Day 8 - Annapurna Circuit - Tilicho Lake (5000m)

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The next morning we got up in the dark and set off on the trail at first light (about 4:45am) whilst the clouds and morning fog were still hanging in the valley around base camp. The climb was really steep and the first few hundred meters made us all quickly realise that we would have to take this path much slower than before. The altitude was really showing in all of our breathing so we all tried to find a rhythm where we could walk, climb and still breathe! Within an hour we had moved high above base camp and through the morning cloud and all around us were ginormous mountains caked in snow. The clouds were acting as a carpet below and we felt like we had walked through the roof of the planet. As we walked the sun began rising and lighting up all the mountain peaks and the snow and glaciers were glistening as we walked. Towards the top of the track the path got even steeper and zig zagged up and up towards the snow. After 2 and a half hours we were taking our first steps onto the glacier which was still frozen solid from the cold night. We all walked in amazement making fresh tracks over the ice towards the lake. Jaap, Stefano and Tommy hung back to take pictures and we walked on towards the lake on our own. Finally after another 30 minutes of walking through the glacier we arrived at Tilicho lake, the highest, largest lake in the world - 4.8km square! It was absolutely one of the most amazing sights and most breathtaking (for many reasons) places we had ever seen. The lake was totally frozen when we were there and everywhere you looked there were giant mountains behind giant mountains behind giant mountains. We were the only 2 people for as far as the eyes could see and we both sat and stared in total silence trying to take in the incredible landscape before us. After a while the others began to appear and one by one jaws dropped at the incredible sight we had arrived at. After delirious group hugs and munching on half frozen snickers we all laid down in the snow to appreciate the views before we had to go back down to a safer altitude. Several other small groups began to appear as we laid there and a few people in our group were starting to feel headaches coming on so we began our descent back down the mountain. Luckily neither of us had any symptoms and so descended the mountain and went straight to the restaurant to refuel. It was only late morning but after the hard climb and knee busting descent none of us were in the mood for trekking back along the landslide path so we relaxed and recharged for the rest of the day.

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