Acclimatisation Day Around Manang

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Today I woke up to the most fantastic view I have ever had on my way to the bathroom! Gangapurna sat there huge, pristine and white and I couldn't help smiling to be this deep in the Himalayas, effectively sandwiched between Gangapurna (7454m) on the west side and Chulu East (6300m) on the east side, amazing! The sun was blazing down on us and there were clear blue skies! Magic! Only problem was it mine and Gansa's turn to get the shits! We both drank cold lemon drinks on arriving yesterday whilst Clarisa sensibly stuck with tea so this may be the culprit! Either way feeling glad we're not straight on to Thorong Phedi today! Without going into specifics I was fairly sure this was bacterial and opted for my course of ciprofloxacin earlier than I perhaps should have but within a few hours of taking it, my guts cleared up fine!
I know i've gone on a bit in my blog about Sonam not telling us the plan for the day ahead. He did mention last thing last night that we'd be heading up to 'a lake' today. On looking in the Lonely Planet guide we both jumped to the conclusion that this was Tilicho lake just south of the Mukinath Himal and started to wonder how we would get there and back in just a day! So, in a way, Sonam was right, we didn't want to know! Turned out he only meant the glacial lake at the foot of the Gangapurna Icefall, only a few minutes climb across a bridge from the village. This is spectacular and so worth doing, it's bright azure blue with a sort of milky quality making it look unreal! With the Gangapurna Icefall as a backdrop this is postcard stuff! Like any true sherpa, Sonam was not happy though until he'd seen us climb a fair old way so he then extended the trip to the Chongar View point (about half an hour uphill) and then a little bit further for good measure. At this point we could see a pattern emerging and both nominated to turn round in time to have lunch before going to catch the much-hyped 'Mountain Sickness for Trekkers' talk at the Himalayan Mountain Rescue Associations' aid post at one end of the village. We purposefully set of an hour or so early for this so that we could do some shopping on the way! The shops are better stocked here than elsewhere and while Clarisa picked up loo paper and wet wipes I treated myself to a new fleece neck warmer. My throat has been getting quite dry and scratchy these last few days and I started to think something over my mouth would be good. I got a 'North Fake' one with a toggle you can tighten and it is great so far! We gave a couple of suspect jewellery stalls a miss as they had various bits of fur and limbs of animals on them and found the aid post next to a very tempting looking bakery. As we were still early we bought a couple of items (the most delicious cinnamon whirl and danish pastry there ever was!) and settled down outside the aid post. After a few minutes one of the team showed up and we got chatting for a bit before the 'show'. Turns out the girl giving the talk today is an ST1 GP trainee from the UK having a bit of time out, co-incidence! Was a very good comprehensive talk covering symptoms of AMS, how to treat, when and when not to use diamox and ultimately a grisly talk of what can happen and the number of emergencies they see there. Brings it home how dangerous altitude can be and how it can strike anyone, anytime. Having said that it was reassuring to learn all the facts and learn that my sats are still 99% on air at 3500m, some peoples were 90-91%! Weird to think back home, i'd be seriously considering admitting someone with sats like that but here they're expecting a full days trek tomorrow to Thorong Phedi....
On the way back we ducked into the tourist office which had a few leaflets on the Annapurnas, but more interestingly the attendance figures in the area for the last 10-20 years. I suspect the accuracy is fairly good as all trekkers to Annapurna need a TIMS trekking pass to enter. You know what i'm going to say next....the numbers have grown exponentially in the last 5-10 years as trekking has really been taken to by a wider audience. I have to admit I'm wondering how good it is for the environment here, of course it will create jobs and bring in money but you do read about the plastic bottles and forests being levelled for wood for fires and hot showers. The Nepali government must tread carefully in order to protect and maintain this unique, precious area whilst cultivating it's obvious touristic potential. The development of the roads through the lower parts of the circuit is well underway which will provide an essential resource for local people but will also provide easier access for tourists who won't even need to walk to get there. As the song goes, I sincerely hope they don't pave paradise. Well, early night as we've reached our limit on cards, i've finished my book and we're off to Thorong Phedi in the morning, should be hardcore!

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