Advertisement
Published: November 21st 2009
Edit Blog Post
Time to start trekking
Outside of lodge in Bhulbule (Oct. 23 2009) Namaste from the Himalaya!
We have just returned from a fabulous 24 day trek and are currently recovering in Delhi with hot showers, beds and good food. No more rice, cous-cous, powder soups, chapatis, noodle soups or Dal Bhat for us 😊
NAR/PHU VALLEY:
As mentioned in our previous blog entry, oh sooo very long ago: our plan was to hit the Nar/Phu valley (near tibet border), attempt a summit of Chulu Far East (6049m) and end our trek in Jomsom via Tilicho Lake (largest glacier lake in the world at 5000m). We managed to do everything, but it took us a bit longer than expected. I guess we didn't factor in things like stomach viruses from hell 😊
On October 22nd 2009, Dean, Kaji (our awesome guide), Pinju "Pinzoom" Lama (our super porter) and I started our trek. We got on a public bus (which is always an interesting experience) and headed to a town along the Annapurna Circuit called Besishar. This was a 6-7 hour bus ride with one stop for lunch. By the time we reached our final stop, we had a full bus (no standing room or rooftop seats available).
From there we
Night sky in Kyang (Nar Phu valley)
View I got to enjoy every 20min as I got sick :) got on another bus to Bhulbule along the roughest road EVER!!! The next day we started our trek and for the next 4 days we hiked along the Annapurna Circuit which was somewhat busy, but not too bad. We were slowed down a few times by a couple of donkey trains, though. Once we reached the town of Koto (2600m), we entered the Nar/Phu Valley.
From there, we climbed through beautiful forests with amazing mountain views until we reached the town of Meta (3500m) where the landscape changed dramatically to barren rock and even more amazing mountain views. The further north we moved the more desolate it became. There were no trees, only occasional shrubs. At 3800m, I developed something extremely unpleasant called altitude sickness (headache, migrane, nausea and vomitting). Dean's delicious dinner ended up on the rocks near our tent (it took most of the night). But I had good views as the moon was very bright.
Phu is a most interesting town. Most people there speak a mixture of tibetan/sherpa/nepali. We camped in a family's backyard and thanks to Kaji were able to have somewhat of a conversation with the family. The kids were cute and
fascinated with us, expecially after we played "balloon" with them. This town has no power (most homes use solar power) and no running water. The hike to the river is 15 minutes. There are also no squat toilets, so you just find an abandonned house and use that. We spent 2 days in this village and then headed south again to the town of Nar. On the way, we got sick and both and Dean and I were forced to spend TWO WHOLE days in the tent, at times praying for death. This virus didn't give you a whole lot of warning, so it was always a race to the "fresh air" bathroom.
Nar was a friendlier town, especially to tourists. They are famous for their blanket weaving and they actually have an electrical power station, but unfortunately it only supplies 20% of the power needed so they still rely mainly on solar energy. From there we headed over the Kang-La Pass (5306m) to the town of Nawal (3500m). Dean recovered quickly from his illness whereas I took longer. A diet of plain rice and crackers makes it hard to do anything (for me!), let alone hike at high
Town of Phu
On the climb up to the Buddist Monastery elevation 😊 The descent into Nawal was knee wobbling and breathtaking at the same time. It was our first glimpse of the Annapurna Range 😊
PLUG: If you ever happen to be find yourself in Nawal (Manang district), make sure you stay at the Shanti Guest Lodge. The owners are amazing and the lady makes the most amazing soups and momos. Rooms are clean. Hot water is available (bucket and cup for showers). They even let you sit in the kitchen by the fire 😊
CHULU FAR EAST (6050m)
From Nawal, we headed past the town of Julu to Chulu Far East basecamp at 4700m. It was a tough climb! We decided that because high camp was only at 5380m that we would climb to the summit from basecamp to avoid sleeping at high elevations (-15/-20C). We only had -2C bags 😊
On November 7th 2009, we awoke at 1am and were ready to go by 2am. It was cold and got even colder as we climbed. By the time we got to high camp, I couldn't feel my feet but my hands were o.k thanks to my hot shots.
By 5am we had started our
Town of Phu
Wood piled high for the long winter ahead ascent (after a cup of Nepali coffee). We were lucky that our guide Kaji was great friends with the Austrian group's guide (Guelu) who allowed us to use the fixed ropes that he had set up the previous day on the steeper sections. When it wasn't so steep, we travelled using a 50m rope with Kaji in the lead. It was tough going and you move sooooo very slowly or risk having your heart jumping out of your chest. I don't think I have ever needed to wear my down jacket for that long (on top of my gortex + shell). IT WAS CCCOOOLLLLDDD!!!!!!!
We summitted at 9:40am and it felt amazing, like you were on top of the world. It took us about 7 hours from high camp and back down again. There we (well...I) devoured my lunch in rapid fashion and started back to basecamp. The whole trip took us 12.5 hours! Long day! And harder than any 36hr adventure race 😊
We got back to our tents and collapsed. The next day we headed for the town of Manang on the Annapurna circuit.
TILICHO LAKE:
In Manang, we enjoyed such comforts as dirty beds (but they
Our adopted child from Phu
Everyone meet Chetyn, a 4 year old girl from Phu were beds) and bakeries. So many German bakeries! Such tasty rolls and danishes...heavenly!
In Manang, we stocked up again for the last leg of our trip (yak cheese, crackers, soup, chapatis, noodles, peanut butter and boiled eggs). The next day was a long hike to Tilicho base camp at 4100m. The trail there involved a lot of up and down and crossed a huge landslide area.
The next day we hiked 800m up to Tilicho Lake. It has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. The Lake is a pristine azur blue surrounded by large white snowy peaks. At the lake we encountered gale force winds, making tent set-up tricky. In fact, we almost lost our tarp, and if Pinju hadn't made a dash for it, we would be one tarp short. By the evening the winds were even more intense and they rocked our tent back and forth all night, even ripping our fly. Cooking our breakfast in the vestibule was no longer possible.
By 8am the next day, we were ready to tackle the two passes. The wind was strong and the climb up to Eastern Pass was steep (thank God for
power gels) but once at 5306m, it was flat for a bit and down. Meso Khanto Pass was not as high (5130m), but very windy at the top. Unfortunately, the descent would prove the most challenging. We immediately thought to ourselves that perhaps selling our rope in Manang had not been the best idea. We now had a double black diamond descent down a skating rink. It took 3 hours to get down (at least we had ice axes) until we reached a nice trail. We camped at 4100m that night. Much warmer 😊
The next day we descended 1300m all the way to Jomsom. The rain started 30 minutes before we reached our lodge. Ahhhhh...beds, no hot showers, but beds and real food!!!!
The weather was feeling a little too Vancouverish, and it delayed our flight to Pokhara the next day. The flight was like a roller coaster ride because of the clouds, but we managed to catch a glimpse of Annapurna I.
Once there, we took a very long bus ride back to Kathmandu and civilization. We just couldn't stop eating...all we wanted were more treats.
Finally the blog is updated! Internet in Dehli and
Hiking south from Phu (view)
Look at the pretty flowers and mountains :) now in Amritsar is terrible. Computers are from the dark ages and have difficulties reading DVDs and CDs. Can you imagine?
Miss you all and hope you are all well! Is it snowing a lot yet?
Cath and Dean.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.242s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 7; qc: 49; dbt: 0.2039s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Shawn
non-member comment
Way to persevere
Awesome update! I know lots of us have been waiting to hear news and how that part of the trip went. Sounds like a tough go - but you have captured some great pics and secured some good memories! Lots of snow on the mtns - and even more rain in the city! ugh. Soak in any sun you can get!