, the question was what sort of condition I would arrive in ready for the pass the next morning. We set off with our trekking buddy Peter who had arrived last night from a tough excursion to Tilichio Lake. I inched my way up the slope at the end of the yak grazing area and gradually got myself into a rythem albeit a very slow one. The landscape approaching Thorong Phedi is completely barren. The approach to Phedi is along a trail halfway up the mountain with a steep drop. It is also a landslide area and 4-5 recent landslides have not been cleared. It is a case of walking over loose rock and being very sure of your
Desolate landscape to Phedi
Me inching my way to Throng Phedifooting as it's a long way down. Toward the end of the trek my breathing was quite poor and I was moving at snail's pace. Darren kept tabs on me and I limped into Phedi around 2.30 so 4 hours from Yak Kharka, not too bad.
Thorung Phedi is a strange place, it is nestled on the mountain and with so few trekkers around it is a bit of a ghosttown, there are only 2 lodges, quotations for a horse up to the pass are both at USD100 and they won't haggle at all! The hike over the pass involves a climb of nearly 1000m followed by a steep descent of 1600m to the sacred town of Muktinath. The trek is 16km but the ascent and of course the altitude are the major obstacles. The pass is at 5416m or 17,769ft, that's higher than Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain. I am not so concerned about altitude sickness as we have been sensible and acclimatised with extra nights in Manang and Yak Kharka, indeed neither of us have suffered any of the symptoms of headaches, dizziness, loss of appetite etc. The concern is my racing heartrate and irregular breathing pattern
and how much worse it will get at the higher altitude. Providing I get a decent nights sleep I will likely start the trail walking, High Camp is 300m above Thorung Phedi where I could stay if necesary or hire a horse to take me to the pass in style. I really would prefer to do this under my own steam of course! The alarm is set for 4 am, breakfast 4.30 then we hit the trail at 5am along with the dozen or so other trekkers in town.
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