Matthew and I set off from Thorung Phedi at 5:00 this morning. It was a clear and cold night and the ice crystals on the juniper shrubs twinkled in our headlamps. We could see other headlamps grinding there way up the steep slope above us. (Some people left at 3:00). It was a difficult climb, but we made steady progress for the first couple of ...
Another beautiful day’s walk has brought us to Thorung Phedi (“foot of the Thorung pass”) at 4540 metres. It has been a cloudless day with good views of Annapurna for most of the walk. We saw a couple more herds of the chamois like animals, one of them right above the trail.We have followed the guidelines regarding acclimatization with the fortunate result that Rick, Matthew ...
It was sunny and comparatively warm all day today. The skiff of snow that fell yesterday evening melted quickly in the morning sun. Matthew, Rick and I walked from Manang to the collection of lodges called Yak Karka (Yak Meadows) located at 4,020 metres. The walk was spectacular, with great views of two of the Annapurna peaks all day. We saw a herd of small ...
We are enjoying the two night acclimatization stay in Manang. To aid the process it is recommended that trekkers hike as high as possible on the acclimatization day. Matthew and I chose an ambitious outing: an 1100 metre climb to the “Ice Lake” above Manang. It was clear this morning, offering amazing views of two of the Annapurna peaks, among others. However, by the time ...
There are two routes from Upper Pisang to Manang: a 3 1/2 hour walk along the bottom of the valley and a more scenic and challenging 6 1/2 hour higher trail. We broke into two pairs, with Rick and Don opting for the lower trail and Matthew and I embracing the challenge of the higher one.Early in our walk we had a brutal set of ...
Ruth: I haven’t been able to text with Gordon too much lately, but occasionally these fabulous pictures come through. Behind every great man is a woman uploading pictures to his blog. They are in Manang for two nights before they head up over their highest pass on the circuit. Hopefully there will be an updated blog coming soon.
From our guesthouse in Upper Pisang we have an unobstructed view of Annapurna II, which is almost 8,000 metres high. It was stunningly beautiful in the glorious weather we enjoyed today.We have climbed 1,400 metres in the past two days to bring us to our current elevation of 3,300 metres. Only 2,100 metres more to the Thorung La.We have been walking mostly on the road ...
We had a beautiful and varied 5 hour trek today. The walk was entirely on a trail. This is our definite preference, but it does mean that the walking is more challenging. There were several steep climbs on well constructed stone stairways that had our legs burning. The walking times do not adequately reflect the effort expended on some legs, as the climbs take a ...
Today we started and ended on lengthy trail sections, with some road walking during the middle of the day. Everyone was feeling stronger so we increased our walking time to 4 1/2 hours. We finished the day at Chamje, which is located in a canyon above the roaring Marsyangdi River. The scale of the landscape is astounding: you practically fall over backwards if you try ...
Gordon: Today we walked a short three hour stage as we develop our “trail legs”. We passed a series of villages set in terraces of rice paddies and backed by impressively large and steep hillsides. It was a beautiful walk in ideal weather.It is the last day of Diwali and groups of women and children continue to exact tolls from passing travellers. They hold a ...