Talkeetna, Alaska
Approaching the Kahiltna Base Camp
At the Kahiltne BC landing strip
Mt, Hunter inthe background
Mt Hunter 14,573 ft
Mt. Hunter 14,573 ft
Denali 20,320 ft Cassin Ridge
Denali 20,320 ft
Mt. Hunter 14,573 ft
Mt, Hunter north pillar
Mt. Foraker 17,400 ft
Mt. Hunter 14,573 ft
North Face of Mt. Foraker 17,400 ft
from R to L: Mt. Foraker 17,400 ft and Denali 20,320 ft
The Big Bend
Lake Powell near Page, Arizona
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Grand Canyon North Rim
The Great Canyon North Rim
The Great Canyon North Rim
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Totem pole in The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
The Monument Valley in the Navajo Tribal Lands
Arches National Park
Arches National Park
Arches National Park
Arches National Park
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
The Fingers from the road to the Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah. The view over Canyon lands National Park.
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Dead Horse Canyon near Moab, Utah
Arches National Park
The Grand Canyon North Rim
Hopi Katchina Doll artist
Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona
Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona
Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona
Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona
Petrified Forrest National Park in Arizona
Petrified Forrest National Park in Arizona
Petrified Forrest National Park in Arizona
Petrified tree in the Petrified Forrest National Park
Cross section of a petrified tree
A fossil of a Jurassic ocean reptile in the visitor center of the Petrified Forest National Park
This trip was different. It was different because I was going alone for the first time. I would be on the trail for three weeks without my usual travel companions and I have never done it before. I was curious how it would work out and whether I would like it or not. After returning from the Rowaling trip last year, David and Tony lost their appetite for more Himalayan adventures. I did not, in fact I wanted much more of the same.
I chose the Manaslu and Annapurna regions as they are relatively easy to travel in and developed. I thought that it would be a perfect trek to try on my own. I would not have to use any technical equipment and could rely on local teahouses for lodging and food. Many trekkers do not even hire local guides for the Annapurna section and they do it on the cheap. A local guide is required for the Manaslu and Naar/Phu though. I thought that Manaslu and Annapurna trekking would be more about people and cultures and less about the high Himalaya. Traveling alone would enhance this experience. The Rowaling Valley that we traveled in during the previous year, is remote and devoid of any sizable human settlements. Manaslu and Annapurna regions are quite the opposite. The Annapurna region especially, is the first region of Nepal in which trekking developed into an industry it is today.
What is the difference between trekking alone or with a Nepali guide and porter? Hiring a Nepalese guide and porters gives back to the local economy and brings one closer to the local people. Kumar, my guide, can converse with the locals, ask questions and purchase food from their gardens. We also get invited to their kitchens, homes and are offered lodging or camping near their homes. It makes the trekking experience more complete and less isolating from the Nepali culture. Through the conversations with the locals, I can learn about their life, how they think and perceive the world, what they believe in and dream about. I believe that there is more to trekking in Nepal than high mountains. Interacting with local cultures and people on human level is an integral part of the experience for me.
On the other hand, when one travels alone, the interaction with the locals is limited to the commercial exchanges in teahouses or lodges. There is little opportunity for deeper interactions mainly due to the language barrier. The trekkers usually end up hanging out with other trekkers they meet along the trail.
In Doha, Qatar I had my birthday and celebrated it by pigging out on shawarmas at some non descript strip mall. I arrived in Kathmandu from Doha on a cramped flight that went by quite fast. The airport in Kathmandu was the same place where nothing had changed in the past 17 years. It is really falling apart and it is now quite noticeable. The arriving hall had plenty of broken doors and was in an overall state of neglect. It all works though and they process hundreds of thousands of tourists quite efficiently. It felt like a dejavu since I was here just one year before.
Kumar met me at the airport with a customary garland of marigolds. The drive from the airport to Thamel (the tourist district of Kathmandu) seemed like I was just there. Kathmandu was rather tiring by now and it all seemed almost too familiar. I started to notice the dirt, the traffic and the pollution much more than last year. The stores were selling the same souvenirs and fake outdoor gear that I saw the year before and frankly, every time I came to Nepal. It seemed instantly tiring to be in this city built for 500,000 and inhabited by 5 million. Kathmandu was not the reason that I came back here though…
I went to see Rajendra, my trek organizer, in his closet-sized office and paid him for the trek. Rajendra is a very nice man of the same age as me. He is extremely fair in his business dealings. He is a gentleman, never gets angry, always smiles and is very genuine. I really like dealing with him and he is my go-to guy in Nepal. He is a city guy and does not particularly like trekking in the high mountains. His staff is also very genuine and kind. If needed, Rajendra hires a Sherpa climbing guide to support his regular guides. They are all extremely nice and likeable. I have become friends with many of them all over the past decade.
My plan was to do the Manaslu circuit, continue onto the Annapurna circuit and visit the remote Naar and Phu villages. Alternatively, we would skip the Near/Phu and go to Jomsom via the Mesocanto Pass. Manaslu is one of the 8,000m mountains in Nepal as is Annapurna. Both mountains form two distinct massifs that are separated by a deep valley. I had three weeks plus on the trail to make it all happen. I was gone for a month but travel to and from the trailhead ate the remaining days. The Manaslu and Annapurna trails are connected and form one long journey that covers the distance of almost 300km. This long trail is also part of the Great Himalaya Trail.
In order to obtain the permits for this trek, hikers need to travel in a “group”, which is defined as two or more persons. Since I was alone, I needed another person to form a “group”. In order to get the necessary permits, Rajendra paired me with some random German guy who happened to walk into his office and purchased the Manaslu trek as well. It is customary in Nepal to pair random people on a permit just to get the bureaucracy out of the way.
Rajendra, quite enthusiastically informed the German that he also had a permit for Naar and Phu villages for no extra charge since he was on my permit. The German was reluctant to go there and was skeptical about his ability to see it through since he had no tent or any other gear. Rajendra reassured him that he could just sleep in caves and scavenge for food from the locals or the forest and that there would be no problems with this plan. The German was quite scared of this option and visibly shaken (it was funny to watch). The more Rajendra reassured the German, the more reluctant he became suspecting some sort of a scam or attempt to rob or murder him by Kumar and I. The guy obviously did not appreciate that in Nepal, improvising and letting events just happen without prior planning is a part of the local psyche. Winging it is often the Nepali way.
The lack of a detailed plan, inexperience and sometimes complete ignorance of the route and its dangers is very common and widely accepted form of doing business. Independent guides are often farmers on a break from plowing their fields who travel with westerners for a quick buck. Before the trip they are full of confidence and reassure their clients of their vast experience and knowledge. Once in the field, their incompetence and ignorance sometimes has disastrous results (I witnessed it first hand during the Kangchendzonga trek in 2013). It is very important to know the people that one deals with in Nepal and to find a reputable and legitimate agency. I trust Rajendra enough to know exactly what to expect from him, his guides and the crew. Having said that, I also feel that safe trekking requires everyone to be prepared and have some level of training and experience to be self-reliant.
Personally, I like the improvised and unstructured nature of traveling in Nepal. This form of travel allows me to change my plans and to improvise. It also gives me the freedom to stray from the itinerary, which is the opposite to the restrictive nature of group travel. Traveling alone takes this freedom to the limit for me.
The German fellow gave up an opportunity to join us for the drive to Arugat Bazar (the starting point of our trek) the following day by a 4x4 as he was obviously suspicious and scared of us at this point. He opted for an 11 hours bus ride that must have been just horrible. Eventually, I never saw the fellow again and I am not sure if he even went.
We left Kathmandu early in the morning leaving the traffic and smog behind. The road to Arugat Bazar and the Manaslu region follows the main “highway” in Nepal between Kathmandu and Pokhara. The highway is choked with trucks belching unreal clouds of fumes and pollution. They also overuse their incredibly loud and elaborate-sounding horns. The caravan of brightly colored and decorated trucks snakes its way out of the Kathmandu Valley at 10 km per hour and then slowly descends to another valley along which the highway leads to Pokhara for 180 km. Usually, it takes 10 hours by a local bus to complete this journey (five hours by jeep) due to endless construction and traffic. Fortunately, we turned off the highway quickly and left the traffic behind after about two hours. Our destination was Arguat Bazar, the district capital and the starting point of the Manaslu trek.
The road to Arugat Bazar hardly qualifies as a road. The track is made up of a maze of deep ruts in the red earth. The track dissolves into liquid mud during the rainy season, often impassable, and solidifies in the fall. There were a lot of cars, buses and lorries stuck in the deep mud along the way.
We drove the 40 km distance from the mail highway in 3.5 hours and arrived in Arugat Bazar by 12.30 pm. Arugat Bazar is hot, it is made from concrete and has little charm. We unloaded the jeep and left immediately for our first destination, Soti Kola, that was apparently 3,5 hours of walking away. As soon as we hit the trail, there was a check post and we needed to produce the required permits. I am not sure how Kumar handled the missing German but we went on without any problems.
We walked on a flat trail and it was rather uneventful. We passed small villages with many children asking for balloons, pens or sweets. Obviously this was not a virgin trekking route. I could not wait to leave the lowlands and go to higher elevations. The villages and towns that are accessible by a road have a different feel from the villages that are more remote. The road access makes them more commercial, busy and ultimately soulless. The high mountains seem much cleaner and sane.
There was no road up the valley to the villages above. All supplies have to be brought by people or mules. The mules carry all sorts of supplies up and down the valley. The mules, along with yaks, are also used for trade with China as Manaslu region is basically on the border with Tibet. I would witness this trade higher up the valley. The shops in villages are well stocked with the cargo brought up by the mules from below or from China. A lot of things, especially materials for house construction (lumber, pipes, cables, etc.), are carried up by porters. A porter’s time is worth much less than the mule time. It is very sad to realize that human potential is wasted to such an extent on such menial tasks. I have seen this before in Pakistan and other parts of the world.
Today we run into a large French group (22 persons) also going around Manaslu. Since my crew was blissfully unaware of the route ahead, their guide gave us good tips for rearranging our itinerary to save time. We would combine some sections lower down to maximize the time higher up. We have followed his plan and it worked our quite well.
We are walking along the valley passing many villages and settlements. Each village has many, many small children. Sometimes all we saw were children looking after children with no adults in sight. On the 27th of October we walked for 7.5 hours. In one of the villages, we bought a chicken after much difficulty of convincing the local lady to sell us one. As we are moving further up the valley of Buri Gandaki, the villages that we are passing through are more traditional in their adherence to the Buddhist traditions and beliefs. Anyone we approached to purchase a chicken knew that we wanted to buy it for food. Since we would kill it, they did not want to sell it to us as they did not want to participate or cause death and suffering of a sentient being. Killing a chicken would result in a negative karma to them and to their village. We finally found a local lady who agreed to sell us one. After much convincing we promised her that we would kill it in another village further up the valley. It was another matter to catch it. She run around the yard for a long time chasing the clever and fast chickens before she eventually got one. Kumar convinced her that killing the chicken in another village would cause the negative karma to beset that village and not her own. Everyone seemed happy with this compromise.
I felt sorry for the chicken but could not stop Kamsing from killing it. I learned that chickens know their way home. They always make it back to the coop for the night. We carried the tied chicken for couple of hours as promised, before we killed it and cooked it. The chicken was stressed out and this affected the quality of the meat that ended up chewy and not good. At the end, it was not worth killing it just like the law of the valley intended.
So far, we walked faster than planned and combined a few days from our itinerary in order to spend the saved time higher up. Nepal’s low valleys seem all the same: hot and humid. Walking in canyon-like deep river gorges, such as this one of Buri Gandaki, can be tedious as there are no views, there is little sun, and walking becomes a slog.
This valley has been very nice though with many spectacular views of waterfalls some of which were quite impressive. Just because we can not see the high mountains, does not mean that they do not tower high above the valley. The numerous waterfalls revealed their existence. In Tatopani there was even a hot spring that allowed for a hair wash after a long hot day. The teahouse in Tatopani was quite something – the celling was so low that I could not stand up. The toilet was also very low, like a cave. I had to squat to enter and remain in that position for the duration of the “visit”.
Sama Gaon (or Simigon) is a grim little village that seems to exist in another century. Sadly, the people living here are accustomed to conditions not far off from the animals that they keep in their homes. This is very common in remote settlements along the entire Himalayan chain. There is a general feeling of filth and squalor. Although we are passing many elaborate mani walls and beautifully decorated chortens, it is difficult for me to see much artistic culture in this stone-age lifestyle. How can the people that fight for survival devote time and energy to creating art? The only signs of artistic culture are the mani walls and chortens that were built many years ago and are covered by the patina of time. I wandered who built and carved the beautiful stones? Most likely, they were built by the monks and not the villagers.
On the way to Simigon we stopped in a small monastery that, in sharp contrast to the surrounding villages, did not lack too much in terms of comforts. I suppose that the monetary receives support form outside the valley.
Kamsing, the porter and cook and a great man, specializes in making great momos. Momos are steamed or fried dumplings filled with truly organic vegetables from the villages that we pass along the trail. Kamsing tried to teach me how to make them as the process looked easy. When I tried, it was quite hard!
Last night we camped in a yard of a house belonging to a local family. In the evening, we were invited to sit by the fire in the kitchen. The lady who owns the house was very nice, welcoming and gracious. She had a great smile and happiness in her eyes. I am constantly amazed how little the people here have and how little one needs to exist. Each family usually has a shoddy house and some land to grow their food. All their meagre belongings have a purpose and are used by them each day. They share it all with total strangers like me, who happen to walk by their house. In their homes, there is no room or need for cuties or décor or excess things. By contrast, back home I am surrounded by superfluous material possessions majority of which are not really needed or required for anything. The big difference between our lifestyles that I notices right away is that they can grow their own food which makes them self-sufficient. They eat simple and organic diet. They have the skills to attend to the animals and to take care of their land. This connects them to nature. We have lost this connection and live in isolation from the natural order of things. Of course this is a romanticized and superficial perception but I noticed it right away.
I do not think that I would last here very long. They would have no use for me, as I do not know the skills that are required to live here – not even how to kill a chicken. It is interesting how we all become an extension of our environment and, sometimes, we become imprisoned by it.
During the evening conversation by the kitchen fire, she told us that her sister died recently during child birth. She was not sad or bitter but very accepting and factual about the entire experience. She smiled and seemed at peace with the events that she was describing to us. The people here have an attitude of acceptance and let the fate (karma) decide the events of the day. They do believe in karma and based on this belief, accept whatever comes their way with little protestation. In the villages, there is no access to medical care and the road is a few days of walking away. Sudden medical emergencies, like a complicated delivery of a child, usually end one way. We, on the other hand, attempt to control all aspects of our existence end usually end up disappointed and unhappy when things do not go our way. Surrender and acceptance are rare qualities in the West.
Today was a spectacular day. We had our first view of Manaslu and the entire range ahead of us at the end of the valley. It was very impressive. This 8,000m peak towers above the valley glowing white in the sun. The massive glaciers and iceflows descend all the way to the green fields below.
On the way, we stopped at a large monastery. It is the main Buddhist monastery in the entire region. It is perched on a hill overlooking the fields below. While we were there, the monks and the locals were celebrating the puja ceremony. There were a lot of monks and village folk. Everyone was praying, spinning prayer wheels and singing. It is interesting that mostly old people participate in the prayers. We were told that the young are busy grinding it out in Kathmandu or in the Gulf. This is the curse of poverty in these remote regions. The young leave and the families are broken apart. After the prayers we mingled with the locals, took photos and exchanged addresses. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly. There were no other tourists there.
The trail to Manaslu is like a roller coaster: it undulates up and down with very few flat sections. Each undulation does not seem like a lot but after all the ups and downs, it really adds up. Up 60m down 30m, up 60m again and on and on like a roller coaster it goes.
On this trek we meet only French trekkers so far. Most French do not know or do not want to speak English. According to Kumar, the French are proud of their culture and refuse to speak English even of they know it. Kumar has identified and labeled each nationality. His opinions are based on his experience of working with various people over the years. He attached specific characteristics to each nationality that most define them. Some of his opinions and observations overlap with our perceptions and some are just very funny and interesting! It is interesting how little details can separate one group of people from the other and make them distinct yet underneath we are all the same.
I have not met any single English speaking trekker yet and did not have an opportunity to chat or talk with anyone except my crew. There are a lot of French but they refuse to speak English and stick to themselves. So I usually hang out with my porters and Kumar in the kitchen. We drink tea, talk and laugh. This gives me an opportunity to observe the interaction between the Nepalese and allows me to get to know them a little better. I like them a lot as they are jovial and lively people. They treat each other with friendliness and openness. On the trail, they seem to have instant camaraderie and connection as if they had known each other for years. In contrast to that, the foreigners (like the French I met so far) seem guarded and reserved. The Nepalese I met take life as it comes without much planning for the future or rehashing the past. We on the other hand, seem to live mostly in the past or in the future, seldom in the present moment. They accept their fate while we resit it. They accept their surroundings as they are, while we try to change them and modify them to suit our needs often against the natural laws. I know that this is not the universal truth, but on this trekking trail it was my observation.
In each teahouse and every house, the kitchen is the focal point of the social activity. In the teahouse that we are in now, the kitchen is a transit point for the porters and travellers that pass through this valley. The visitors come by, sit and chat for a while. They have a cup of tea, exchange information about the trail, the weather or other important things in life and then go on their way. It seems like not much has changed in 200 years. When I imagine how traveling used to be in Poland (where I come from) 400 or 500 years ago, I think of this experience.
We are now right under the Manaslu Mountain. Tomorrow we will try to go to the Manaslu basecamp. Apparently, is it a 4-hour hike each way. I am starting to feel the pain in my thighs and butt from long days of walking. We have been walking non-stop since Monday (it is Saturday now). We usually walk for 7 hours each day with good speed. I hope that I can make it over all these passes and the distance – it seems like a lot. If I do, I will have a good sense of accomplishment.
We started the day in brilliant weather: blue sky and not a cloud. The morning light on Manaslu was brilliant, the sun was illuminating the entire mountain in front of us with deep blue sky as a backdrop.
To get to the basecamp, we walked up an old moraine that is now overgrown with drab and leafless bushes that brushed against us as we laboured up. The basecamp is at an altitude of 4,800m so we ascended 1,350m from the village. The final approach to the basecamp ("BC") is along the crest of an old moraine next to the jagged glacier that flows down from Manaslu. Soon after we got to the BC, the clouds started to fill up the valley below from the direction of where we came from. To the east, we could see all the way to the Ganesh Himal and all the high peaks in the Manaslu Range. A large green lake glittered in the valley below. It was a fantastic view. The glaciers and ice surrounding us on all sides were very spectacular.
The wind picked up and we stayed as long as we could before the clouds moved in to obscure the view completely. The BC is on the moraine in front of the Manaslu northeasterly face marked by chortens and prayer flags. There were no tents in the BC as the main climbing season is in the spring. After taking many photos, we descended in the clouds and the rest of the day was overcast.
The day was overcast with low clouds obscuring any views of Manaslu or the surrounding mountains. On the way to Samdo, we run into a teacher who was also a monk with a group of rowdy kids that were more than willing to pose for photos and joke around.
In Samdo we stopped for lunch in the only teashop. The food was prepared on the floor while everyone was walking around it. The owner did not, of course, wash her hands (I am yet to see any of the cooks to wash their hands). The overall process of food preparation was very slow. They chat, take breaks, look after the kids and do whatever needs to be done at that moment. I waited for two hours for a simple meal and watching her do it was almost painful. No one was in any rush and frankly, neither were we.
Sometimes I think that the locals look at us, the white folk, with a mixture of curiosity, pity, contempt and envy. They pity our rushed, anxious and scheduled ways of doing things, they do not quite get us so they are curious about us. Since we do not follow the teaching of Buddha they look down on us with sorrow (we seem to be confused about the true nature of things). They are envious of our stuff and money and maybe of our clean hands. They do not understand our preoccupation with planning and worrying about the future that we do not know or can even influence as many things are outside our control. They pity our ignorance about the Karma and our inability to accept the impermanence of things. They also seem very set in their ways and changing those ways may be very difficult or impossible for them. Our interaction with each other is limited to the exchange of rupees for food or service. It is really a shame because we could both learn from one another.
We as the visitors do not have much chance to make any genuine contact. We meet in the commercial realm, they have something to sell and wee need things to buy. This is where our cultural interaction starts and ends, all superficial niceness aside. The Nepalese are somewhat reserved and do not express their opinions freely. When one of the locals gets drunk on rakshi, then perhaps some truth comes out. Today, a porter got drunk on rakshi and started to make some statements that made my guys very uncomfortable. Kumar did not want to share the drunk’s insights but I sensed that they were rather derogatory towards the tourists. On this trip, I have a lot of time to observe and contemplate these things.
Samdo is the last village in Nepal before the border with Tibet. Caravans of mules, loaded up with Nepalese crafts, semi precious stones and other goods make their way to the bazar on the other side of the border. The money obtained from selling all the imported stuff to the Chinese is then used to buy the Chinese goods that are resold in Nepal. There are no border controls by the Nepalese and the Chinese turn the blind eye to this cross border commerce. It seems that the trade is quite active and good for the locals. It obviously dates back hundreds of years.
Our next objective was the Larkya La (Pass). This pass connects the Manaslu and Annapurna regions. After we left Samdo after lunch, we continued our approach to the Larkya La basecamp. The views cleared up in the afternoon and we could see the northern aspect of the Manaslu range. It was very spectacular. Across the valley from where we were, a row of high mountains towered over a small glacier. The higher peaks of the Manaslu proper filled the background. We arrived at the collection of stone huts that were the Larkya La Pass basecamp at the altitude 4,460m in late afternoon.
The weather deteriorated in the evening. It snowed heavily all night and it did not look like we would be able to cross the pass the following day. I thought that maybe I had some curse for these passes. In 2007, we had horrible snow storm on the pass to Mt Kailash, last year, we had really bad weather on the Teshi Labtsa Pass (right on the pass crossing day) and this year it is the same story again.
Today we crossed the Larkya La Pass at 5,135m. All night, before the crossing, the snow was falling heavily. It was a total whiteout. There was another French group in the basecamp with us, and they left at 4 or 5 am. If the weather remained bad, we would have waited at the basecamp. We eventually left at 7am after the weather cleared up a little offering us hope that the storm would pass.
I had a bad night sleep at the basecamp at 4,400m. The room in the stone shelter was a windowless cell with wooden beds. Considering the remoteness of the location and elevation, it is still a palace compared to sleeping in a tent. It was cold and drafty but it beats camping in the snowstorm. The building is made from loose stones that were just piled up on top of one another without any insulation between them. Consequently, the wind just blows right through (I think that a tent offers better wind protection but the flapping makes sleeping difficult anyway).
I woke up at 10pm and could not sleep until 3 am tossing and turning in the sleeping bag. At first light, I had a quick breakfast consisting of a greasy omelet. As we were eating breakfast, the snow was still falling and we were not quite sure whether we should go or not. It was overcast and the aura did not look promising. At dawn, it cleared up slightly so we decided to leave. As we progressed up, the visibility improved and we could see great snowy peaks through the swirling clouds. The entire pass was snow covered and it made it look and feel very high and alpine. We could see fresh snow avalanches coming down from the Larkya Peak that towers above the pass. The views to the east were ok but the west was in a total whiteout. As soon as we reached the pass the cold wind started to blow and we could see absolutely nothing to the west of us.
After a quick group photo we descended quickly, passing the French group along the way. The descent was very slippery down a frozen moraine, frozen mud and rocks. I had to concentrate fully to maintain balance on the iced rocks. I managed to bend one of my walking sticks to halt falling after I slipped on the frozen mud. The walk to the campsite of Bimitang was very long and gloomy. We walked in the fog whiteout without any views. Once, the Phungi Peak managed to show its very steep face somewhere high between the angry clouds. It was a pity, as I knew that all around us in the fog there were spectacular peaks. At this elevation, the views would have been fantastic. We arrived at the camp around 2 pm.
Looking west from Larkya Pass
After crossing the pass I felt like quitting and going back to Kathmandu. I was disappointed about the weather. This was a natural exit point as the Manaslu trail connects to the Annapurna trail near here. The weather was not good and it had not been good for the duration of this trek so far. It is interesting how the weather influences how I feel. I think that my sour mood was caused by a combination of the weather and the lack of companion to whom I could complain to about the weather.
The following day started clear and brilliant. Once the sun came out I regained my enthusiasm. I decided to stay put in Bimtang for a day and explore the area and to take advantage of the sun.
Bimitang consists of two stone shelters and a few others under construction. The room is very drafty with stones slapped together with large gaps between them. This makes for a chilly night. The outhouse is literally full of shit and overflowing. Consequently, the hill of the moraine behind the settlement serves as the communal toilet. In addition to the normal toilet business, the hill is full of broken glass from beer and alcohol bottles. The porters must hold parties here to celebrate crossing the pass and consume large quantities of local spirits. The locals knew how to build a hotel and a restaurant but forgot about a proper toilet.
The kitchen in the teahouse is again the center of activity here. Since I am alone, I hang out with the porters and guides in the kitchen. It is a smoky and dark place. Everyone is squatting by the wood stove. The place is very smoky because the chimney from the stove ends inside the room and does not vent to the outside. The source of the fire is from local wood, which is quite scarce. The fire stove is also used for cooking. There are a lot of folk coming and going all day jabbering in Nepali. They usually have a glass of rakshi (local alcoholic drink) and a smoke as they squat by the fire to warm up their cold hands. There are very few other trekkers though.
It is unfortunate that I do not understand anything, as it would be interesting to listen to stories about their experiences on the trails and life general. Kumar (Bimbadur) told me that his house in the village where he is from is like this kitchen, the center of activity. Since there is no radio, books, newspapers or television in the village, people congregate to talk and entertain each other with stories.
In the teahouse, they cook in almost total darkness. It is difficult to believe that they can make anything without seeing. The selection of food here is rather simple mainly consisting of rice, some local greens and tea. The Nepalese eat dhal bat everyday, all the time. They do not add any variety to their diet. The variety is expensive and they do not have this luxury.
Today, November 2, we went for an exploratory hike to the head of the glacier to hopefully salvage some views that we missed the day before while crossing the pass. When I got up in the morning to see the weather, it was still overcast and gloomy at 6am. When the sun came out, the clouds parted and the magnificent panorama of huge white and wild mountains and glaciers revealed itself to us. I decided to stay here for the day and take advantage of being here.
First we had to cross the glacier to the other side. The moraine close to our teahouse was filled with garbage and glass. The glacier was covered with loose boulders that made walking across tricky. The other side of the glacier had a steep moraine blocking the exit. The moraine had large boulders and rocks hanging by a thread ready to fall at any instant. I do not like walking or climbing the moraines for the fear of dislodging the rocks. We climbed up the moraine to the ablation valley on the other side. There was a trail there and we followed it up the valley. At what seemed like the end of the trail, we climbed back to the top of the moraine. The altitude was 4,100m and the climbing was surprisingly tiring. My pack seemed quite heavy although I only had my camera and water. The view from this point was great, we could see across the glacier to the pass we crossed the day before. At the head of the glacier, a wall of large peaks dominated the view. One mountain in particular was very striking, a pointy triangular tooth that looked like a small version of the famous Cerro Tore in Argentina. It must be more than 6,000m high perhaps even 7,000m. Behind us, a magnificent and huge west face of Manaslu dropped steeply to the valley below in a 4,500m sweep of spectacular icefalls. The peak next to it, Phungi is also very steep and spectacular. Kumar thought that it was Annapurna 2 when he saw it through the clouds while descending from the Larkya Pass.
Soon though, the clouds started to move up the glacier towards us. Since it was still early in the day, the sun was directly behind Manaslu making photography of the west face difficult. The clouds moved quickly, and around 10 or 11 am obscured the view. Since it is the west facing face, the good light for photos is in the afternoon. What a spectacular face though. It is hard to see how a photograph can do justice to such a magnificent view. Standing under the west face of Manaslu makes an impression on the observer and exemplifies why the Himalaya are so spectacular. I think that Manaslu is especially spectacular as it is so isolated from the other high peaks as compared to the high mountains of the Khumbu. The entire Manaslu range stands on its own. The Manaslu Himal is separated from the Ganesh Himal by the gorge of Buri Gandaki that we just walked up. On the west side there is another gorge where we will drop into tomorrow to link up with the Annapurna Circuit trail.
Manaslu is so high and large that it most likely generates its own weather. We had very sketchy weather on the Manaslu trek. We had overcast days with heavy cloud cover. We also had a lot of rain and snow. We are now sitting in Bimitang on the west side of Manaslu at the altitude of 3,750m engulfed in fog. It is damp with no visibility. It is also snowing lightly again. All in all we had maybe 4/5 hours of sunny weather today.
We have made a decision to skip the Nar and Phu and Kang La section of the trail and instead go to Jomsom via Tilicho Lake and Mesocanto Pass. The regular route of the Annapurna Circuit is via the Thorong La Pass, which is 5,400m high and, on average, 300 people a day go over it. Mesocanto La and Tilicho Lake on the other hand, have fewer visitors and the route to the pass travels along the Great Barrier (a continuous wall of high glaciated mountains forming a northern boundary of the Annapurna Range) offering great views. The pass is considered more difficult and steep and this is the reason why it is not used frequently by trekkers. It is also remote and often blocked by snow and ice. Due to its steepness, snow presents an avalanche danger and ice can make it impassable. The route to the pass also requires 3 nights of camping at 5,000m+ altitude. Most trekkers doing the Annapurna Circuit are not equipped with camping and climbing gear to traverse the Mesocanto Pass. The area is therefore not touristy, in sharp contrast to the rest of the Annapurna Circuit.
I hope that we will be able to do it. I do feel the last 10 days of non-stop walking in my bones and I hope that I have enough energy to complete this trek. Kumar estimated that we walked 150/160 km from Arugat so far. We actually walked 223.22 km from Arugat to Darapani in 11 days.
Today I had some rakshi with my crew to beat the weather blues. Rakshi is a mild wine made from barley and similar to sake in taste. I also had some good fresh radish. The radish is white long root vegetable that can be eaten raw, fried or pickled (with chili powder). The pickled radish is good with rakshi. I was much happier after the rakshi!
It would be very interesting to cross the Himalayas between Nepal and Tibet with the caravan from Samdo. The caravan travels to the market in Tibet in two days and brings back alcohol, beer, cleaning products and cheep Chinese clothing. In Tibet, they sell trinkets from Kathmandu, turquoise from Taiwan and silver. The caravan uses horses and yaks to carry the goods. The horses have a tough life here. They are left in the cold and snow, have scars and open sores from the bags they carry. Some of the wounds look fresh and open. There are no medicines for the animals or vets to attend to them. The horses also do not seem to be well fed as I witnessed them eating garbage (including plastic bags). But considering the living conditions of the people, who has the time to think about the animals?
Today we arrived in Darapani, which represents the end of the Manaslu section of the trip. It was a long, long walk from Bimitang to Darapani covering the distance of 25 km. It seemed like the longest day of the trip so far. We walked in the fog, which I find depressing, as there are no views. We are on the Annapurna section now. The village is more developed and there are more tourists. We will go to Chame tomorrow, which is supposed to be an easy day.
I took a bucket shower (first one in 11 days). In the teahouse, the room was infested with large spiders that Kamsing killed quite efficiently at my desperate request. I wander if it will rain now for the next 5 days.
Yesterday we walked from Darapani to Chame on the Annapurna Trail. Hordes of people – looked like over 350 in places. It was quite a shock after the serenity of the Manaslu trail. There were lines of people on the trail especially when going uphill. At one point there was person to person line on the trail. It was all very unpleasant. The people in the line were all white folk: English, French, German, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. The whole of Europe was here. A long line of European trekkers must look like a giant centipede with 100 trekking poles that look like legs moving in unison.
The walk was easy and relatively short. Kumar purchased a chicken that was then made into a stew. This time the purchase was without any drama. We had a 3-hour lunch break. After lunch the walk was again in the fog, no views. We heard on the radio that in Lukla, 2,000 people are stranded at the small airport again, the same happened last year. Hotels have no food, the banks have no cash. There must be scenes of pandemonium there. In the evening we watched Bond – Diamonds are Forever with the porters. It seems that this year the weather is poor all over Nepal. This resulted in poor weather on the Manaslu trek as well. Tomorrow we continue on to Pisang village on the Annapurna Circuit trail.
The walk up to Pisang was through a nice pine forest. Easy and uneventful. The weather cleared up after Pisang and the scenery changed a lot. In order to get a room in Pisang (which is quite difficult on this section of the trek) I was instructed by Kumar to lie that I was climbing Chulu Peak (I am not sure why?). The hotel owners are reluctant to give out rooms to singles and tell me that they are full (which is not true). In Pisang, the cook from the teahouse got really drunk and gave us great performance in the evening. Apparently he cooked on one of the Kamerlander’s expeditions - everyone has a story here. The route from upper Pisang follows a high cliff overlooking the valley below. Across, is Annapurna 2 and to the west, the view extends to Manang and Tilicho Lake area, which is our next objective. The route we will be following now is along the north side of the Annapurna range with spectacular views. The area looks dry and desert-like, reminiscent of Tibet.
We arrived in the village of Barga, which is located 2 km before Manang. The village is located on a dramatic rocky cliff. The houses climb up the rocky escarpment with the gompa situated in the middle. It seemed deserted though with no people in sight.
We moved on to Manang, which is located in front of Gangapurna, a 7,000m mountain in the middle of the Annapurna range. We had a tough time finding a room in Manang as the village was very busy (being the last stop before the Thorong Pass) and the proprietors did not favor single travelers. The owners of teahouses here are shrewd businessman and businesswomen who have dollar signs in their eyes. They seem to be very experienced in separating tourists from their cash and give the locals (my crew) very few concessions. Kumar judges how badly commercialized the trail is by how much they charge him for a cup of tea. A free cup of tea indicates a good value and low level of commercial development. When he has to pay for tea more than in Kathmandu, he feels ripped off and the locals are no good. Everest region is the worst in his opinion.
We did manage to find a room though that we all shared. Manang is a crowded place geared up to service masses traversing the Annapurna Circuit trek. It is build up and soulless (at least the new part). Grey concrete hotels dominate the landscape.
We are moving on from there and leaving the main Annapurna Circuit trail to go to Jomsom over the Mesocanto La Pass. After walking on this trail, I would not come to Nepal to do the Annapurna Circuit. It is too crowded, very commercialized, devoid of local culture and lacks the high alpine experience. It is good to cross it off the list though.
The route to Mesocanto La follows the flat riverbed at first with good views back to the village of Manang where we spent the previous night. It also offers spectacular view of the north side of Gangapurna with its steep fluted snowy slopes. The route then crosses the hanging bridge and starts ascending towards the Tilicho Lake. The area is very dry. The riverbed is dry and arid. We are on the north side of the Himalaya range so the rainfall is much lower than on the south side, which is very lush and green. The 8,000m high Annapurna range blocks the annual monsoon rains with very little moisture making it into the northern slopes.
Along the way, we crossed very steep and gnarly scree slopes that drop off to the river 1,000m below. This section gave Kumar and the guys a scare, as they felt that the trail was loose and exposed. The scenery was outstanding and it improved the higher we got. The slope we walked on was punctuated by tall sandstone pinnacles and wired rock formations. It looked as the weather had finally improved and we left the rain and snow behind in the Manaslu region.
We arrived at the Tilicho Tal basecamp at 4,140m. The camp was very cold, as by the time we got there, the sun has already disappeared behind the mountains. In front of us, the Rock Noir (a prominent mountain in the Annapurna Range) rises to above 7,000m. We could make out the very top of Annapurna 1 at the end of a ridge extending from the Rock Noir. (I would have a good view of this mountain from a helicopter in 2017 while visiting the Annapurna Sanctuary - see the 2017 year).
The wall of ice and snow behind us was glowing brightly in the setting sun. We set up the camp, had a juniper fire and stomped around in the cold. When we run out of things to burn, it was time for a cold sleep in the tent at 6 pm. I was wandering, what to do for all the hours between sunset at 6pm and the true bedtime? This is the worst thing about camping at high altitudes among the peaks. It gets really cold after the sun sets and 6 pm is not the time to go to bed.
The approach to the lake was very dramatic. The trail ascends diagonally along a bare slope with dramatic view all the way back to Manaslu Range. The peaks of the Annapurna Range came into view as we climbed higher. We could see Gangapurna, Annapurna 3 and Rock Noir - all the peaks of the Annapurna Range over 7,000m. As we walked up the trail towards the Tilicho lake, the Great Barrier appeared immediately in front of us. The dramatic icefalls and cliffs of the Great Barrier were so close that it seemed that they could be climbed in no time (of course it was very deceiving).
The Tilicho Lake is very beautiful. It is flanked by the wall of icy ridges of the Great Barrier on the south side. The area looks like Antarctica. The icefalls descend all the way to the green lake below with chunks of glacial ice breaking off into the lake. The place is cold and windy. We had brilliant blue sky which bode well for the crossing of the Mesocanto Pass. We stopped briefly for tea at the lonely teahouse by the lake. Most people who venture out here return to Manang (or teahouses below) the same day. It is not a busy area and definitely it is a big contrast to the crowded Annapurna Circuit and the Throng La Pass.
We found a nice campsite on the north side of the lake directly across the Great Barrier. The sun hid behind the peaks around 3.30 pm making the light for photos too dark. Once the sun was gone it got quite cold. The altitude is close to 5,000m here and the sky was clear which made the temperature fall even further. It got so cold after the sunset that Kumar and the crew did not sleep at all during the night. I usually take a Nalgene bottle filled with boiling hot water and put it in the sleeping bag. When it is really cold I take two. This was a two hot water bottle night. Unfortunately Kumar, Kamsing and Suri had two sleeping bags for the 3 of them. They tried to share it but it did not work so well.
Tomorrow is Mesocanto La crossing. I am anxious and eager to get this journey finished. It has been a long distance and it feels like a long time. In retrospect I have seen so much, a lot of varied landscapes, famous mountains and I added another 300 km to my Himalayan trekking resume and my goal to travel the Great Himalaya Trail in its entirety.
It is 6.30pm and I am in the sleeping bag already. It is dark and cold outside at 4,920m although it is a full moon night (the moon has not appeared yet from behind the Annapurna Range). What would I do at home at 6.30pm? Definitely not sleep. Kumar, Kamsing and Suri sleep together for warmth. They have two poorly insulated sleeping bags between the three of them and only two mats. They have no spare clothing; their boots are falling apart and have holes in them. Yet they never complain, not even once and they always smile.
We got up early at 5.30 am because of the intense cold. It was still dark and clear as the sun did not rise until 6.30 am. The tent had a lot of frost inside from condensation. The peaks across the lake, illuminated by the full moon, looked eerie. The silver light of the moon projected on the white peaks was reflected in the still water of the lake like in a giant mirror.
After a cup of hot noodle soup we left the campsite for the pass that was a long way away. I was anxious about the pass due to its reputation as difficult, steep and technical. It is not a very well frequented area so there is no formal trail. It turns out that the Mesocanto Pass is actually a series of three passes connected by a high plateau. We started walking around 7 am and made it to the first pass at 5,350m around 9 am. The weather was clear and brilliant, probably the payback for many days of rain and snow we had on the Manaslu side. The rising sun illuminated the Great Barrier and the lake. Behind Rock Noir, the summit of Annapurna 1 was now visible. The scenery was beyond spectacular.
The walk from the first pass at 5,350m to the actual Mesocanto Pass is very long. The entire way is above 5,000 meters. We made it to the second pass at 5,100m with a great view of Tilicho Peak and Nigrili North. The bulk of Dhaulagiri also came into view. We were basically walking around the Tilicho Lake at above 5,000m and now had views to the peaks on the east side of the lake: Gangapurna, Annapurna 3 and Annapurna 2. We arrived at the third pass at 5,100m shortly thereafter. It would be terrible to encounter a snowstorm here. The exposed and high plateau between the passes would make the route finding quite tricky.
The mighty Mesocanto Pass was right there in front of me. The views from the pass to the lake and to Dhaulagiri and Kali Gandaki valley were spectacular. We had completely clear weather and no wind. We could see the mountain range across the valley with the Dhampus Peak and the Dhampus Pass on the horizon. The Mesocanto pass itself is marked with a very sharp (horn like) small rocky peak. It is clearly visible from a long way away, which makes it easy to pinpoint the location of the pass. I could see it from the Dhampus Pass in 2016 during the Dhaulagiri Trek.
The descent route looked very steep indeed. The pass lived up to its reputation. Now I did understand why this pass has such a fearsome reputation and is considered difficult. The descent route is basically a steep snow chute with steep rocks on both sides. The chute was full of snow and ice. One slip would send a person all the way down for a 300m ride to the rocks below. For a moment I considered going back to the Mesocanto North Pass, which was supposed to be easier.
Kumar and Kamsing did not seem too concerned and started going down. The descent was quite exposed with steep drop-offs all around. The rocks were thankfully clear of snow and ice and there was no wind. We descended very carefully without a rope. Suri slipped a few times as he has the least mountaineering experience between us. The lack of proper boots did not help either. Sometimes I feel that the Nepalese just wing it hoping for the best. In case of a serious weather, accident or altitude issues they could just perish like the porters the year before on Teshi Labtsa Pass.
We descended to the flatter ground and set up camp on a green Kharka (grass pasture) with a lot of yaks. The yaks would meander between tents all day and night. It was strange having a car sized cow with sharp horns snorting right next to me while lying inside the tent.
This is the final night on the trek. We are camping in front of the Kali Gandaki Valley with Dhaulagiri clearly dominating the view in front of us. When I asked Kumar if the Dhaulagiri trek would be worth the effort, he said that I already saw it so why bother? Dhaulagiri looked large and prominent from our camp. We had a spectacular sunset and a sunrise on it.
It is only 5 hours walking time to Jomsom from here. I am happy to have done the Mesocanto La variant instead of the Kang La Pass and Naar and Phu villages. This pass was a true mountain experience with camping and it took us away from the Annapurna circus. The day number 18 of walking is tomorrow and it feels like it has been a long way from Arugat (although it is only 18 days!). Looking at Dhaulagiri it looks so alone and high dominating the sky like the king of mountains. I was thinking of Piotr Morawski and his tragic story of his death that played out in the public eye. It is a lonely place to die. I would see his memorial on the French Pass in 2017.
The walk down was tiring even though it was only 3-4 hours long. We walked for almost 300 km (or more, as it is hard to measure distances here. Kumar thinks it was 300 km) in 18 days. We climbed 12,585m and descended 11,800m along all the ups and downs of the trail. This was the longest trek that I have done in Nepal.
Dhaulagiri and its ice falls dominated the view like the king of mountains all the way to Jomsom. Jomsom is a typical Nepali dumpy and dry truck stop with hotels such as Dancing Yak or The Meaning of OM. It has some shops selling Tibetan trinkets and Marfa apple brandy. The natural setting of the village is very spectacular with the Annapurna range on one side and Dhaulagiri range on the other. I am sure that being the gateway to Mustang, there are a lot of interesting things to see around here (such as the village of Marfa with its large gompa). It will have to wait for another day though as I am too tired of walking and of taking photos.
The trip has come to the end not only time-wise but also in terms of my energy and ability to absorb more stimulation. I have enjoyed this tip a lot despite my feelings of indifference very early on and disappointment with the weather in the Manaslu region.
At the start of this trek, I was curious whether by being alone, I would have some revelations, insights or deep thoughts. I have not however, realized any great insights in terms of thoughts or profound revelations. The change and impact have been more sublime. At the end, I did feel very at ease, relaxed without any anxieties or anger. The experience has heightened my sensitivity to the beauty of nature, the kindness of the people and my good fortune for being here. The nature has cleared me (although temporarily) from my attachments to some of the artificial aspects of life back home. It was like hitting a reset button on a computer, a spiritual cleanse. It killed the proverbial rat that has to be fed constantly back home. I felt more laid back and able to surrender to whatever was coming my way. The rat was dead (or asleep). It felt like I was stripped down to the basic components that resonate with nature around me. The layers of my armor, needed for the life in the artificial world back home, have been stripped away exposing the socket through which the connection with something greater could be made. I think that this feeling was heightened because I was alone, I had time to quiet my internal monologue and just listen to the silence around me. I surrendered to the process of walking and to my companions. Subconsciously, I surrendered to this process without even realizing it.
I am ready to go home but feel no anxiety about the things waiting for me there. I enjoyed traveling alone and at the end I did not miss the company of other westerners. Deep inside I know that it was a good decision to come here and walk all this way. It was a great opportunity to level myself and experience a separation from my usual travel companions. In retrospect the feelings of anxiety and attachment to the things back home dissolved over the last 18 days. It is amazing how much 18 days can change in one’s perspective. I also learned a lot about the Nepalese through my discussions with Kumar. I had an opportunity to observe and just listen.
I mailed the postcard of Mt. Manaslu with Mt. Manaslu stamp from Jomsom. I am happy to have walked so far and to have crossed two high passes (including a difficult one) in such a short time.
These trips allow me to gain some distance from the things back home. They allow me to look at things from a different perspective. Perhaps this perspective increases my ability for appreciating what I have? Back home, being in the middle of it all, it is hard to gain distance and focus on what is truly important. It is difficult to see the irrelevant and superficial for what they are. I enjoy the simple life on the trail with no expectations just taking each moment as it comes. I give up the control of the process and do not expect the outcome to go my way. I think that I learned from my Nepalese companions that there could be another way of looking at life, at the future and our influence over the flow of events around us. Perhaps the liberation that came from giving up my desire to control everything around me, was the most valuable revelation I had on this trip and on other trips in the Nepal Himalaya.
Since these experiences are reinforced by each consecutive trip, this feeling becomes more permanent and is not as fleeting as if I had this experience only once.
I felt good, happy and ready for another cup of lemon tea.
Thanks to Kumar, Rajendra, Kam and Suri from www.mountainsunvalley.com. I did this trip alone with my Nepali friends. We had a great time and it was a fantastic adventure!
Manaslu from space.
The Manaslu Range
Himal Chuli
Himal Chuli on the right
Manaslu Range
Manaslu Range
Manaslu 8,153m from the south from the KTM - DOH flight
Ganesh Himal from the south from KTM - DOH flight
It was about then when I started to think of doing the whole trail.
Walking up the steep trail in the Bhuri Gahandaki Valley.
In the Bhuri Ghandaki Valley
Bhuri Ghandaki Valley
Bhuri Ghandaki and Khutang Himal on the horizon
Lapuchun Mountain 5,990m and the valley leading to Tsum.
Ganesh Himal
Village of Namrung
Namrung Village
Namrung Village
First view of Manaslu from Lho Village
Lho Village
The monastery was built by the Japanese who have a special connection to Manaslu.
Manaslu
Peak 29 7871m
Approach to Manaslu basecamp - looking towards the Ganesh Himal and down the Bhudi Ghandaki Valley
Ganesh Himal in the distance
Ganesh Himal
Manaslu basecamp
Lower slopes of Manaslu North
Ganesh Himal
Manaslu Basecamp
Manaslu and Manaslu Basecamp
Looking north across the valley from the Manslu Basecamp
A local teacher on an excursion with his students.
On the way to the Larkya Pass
Looking at the Manaslu massif from the north.
Syanche Glacier and north side of Manaslu.
Naka Peak and Syache Glacier. Manaslu mastiff from the north
Dharmasala - Larkya Pass basecamp at 4,500m at sunrise. We got snowed at and the entire world turned white overnight.
Clearing storm clouds on the approach to the Larkya Pass.
Larkya Peak North 6,249m in the vicinity of the Larkya Pass.
Larkya Peak 6,616m and Larkya North Peak
Larkya Peak 6,616m
Larkya North Peak
Approach to Larkya Pass
Larkya Pass 5,100m
Looking back to where we came from from the top of Larkya Pass at 5,100m
At the pass
Larkya Pass: Kumar, Kam, me and Suri at 5,100m
Panbari Himal on the west side of the Larkya Pass
Bimthang
Namjung 7,140m from Bimthang
Namjung onthe right 7,140m
Namjung 7,140m
Phungi 6,738m
Phungi 6,738m
Panbari 6,905m and Panbari Himal
Panbari 6,905m
Manaslu and Tchoche Glacier
West face of Manaslu and Peak 29 on the right
Manaslu west face
Summit Plateau of Manaslu
Phungi 6,738
Manaslu from the west
Hanging out in the tea house in Bimthang
Bimthang, Panbari Mountain (right) and Nemjung (centre)
Manaslu massif from the west
Manaslu from the west
Manaslu’s West Face
Upper Pisang
North side of Annapurna III
Annapurna III in the distance
Annapurna III above Pisang
Annapurna III
Near Barga Village
Village of Barga
Barga and Annapurna II
The Great Barrier, Tilicho Lake, Rock Noir (on the left) and Annapurna I (far ridge)
Fore-summit of Annapurna II from Upper Pisang
Annapurna III
A friendly lady in the Upper Pisang Village
Upper Pisang Village
Upper Pisang Village
Annapurna III
Newal with Tilicho Peak in the distance
Near Newal village
The village of Barga.
Barga and Annapurna II
Annapurna II and Annapurna IV
The east ridge of Annapurna II
Annapurna III and Gangapurna from Manang
The village of Manang
Gangapurna
Manaslu in the distance
The trail to Tilicho Lake and the Tilicho Peak in the distance
Peak 29 in the Manslu Himal
Gangapurna
Roc Noir and the ridge to Annapurna I
Roc Noir and Annapurna I
The approach to Tilicho Lake. The white mountains on the left are the Chulu Peaks.
Pisang Peak on the right and the Himlung group on the right. The Kangla Pass is in the centre.
Manaslu from the approach to the Tilicho Lake. We came from behind Manaslu.
The Great Barrier
Rock Noir and the Great Barrier
Tilicho Lake - the highest lake in the world at 4,919m.
Tilicho Lake
Tilicho Lake is located at an altitude of 4,919m. It is the highest lake int he world.
Beautiful Tilicho Lake and the Great Barrier
The Great Barrier
Tilocho Lake, the highest lake in the world.
Tilicho Lake
From the left: Roc Noir, Annapurna I, Great Barrier and the Tilicho Lake
The first pass of the two passes on the Meosocanto area
Mesocanto Pass and the mountains of the Dhaulagiri Himal
Long traverse to the Mesocanto Pass with Dhaulagiri on the left.
Nilgiri Peak 7,061m and Dhaulagiri I
Dhaulagiri I from the way to the Mesocanto Pass
Looking back from Mesocanto Pass at the Manaslu Himal (Peak 29 on the left) and the Annapurna Himal (Annapurna II on the right)
Nilgiri Peak 7,061m in the Annapurna Himal
Tilicho Peak ridge and lower slopes
The Long traverse to the Mesocanto Pass with fabulous views along the way. Dhaulagiri dominates the horizon.
Gangapurna and Tilicho Lake
Nearing the Mesocanto Pass
Mesocanto Pass and Dhaulagiri I
Mesocanto Pass and Tukche Peak behind
Looking down from Mesocanto Pass
The descent from Mesocanto Pass.
Descent from Mesocanto Pass
The steep slope leading to Mesocanto Pass from the west.
From left: Dhaulagiri I, Tukche Peak, Dhampus Pass, Jomsom
Dhaulagiri I
Looking across Kali Gandaki Valley with Jomsom below
Dhampus Pass
Tukche Peak next to the Dhampus Pass
Dhaulagiri I and the Tukche Peak
Mesocanto Pass from Dhampus Pass
Mesocanto Pass closeup from Dhampus Pass. You can see the incline of the slope down from the pass.
The valley of Kali Ghandaki, Thorong La (right not he horizon)and Mesocanto Pass )left not he horizon) from Dhampus Pass. Jomsom is on the left in the valley below.
Approaching Jomsom with Dhaulagiri on the left.
Kumar, me, Kam and Suri in Jomsom at the end of our journey.
Thanks to Rajendra and Kumar from www.mountainsunvalley.com for organizing and running this trip. We were all very happy with the outcome!
Rowaling Valley from the air. From Left to Right: Gaurisankar, Menlungtse, Kang Nachugo, the peaks of Rowaling. Our route followed this range from left to right.
Beautiful Gauri Sankar
Menlungtse in Tibet with Cho Oyu Behind
Menlungtse
Menlungtse and Rowaling Valley
Rowaling, Teshi Labtsa and Panchermo
Rowaling
Rowaling with the Cho Oyu massif behind
Rowaling trekking map
Gauri Sankar
Menlungtse in Tibet
GauriSankar
Beding
The man who lost all of his fingers on Manaslu
Beding
Drainage Ri
Gauri Sankar north face
The Rowaling Valley and Jugal Himal on the horizon. The Jugal Himal separates Rowaling from the Langtang region and it is located in China. It is not possible to cross from Rowaling to Langtang via Jugal and the GHT requires a long detour south and then back north to the Langtang.
Jugal Himal between Rowaling and Langtang regions. The mountains on the horizon are located in Tibet, China.
Tsoboye and Tso Rolpa Lake
The head of the Rowaling Glacier
Kang Nachugo and Tso Rolpa Lake
A view of the valley from Sunder Peak 5368m
David, Tony and I left for Dolakha, the starting point of the trek the day after arriving in Kathmandu in a small bus that Rajendra rented for all of us. We had a lot of gear and a large crew: Kumar the guide, porters, cooks and us. We knew Kumar from our 2009 Langtang trek. He is a great guide with a good sense of humour and perpetual smile on his face. We also had the same two porters (among others) from our 2009 trip: Kamsing and Suri. The drive was 7 hours long broken by a lunch stop in a spot that we knew from eben earlier visit back in 1996. The town where we stopped for lunch was very busy and noisy. The market and the streets were lined up with vendors selling Chinese goods. We had lunch at a very dirty restaurant serving local food. I did not want to risk getting sick at the beginning of the trip so I decided to pass on lunch. After lunch, during the drive, one of the young porters puked his guts out on a particularly twisty part of the road. The puke landed right in front of me and stank up the entire bus.
We arrived in Dolaka and set up our tent on the edge of town by the busy road. The tent bacame an instant focal point for the local kids that were attracted to the white guys like bees to honey. It was October 21, my 40th birthday. I had a bottle of a surprisingly good Indian wine that we shared in the evening while relaxing by our tents. Although I felt sorry for myself to be turning the big 40, I could not imagine a better way to spend it than hiking in the Himalayas.
The trek started in the village of Dolaka with a 900m descent to the river flowing from Tibet down a deep., narrow valley between Langtang Himal and massif of a large mountain named GauriSankar. We trekked along the river for 3 days. The campsites were: Singati Bazar, Suri Dobhan and Gonggar. At first, our route was along a dirt road that was built for the purpose of developing a hydroelectric plant in a tunnel drilled into a solid rock. The area is poor but not too remote as it is relatively close to Kathmandu with a daily bus connection. The lowland towns of Nepal seem very far removed from the clean world of ice and snow that is visible on the horizon. Unfortunately, many of the inhabitants of those towns have never ventured into the high Himalaya.
On the fifth day of our trek in the sunny weather, we passed series of spectacular waterfalls dropping steeply from the high hills above straight into the Tama Koshi River. We crossed a hanging bridge and climbed steeply out of the Tama Koshi River valley with north to south orientation in order to join the Rowalling Valley with East to West orientation.
The climb out the narrow valley was up a steep staircase that in places seemed to ascend almost vertically. The stairs were wet from the mist and overgrown with lush vegetation. We arrived in a small village of Simigaon at the mouth of the Rowaling Valley. From that spot we could see a 7,143m high mountain called Menlungtse in Tibet behind the ridge of lower peaks. The main backdrop however was GauriSnkar, a massive 7,183m high peak dominating the head of the Tama Koshi Valley. Although located close to Kathmandu and the road, it is not climbed often. It is imposing and steep with granite walls too vertical to permanently hold ice or snow.
The people of Simagaon were very friendly. Our crew had a night party with porters from another group that was also going up to the Teshi Labtsa Pass. We purchased a small goat for the porters who killed it and cooked the meat for all of us. Since I saw the goat before it was killed, I could not eat it after. The porters were totally drunk on chang (the local beer) and the party got rowdy after dark with much dancing and loud singing. At sunset, we had a great view of GauriSankar from the village when the entire mountain was glowing bright yellow and then orange.
On October 26th we trekked to Dong with a nice relaxing camping spot by a river. It was an uneventful walk in the forest. The weather was nice and sunny, a perfect day for hiking. We enjoyed the relaxing pace and the sound of flowing river. The river we were now following originates at Tso Rolpa Lake formed high up the valley by a collapsed moraine. We would pass that lake in a few days and venture into the realm of ice beyond. The lake presents a grave danger to the entire valley in an event of an earthquake. It is constantly monitored and flood warning sirens can be seen in each village along the valley. Although it is hard to believe that any of them work and that the local people, in case of an earthquake, would have ample time to run for a higher ground.
The following day we trekked to Bedding situated at and elevation of 3,600m. Beding is the last major village before the trail ascends steeply to the Tso Rolpa Lake and the Teshi Labtsa Pass. Bedding is situated at the bottom of the southeast flank of GauriSankar. The steep rock of the mountain loom above the village with white glaciers high up. At the entrance to the village, there is a small temple (gompa) at which David and I stopped to check it out. We were pulled into the gompa by a half drunk local guy who offered us boiled potatoes. The man claimed to have been an extra in the Sven Years in Tibet movie and have met Brad Pitt. He was missing all of his fingers and apparently lost them on a climb of Manaslu. He also claimed to have climbed on Dhaulagiri with Chris Bonnington. Inside the gompa, a group of old ladies were cooking up a storm. David and I provided them with a welcome diversion and much laughter. It seemed that we did not need to say or do anything to make them explode into fits of laughter just by looking at us. After our visit to the gompa we walked around the town where we encountered more drunk locals, one old lady particularly drunk passed out in the middle of the road. The village was quite poor and dirty with houses shared between people and animals. The usual setup is for the people to sleep upstairs and for the animals to occupy the lower floor. The flies from the animal quarters migrate to the upper salons and make the living conditions rather biblical.
From Beding, we ascended to Na at 4,180m where we spent two nights. Na (or Nagaon) is situated directly at the base of Kang Nachugo, a prominent peak of 6,737m that is situated on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Na serves as a summer pasture for the villagers from Beding and as such is not a permanently inhabited on year round basis. In the winter it must receive significant snowfall blocking all access from the valley below. Mount Chekigo 6,257m and Mount Kang Nachugo 6,737m form a steep rock wall hugging the entire village. Looking at these peaks it is deceiving to assume that they are easy to climb and accessible. The scale of the terrain is so massive and everything around is so big. Without any point of reference, things look closer and smaller than they really are. I experienced the same illusion during my travels in the high Arctic. A valley that looked small and near, required an entire week to traverse. Mt. Menlungtse in Tibet, is just behind Na and is accessible by an ancient pass between Mt. Chekigo and Mt. Kang Nachugo. I would like to visit this area one day if possible.
On the way to Na, we passed an isolated Buddhist hermitage with a spectacular view of the entire Rowaling upper valley and the snowy peaks above it. It would be a fantastic place to spend a week or two contemplating the nature of OM. We passed by large boulders with paintings of Tibetan deities and guardians. The prayer flags were also more common indicating that we were now entering the realm of Buddhism.
The following day, we did an acclimatization walk to above 5,000m beside the Yalung Glacier in preparation for the time required at higher altitudes in the days ahead. The walk was very tiring as we ascended 1,100m to above 5,000m in short time. When I get to 5,000m for the first time, I find the effort quite exhausting. The tiredness creeps up quite suddenly and all of a sudden I am out of energy. Every step higher is quite an effort and all I want to do it just sit and rest. I do suffer from serious FOMO in situations such as this and the desire for a better view propels me higher despite better judgement. Pushing harder, I hit the wall for the first time on the trip. The views from the 5,000m spot were fantastic though and worth the effort. We had clear blue sky and no wind. On the left side was Mt. Chukiyma Go 6,258m, in the distance the backside of GauriSankar 7,135m. Kang Nachugo blocked the view of the Menlungtse in Tibet. We could see however, directly into a valley that is crowned by Dranag Ri, a 6,800m peak. The glacier that flows from Dragnag Ri is called Rowaling Glacier like the glacier that we are going to follow to the Teshi Labtsa pass. The valley we were looking at had many high peaks that lined the east side of the glacier. On the east side, Tsoboye, a large 6,000m peak that was climbed by Tomas Humar dominates the confluence of the two Rowaling glaciers. Had we climbed a little higher to a Yalung La pass located at 5,310m, we could had seen the summit of Cho Oyu peaking on the horizon. Frankly, I did not have enough energy to go that last 200m.
After we got back to the tent in Na, I was very tired and all I could think of was drinking water. In the evening we hiked up above the campsite to the bottom of Kang Nachugo to a spectacular waterfall. We watched the clouds swirling up the valley from below. The sunset was fantastic. It illuminated the entire wall of Kang Nachugo in a full spectrum of colors from yellow to maroon.
It was a fantastic spot to spend the acclimatization day in. We were full of anticipation for what was ahead of us.
On October 30th we trekked to the last camp before the Rowaling Glacier that leads to the Teshi Labtsa pass. We started ascending the old moraine leaving the Rowaling valley down below. We could now see down the entire valley with the peaks of Jugal Himal forming the backdrop on the western horizon. The trail climbs to the Tso Rolpa Lake and then snakes behind an old moraine that flanks the lake on its south side. Mt. Tsoboye flanks the north side of the lake. Tsoboye drops to the lake in loose and unstable slopes that bombard the trail below with rocks and ice making it impassable (an old apprach trail to the Teshi Labts pass was located on the north side of the lake long time ago).
We reached the camp called Kabug at an elevation of 4,560m. The camp is located behind the old glacier moraine by the Tso Rolpa Lake. The lake is formed by the melt from the Rowaling Glacier and is blocked at the west end by an old landslide. The lake presents a danger to the settlements below. It would flood the valley if that barrier was broken in an event of an earthquake. There were some scientific instruments on that old landslide measuring the integrity of the wall blocking the lake. In theory, If the instruments detect a leak, the settlements downstream would be alerted for immediate evacuation up hill by a system of sirens similar to tsunami sirens.
We shared this camp with a French group that was heading in the same direction. We never saw them again, and later found out that they were evacuated from that camp due to problems with high altitude. In the evening we made a fire that warmed us up during the freezing evening. We were now well above 4,000m and the evenings and nights were quite cold. As we were standing by the fire, suddenly we saw lights in the distance flickering in the dark coming from the direction of the Teshi Labtsa pass. A porter and a Sherpa guide from yet another group were coming down from the Teshi Labtsa pass and seemed quite distraught. Kumar and the guys from our crew carried on an agitated conversation in passing with them. We later learned that two of their crew died during the crossing of the pass due to problems with altitude. Kumar did not share this information with us right away, as he did not want to alarm us before the crossing.
The next day we had to ascend the moraine and find a way down to the Rowaling Glacier. The trail ascended steeply towards a side valley (Valley of the Panga Dinga Glacier) that was flanked by the peaks that we saw from the other side on our acclimatization climb just two days before. One of those peaks was Chukyima Go 6,258m. The valley looked interesting but in order to get a full view, we would need to ascend higher. We had no time to do so as our objective was the camp at the end of the long Rowaling Glacier. We had to gain the glacier to approach the basecamp for the crossing the Teshi Labtsa pass. The descent to the glacier was quite tricky down a steep, sandy and very unstable moraine with loose rocks. I would encounter this type of terrain many more times. The glacier was quite broken and required some navigating to get across. Steep Ice ridges rolled up and down with many loose rocks of various sizes ready to dislodge on us. We saw the head of the glacier valley in front of us, a great wall of ice falling from Mt. Bigphero Go Shar 6,799m. This was our destination for the day. The weather was sunny with fantastic views all around. The scenery was reminiscent of great Pakistani glaciers. Steep mountains with massive snow and ice slopes surrounded us and we felt dwarfed by the enormity of the terrain.
When we stopped for lunch on the glacier, we noticed horsetail clouds forming in the southern sky indicating a change in weather. The weather change was coming from the southwest. This was quite unfortunate as the difficult crossing of the pass was ahead.
We made it to the campside at the end of the Rowaling Glacier by late afternoon. The campsite was located on a flat spot on the glacier surrounded by large rocks and ice. To the left of us was the steep icefall of the upper Rowaling Glacier which we would need to ascend the following day. To the right, we we surrounded by the steep ice walls of Gakosir Himal. We were now at 4,980m and the surrounding peaks were 5,598m, 5,811 and 5,700m high. They were not that much higher than us at this point and it all seemed very alpine. We were literally right in the middle of the high and wild Himalaya.
We set up our tents next to two guys from Australia that just arrived from the Makalu BC via Sherpani Col, West Col and the Amphu Labtsa Passes. Their trip was 30 days long and started at the Makalu BC and crossed via Renjo La Pass (the same pass we wanted to cross as well). They liked the alpine feel and the remoteness of the Sherpani Col crossing and the fabulous views from the Renjo La Pass (Tony and I later concurred with their opinion). They were tired, rugged and happy to be going down. I was quite envious of their trip and the experience. I would cross the same passes two years later. I still would like to do the entire crossing as one long traverse though.
During the night my mat deflated and I was forced to sleep (not much sleep though due to altitude, cold and rocks poking my ass from below) on the sharp rocks of the glacier and with no insulation from the freezing ice below. I put on everything I had but it was still cold like a freezer.
The evening was spectacular as the setting sun illuminated an ice walls around our camp. The snow and ice had the most vivid glow of orange that I ever saw in the high mountains. I was hoping that this impressive sunset would indicate clear weather for the following day.
After the cold and sleepless night we got up at first light, packed up and started our ascend to the Teshi Labtsa Pass 5,755m. At first we walked up a flat part of the glacier towards the headwall leading to the continuation of the Rowaling glacier coming from the valley above that would take us to the Pass. The headwall was immediately next to the spectacular icefall coming down from Mt. Bigphero Go Shar. We were right next to it and could almost smell the cold coming from the jagged and broken ice.
The sky was grey and monochromatic. The grey of the ice merged perfectly with the grey of the sky enveloping us in the cold aura. We needed to climb up a short but steep (almost vertical) section of rock to gain access to the glacier above, a continuation of the Rowaling Glacier ( number 3 of them in this area!). The climb was difficult for the porters carrying heavy loads. Our Sherpa guide set up ropes for the porters as the wall was around 20 meters high. The aura was becoming more grey and gloomy as we climbed higher. Low clouds were now descending towards the snow covered sharp peaks that now encircled us. Ahead was a big icefall forming the head of the upper Rowaling Glacier. We could not see what was ahead as the icefall formed a steep barrier blocking all views. Behind us was a wall of rock, ice and snow crowned by Mt. Bigphero Go Shar 6,729m and Gakosir Himal. We were now well above the 5,000m mark and the tops of the peaks of the Gakosir Himal to the south looked almost at the same level as us. We climbed up the rock gully and passed by the Teshi Labtsa Phedi camp perched on a rocky shelf overlooking the glaciers below. We then ascended another narrow rock gully to the ablation valley next to the upper Rowaling Glacier. Due to loose rocks we decided to put on helmets. We gained the upper Rowaling Glacier and started to our walk towards the base of the pass.
We followed the side of the glacier in progresively deteriorating weather. The wind increased, the clouds came lower and it started to snow. The snow was blowing hard with increasing intensity. It got grey and gloomy. We could not see the surrounding peaks or the view at the head of the valley. The way to the bottom of the pass was still a few hours of walking away but we did not have a sense of distance or the time required to get there. I doubt that Kumar or anyone on our group had any idea of the time required to get to the top of the pass as they have not done this route before. Since the wind picked up and the snow started to fall quite heavily, I put on my gortex pants, crampons and a wind jacket. The walk was of the "head down" variety to avoid the blowing snow and hoping for the best. The entire area was covered in fresh snow. We proceeded slowly, walking on the east side of the glacier under spectacular icefalls coming from Pancharmo Peak to the east of us. We were walking on snow covered icy rocks that required us to focus and pay attention.
The views were not to be due to low clouds and the blowing snow. We still could make out the surroundings of the Rowaling Glacier though that we were walking on. The head of the glacier falling down from the Teshi Labtsa pass was ahead of us.
As we go closer, we passed by a camp spot that is used by some groups before ascending the Teshi Labtsa Pass. From his camp spot, the trail to the pass takes a 90-degree turn and starts to climb from the Upper Rowaling Glacier to the pass 500m or 600m above. The terrain was now getting steeper on snow and ice. We could not see the trail nor had any path to follow. Everything was covered in fresh snow and we were enveloped in a blowing snow from above. The Sherpa guide set up ropes for the porters. The climbing was difficult for the porters due all the fresh snow and most of them had only running shoes. The porters were not dressed or equipped for the weather and conditions at all and honestly, we did not anticipate the weather to deteriorate this fast and this bad.
The ice slope ascending to the top of the Teshi Labtsa Pass had huge crevasses that required crossing by narrow ice bridges. This was quite unnerving, as a slip would result in a 30m fall into a cold crevasse on either side. The bridges were narrow with not enough space to use trekking poles for balance. They were not solid and were partially broken as well. We were not roped and had to concentrate hard to maintain balance with the wind and blowing snow. The ascent took some time due to fixing of ropes for the porters. Their progress was slower due to loads, inadequate gear and really shitty conditions. In Calgary I would not even think of venturing to the mountains in such weather but here we were ascending one of the most dangerous passes in the entire range in a snowstorm and diminishing daylight. The new snow covered a lot of smaller crevasses that were now completely obscured from our view. It felt like we were crossing a mine field. We were unroped which added to the excitement and made me feel rather exposed. The snow was getting deeper, the wind was increasing higher we went and the amount of falling snow was now in a full-on blizzard mode.
It started to get dark as we slowly ascended the slope to the pass. We were now 30 minutes away from total darkness and still not at the pass. The sense of panic set in in our group. The wind was increasing and the snow was now blowing horizontally right into our faces burying the trail behind us in minutes. The increasing intensity of the snowstorm and the impending darkness made the porters and Kumar drop their packs and just run across the pass. We passed by a deep crevasse that I briefly considered for an emergency camp to wait out the tempest. Due to the wind and panic though, there was no one to discuss it with. Kumar left his pack in the snow and run for the camp on the other side of the pass. The situation seemed dire and we were now in a twilight and in a raging storm that was getting stronger by the minute. In 20 minutes we made it across the pass, literally running at 5,900m and totally out of breath.
With my peripheral vision, I noticed the prayer flags marking the top of the Teshi Labtsa Pass arching in snow in the gale wind. We crossed the narrow pass and run downhill to an overhanging campsite just before it got completely dark. We quickly pitched the tents in the snow just to get away from the ferocious wind. The wind picked up after dark, the blizzard and snowstorm intensified even further. The tents were battered by the wind and the snow would blow into them through even a minor opening. I got inside the tent with crampons on and just sat in the tent tired and cold. I was exhausted and high on adrenaline from running across the pass over hidden crevasses. I was also becoming anxious about the weather conditions that we were now in. Thankfully there was some food and the “dinner” consisted of one small cup of instant noodles. It was a miracle that the guys had enough energy to even make it in these conditions. After the long day of climbing in the cold and not eating anything, the noodle cup was hot and it felt good. By that time, the strong blizzard and the wind were raging around us and I was dead tired as the run across the pass just finished me off. We had a 14 hour day full of excitement!
I tried to sleep but the mat was broken. Sleep on sharp rocks, snow and ice was impossible due to cold, altitude, adrenaline and the noise from the storm. When I opened the zipper of the tent the wind blew the snow in with force. I kept the headlight on to feel more comfortable. I could hear Tony panicking in the other tent that he shared with David and proclaiming that we were all going to die! I was not that worried and found Tony’s musings rather funny but I had some anxiety about our predicament. How will we get down from the pass with all the fresh snow? Obviously, climbing of Panchermo was out of the question due to the possibility of avalanches from all the new snow. We did not know what was causing the sudden change in the weather and how long it would last. If the storm lasted 48 or 72 hours, then what? We could also encounter avalanches on the descent from the pass.
We were perched on a ridge that was the pass with steep drops to the valleys below on both sides of the pass. We were trapped high at 5,900m in the raging storm. We gained the altitude to 5,900m quite fast. In retrospect, the proper way to cross this pass and climb Pancharmo's 6,300m summit would be to camp at the bottom for at least one night to properly acclimatize.
As the night went on, I was getting more and more dehydrated. My tongue felt like a dry stick in my dry mouth. I wanted to drink my remaining water but it half frozen. We had enough food and fuel for all but we could not cook anything in this wind. I was thinking of the steep descent ahead of us. I was also concerned about the new snow covering the hidden crevasses along the way down. It was a long sleepless night with ample time to think about all "whats" and "ifs".
During the night on Teshi Labtsa pass the snowstorm was raging on with blowing snow and gale strength wind. The tent zipper broke, and allowed me to open a 20 cm long sliver in the tent's door. I needed to get out of the tent and pee. If I broke the door and forced open the zipper, the tent would not zip up again. With all the blowing snow and wind, the tent would fill up with snow quickly and the wind would make me even colder than I already was. Since I had a metal cup from the noodle soup, I decided to pee in the cup and dump it outside. I had to pee one small cup at a time. It was a challenging task as the cup fills up fast and necessitates “relay peeing” to empty the balder. The main objective was not to urinate all over myself or the tent. I must have done this relay 5 times in the night due to all the water I drank as one is supposed to do at the high altitude. I could not sleep as the wind was howling loudly all night and rattling the nylon tent. I also had to keep shaking off the snow that was accumulating fast and pressing on the tent walls.
The following day, Kumar told us that two porters from another party died from altitude related sickness (AMS) on the Teshi Laptsa Pass two days before we crossed it. We passed their bodies covered by blue tarps at the bottom of the pass without realizing it. They developed an AMS quickly and due to the remoteness of the terrain, they were unable to go down or be evacuated. All escape routes from this pass are high and long: the route to Khumbu/Thyanbo is via avalanche gully that is steep and requires fixed ropes, the route we came from required two days of travel and many kilometers on walking on glaciers.
We got up before sunrise. The snow was still blowing and we were in a thick cloud. When the sun rose, the clouds parted quite fast and it became all clear. The view, that we had not seen the evening before, was spectacular. Panchermo was right in front of us glowing with all the fresh snow in the intense rays of the rising sun. The air was cold, crisp and clear at this altitude. The peaks of Kongde Lho and Kongde Nup around 6,000m were almost at our level all covered in bright, thick fresh snow. The rocks were plastered with white and everything looked high and alpine. It was just the way the Himalayas are supposed to look. Perfect. We could also see into the Khumbu region that was hidden behind many peaks down below. The Tengi Tagi Tau 6,938m was right behind us as we camped on its flank on a rock shelf that protected us from falling ice or rocks.
We cooked up some breakfast while Kumar with the crew went back over the pass to retrieve the backpack that he dropped in a panic retreat the night before. I followed them for a while but fear of hidden crevasses under the fresh snow prevented me from going further. Kumar did not locate his pack under the snow. The area was all white and covered with waist-deep snow. In the panic of the night before, he did not even remember exactly where he dropped his pack.
We packed up the camp and started our descent to Thyangbo at 4230. A drop of 1670m. At first we had to traverse a rocky shelf above the icefall falling from the pass. Everything was snow covered and icy so the porters had to be very careful. The walking was on iced rocks hidden under the fresh snow. I had to concentrate on where to step as it was easy to slip and break a leg or twist a knee. I had blood in the sinuses and each time I would blow my nose the tissue was red with blood.
After crossing the shelf, we had to abseil down a narrow gully to the glacier below. The snow was literally waist deep in places. The Sherpa guide fixed the ropes for the porters so that they could come down safely. The total descent took us 7 hours. By the time we got lower, I was exhausted. Even walking down was tiring. I walked very slowly and I was very tired due to 3 sleepless nights. I also developed a usual cough (as I always do at these elevations) that I could not shake off. The cough got especially intense in the cold morning air. The cough made it difficult to walk, as the cold air would aggravate it.
As we reached the glacier below, the trail started to undulate. It would come down and then climb back up like a roller coaster. I could not go fast and had to to rest often when going up hill on the moraines of the glacier we were walking on. As we progressed, I also started to rest when going downhill. After a long walk on the flatter section we finally ended up in the single teahouse of Thyangbo. It was a 1,670m descent and a few kilometers of distance. It was another long day.
A friendly sherpani lady ran the teahouse. We met two Polish climbers who were attempting Mount Kongde (a 6,000m wall immediately behind the tea house). Due to the storm, they got stuck and had to wait out the avalanches. One of the nice and friendly Poles, Krzysztof Sadlej, died in 2012 on a rock climb in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland on a peak called Zamarla Turnia. Krzysztof climbed Huascaran and Peak Lenin before he died. Another life lost in pursuit of mountain glory.
Some random thoughts about the realities of trekking in Nepal: Nepal trekking consists of waking down and out of deep gorges from 900-1,000m to above 4,000m before being able to see any alpine scenery. For the true alpine scenery (ice, glaciers, peaks) one usually has to go above 5,000m. There is a lot of up and down referred to as "Nepali flat". The main trekking routes are crowded. On the popular trekking routes, the tourists are mainly older people. Food and drinks in teahouses, especially in the Khumbu are more expensive than in Canada. Phone calls are 300R ($4.5) per minute. Rooms are very basic, concrete floor, plywood walls (can hear everything form adjacent room). Inside, the room is as cold as a tent as the walls are not insulated. The toilet is usually outside, cold, and often just a hole in the ground. Sometimes it overflows. The toilet is flushed with a water bucket but the water in the bucket is sometimes frozen. It is difficult to sleep at the altitude above 5,000. I usually can’t fall asleep until midnight, wake up at 4am can’t sleep until dawn. The nights are long as the sun sets at 6.30 and rises at 6 am. In the teahouses one can sit in the dining room until 9 pm or so to pass time. While camping though, short days make for long nights in the sleeping bag.
We got up to a brilliant sunshine and beautiful winter aura all around us. We were right in the front of Mt. Thyangboche 6,482m and Mt. Kwngde 6,086m. Those two peaks rise vertically right behind the teahouse. Their walls were plastered with fresh snow from the storm we just experienced. It was still and quiet. We have not hit the main Everest trekking region yet so in the teahouse there were just us and the Polish climbers.
From the teahouse in Thyangbo, we walked to Thame on a good trail with wonderful view of Khumbu peaks in front of us. On the way, we stopped at a local gompa that was well taken care of with numerous prayer flags fluttering in the wind. From the terrace of the gompa, the backdrop of Mt. Thamserku 6,618m and Mt. Kangtega 6,783m dominated the view. Two huge peaks, very steep and standing tall above the Dudh Khola valley in bright sunshine and clear sky. In Thame, we stayed in a teahouse owned by a Guinness record holder who climbed Everest 21 times. He now lives in the US. His certificates were displayed on the wall of the dining hall. The teahouse was very clean, well built and organized. Thame was very built up and developed compared to the villages of the Rowaling Valley. The tourist dollars were all around us and many of the teahouse owners live permanently in Europe, US or Kathmandu.
In Thame, we parted ways with David who had to go to Lukla to catch his return flight home. Tony and I continued on to Renjo La and Gokyo Valley.
We walked up the valley that leads to the Nangpa Pass and Tibet. On the way, we had lunch in a great teahouse run by a friendly Sherpani girl who Kumar attempted to connect with David. Kumar claimed that we can just make the offer of marriage to her and that and she would abandon her job and go with us without hesitation. How hard the life must be here if this is indeed the case which I found difficult to fathom? The life in the valley is hard. The lady we met, is up at 5 am attending to animals and fetching wood and water. She basically runs the teahouse all on her own. Her dad, who owns the teahouse, climbed Everest 3 times and had a little wall of fame in the dining hall. He was a very small older man with very pleasant disposition like most people of Nepal.
Along the way to Renjo La pass at 5,360m, we had a great view of the front of the Bhote Kosi Glacier. I was yearning to go there and explore the valley all the way to the Nangpa La Pass. This will have to wait for another trip though.
At this point, the trail turned to the east and led to the basecamp for the Renjo La pass. The basecamp for the Renjo La pass is called Lungdhen and it is located at an elevation of 4380m. It consists of a few teahouses built near a small lake. The teahouse we stayed in was busy as Renjo La Pass is on a popular trekking route.
We were up early for the passing of the Renjo La at 5,360m. This pass was much easier for us than the Teshi Labtsa. The ascent of the pass is just a walk (with stairs) and we were already acclimatized to the altitude. After leaving the teahouse we passed a small lake and climbed the stone stairs directly to the pass. The pass is at an altitude of 5,360m. From Thame we climbed 1,750m. We moved quite fast and ended up on the pass quite early. The views in all directions were absolutely stunning. The weather was just perfect, sunny with no wind and almost no clouds. To the east we could see the most magnificent Himalayan panorama ever.
The Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse were dominating the skyline. The steep south side of Lhotse wall was clearly visible. Down below, the Ngozumba Glacier and Gokyo Village. In the distance was Makalu, then Cholatse, Chamlang and Tamaserku. On the opposite side of the Renjo La Pass, looking west, Tengi Tagi Rau, Menlungtse, and all the peaks lining up the Bhatekoshi Glacier were visible. This must be the best panorama in all of the passes in the Himalaya, not only Nepal. We spent quite a lot of time on the top of the pass admiring the views and taking photos.
All the way down to Gokyo, the views were absolutely magnificent. We passed the incredibly green Gokyo Lake that contrasted with the white fresh snow of the recent storm. The entire surroundings were stunningly beautiful. We stopped many times and took many photos arriving in the Gokyo Village in late afternoon. The original plan was to cross the Cho La pass next. We were getting tired though and Tony decided to take a rest day. The rest was well deserved after the Teshi Labtsa adventure, the 1,600m descent from The Pass to Thame and the 1,700m ascent from Thame to the Renjo La Pass. It all happened in a span of a few days.
I, on the other hand, decided to go to the north side of Cho Oyu to a spot called Ngozumba Tse (Cho Oyu basecamp) located at an altitude of 5,550m. It would be another ascent of 800m over a distance of 12km. We spent a cold night in a comfortable teahouse with many people as we were now in one of the most popular trekking regions in Nepal.
We left quite early to hike up to the Cho Oyu BC. Surprisingly we were almost alone on the trail for the entire day except some climbers going to Kangchung Peak. The wall of Cho Oyu 8,201m and Gyachung Kang 7,922m was directly ahead of us. We walked fast on the trail along the moraine of the Ngozumba Glacier. The higher we went the better the views. By the time we reached the fourth lake (there are five consecutive lakes in the Gokyo valley), the views opened up. The Ngozumba Glacier widened up at the spot where the Gaunara Glacier joins it at a 90-degree angle.
To the east we could see Everest and Lhotse with the good view of the South Col and the north face. The peaks were now very close and spectacular. We made it to the fifth lake and the Cho Oyu BC at 5550m. The spot was outstanding. In front of us a steep and spectacular south wall of Cho Oyu 8201m with massive glaciers flowing down.
The entire area was snow covered from the recent snowstorm so the scenery was very alpine. It was clear that one could continue on to the west to hike along the great peaks of the spine of the High Himalaya. I wanted to linger and take it all in. We are in a great amphitheater of the highest peaks on Earth. The weather was spectacular and clear. There were only limited high clouds obscuring only the very top of the peaks. The time was running out though as it was starting to get late and we had a long way back to the teahouse. As we were hiking back, it started to get dark. The sunset however was truly spectacular and we could admire the wall of peaks lining the Ngozumba Glacier all the way down. We arrived in back in the teahouse after sunset. It was another full day and a magnificent one.
We left Gokyo early in the morning in a brilliant sunshine and blue sky. We were on the main trail linking the Khumbu region with the Gokyo Valley. The trail was busy. We walked passed the Gokyo Lake perfectly still reflecting the surrounding peaks. We walked by the first lake in the Gokyo Valley and down to Dhole. We walked fast and did not stop much. Many helicopters flew above us transporting those afflicted with the altitude issues or just tired.
Dhole was another busy village with many teahouses that start to look all the same in this region. They all serve the same food, have the same photos, are frequented by the same looking western and Asian trekkers going to the same places and taking the same photos.
An uneventful walk to Namche following the main trail network. We walked passed the spectacular backdrop of Ama Dablam with its perfectly shaped ridges and hanging glaciers. We arrived in Namche quite fast. Namche was a busy spot with all the trappings of a well-oiled tourist industry: German Bakery, horses for rent, Internet cafes, souvenir shops and calculated mamas running teahouses.
Since all Khumbu and Gokyo trails converge between Namche and Lukla, the trail to Lukla is very busy. It is full of large groups mainly going to or from the Everest BC. It is a long way (at least 10km) and quite boring. Given what we have seen, the views are pleasant but nothing special. We arrived in Lukla by the evening and checked into a hotel right by the airport. The following day we had to reconfirm our tickets. We spent the day admiring the landings and takeoffs from Lukla airfield (quite a spectacle). We had good food, drinks, visited a fake Starbucks, had a haircut and just hang out. The following day we flew out and landed in Kathmandu after 30 minutes. An end to an epic adventure.
I got seriously hooked on Nepal and the Himalayas…
Julie and Hannah - we stayed in their home in Pangnirtung
For information about Licancabur and other climbing in Bolivia see here.
La Paz and Cordillera Real
La Paz
The Historical centre of La PAz
Sorata
Salt co-op on the Salar Uyuni
Local salt co-op on the Salar Uyuni
Salar Uyuni
Volcan Cerro Tunupa 5,321m
on Cerro Tunupa 5,321m
Salar Uyuni
Military outpost in the Atacama
Vicunas
Atacama Desert
The Rock Tree
The Rock Tree
Laguna Colorada 4,278m
Laguna Colorada 4,278m
The roads of the high Atacama
Laguna Verde 4,300m, Volcan Licancabur is on the right. The climb is 1,630m elevation gain.
The Border post between Bolivia and Chile at Laguna Verde
On the slopes of Licancabur Volcano
Laguna Verde and Laguna Blance from the Licancabur Volcano 5,920m
Licancabur summit 5,920m
The summit of the Licancabur 5,920m
Participants: Derek, David, Kumar, Kamsing and Suri
Trekking in the Langtang Valley (photo by David H.)
Since the civil war in Nepal ended in 2006, the trekking business resumed in full force. Rajendra from the Mountain Sun Valley Trekking Company organized our trip to Mt. Kailas and it was a great success. We met Rajendra through a fellow from Germany whom we met during our 2005 trip to Pakistan. After our trip to Mt. Kailas in 2007, we wanted to do a more involved trek into the high Himalayas. David got bronchitis on the Mt. Kailas trek and needed to recuperate and regain his strength in order to undertake another trek to the high altitudes. In 2009, he felt ready so we decided to go back to Nepal.
We chose the Langtang area primarily because it would not require any flights or long jeep drives. We basically would start trekking straight out of Kathmandu. This was great, given our memories of cancelled flights and long drives from 2007. Due to the proximity to Kathmandu, the cost of this trek was low (less than $2,000 each). Initially, we planned to climb Yala Peak and Naya Kanga Peak. Both mountains are over 5,000m and are great viewpoints to the entire Langtang range. To save money, we did not have a formal permit for the trekking peaks that we wanted to climb. At the end we opted for Yala Peak. We saved a few days of time by not climbing Naya Kanga and we used those days to explore further up the Langtang Valley to the Langtang Glacier.
We arrived in Kathmandu and checked into the Nirvana Garden Hotel. The hotel was around the corner from Rajendra’s office. On this trip, we met Kumar for the first time. Kumar would be our guide on this trek and many subsequent ones. We were quite excited to be there and to be trekking again. This would be my first trek in the heart of the Nepal Himalaya. I did not consider the 2007 Kailas trip to be a true trekking adventure in the Nepal Himalaya. In 2007, we missed a lot of great views in Western Nepal due to the horrible weather we had.
I was very curious about the High Himalaya ever since 1996 when I saw the massive glaciers descending from the high peaks during the drive from Lhasa to Kathmandu. I remember that moment: the peaks were hidden in the monsoon clouds and all I could see were the long tongues of ice. It was very mystical and I wanted to go there very much.
We took a jeep from the Nirvana Garden Hotel for a short drive to the trailhead in Sundarijal. Sundarijal is a suburb of Kathmandu. This was the shortest drive to the start of any trek ever. We basically drove across Kathmandu. We arrived in a large square with fruit and vegetable market after an hour of crawling through the Kathmandu traffic.
The trail ascended a steep and very long flight of stone stairs. The stairs lead to Chisopani, our destination for the day. The climb was 700m and it was quite easy but hot and humid. It was a cloudy day and the weather deteriorated the higher we climbed. It was early October and the monsoon was just ending. Along the way we met a crazy fat American guy with a machete strapped across his belly. He was drenched in sweat and told us that in case of an attack or robbery, he would make use of his machete. We never saw him again.
As we got higher, the fog became very thick and we could barely see 50m in front of us. It started to rain right after we checked into the Everest View Hotel in Chisopani (without any views due to thick fog). The place is popular with people from Kathmandu who come here for the views of the Himalaya.
Today we walked for quite a long way along the ridge that descends from the high foothills of the Langtang Range. There were no views as it was raining quite hard. We passed by some remaining ruins of houses destroyed during the bloody Maoist civil war. We saw Maoist slogans painted on walls. The particular house must have been an old check post.
An hour before we reached the hotel, the rain intensified and I considered putting my rain gear on but I did not as I thought that it would not take that much time to get to our destination. Without the rain gear, the monsoon rain drenched me and by the time I reached the hotel I was completely wet. I was wondering whether the monsoon was really over as I vividly remembered our incessant and permanent rain on the Simikot trail in 2007. I was hoping that this would not be a repeat of that experience.
In the hotel in Mangengoth, the rooms were quite atmospheric with baby blue walls and Chinese photo collages on the walls. These posters are totally tasteless but they provide a much-needed splash of color in these otherwise drab surroundings. It rained for the remainder of the day and night.
In the morning, the rain stopped. It was still overcast and foggy. Again no views in either direction. David told me about the great views from a similar ridge he hiked en route to Paldor. The view was supposed to extend quite far on both sides revealing a panorama of the Himalaya.
We had lunch at Ghopte at 3,430m. By the time we left there, the clouds started to lift a little. We left the ridge and the trail took a sharp turn to the left (west) to ascend to Suryakunda. We passed some spectacular waterfalls that looked quite enchanting in the fog. We arrived in Suryakunda in late afternoon.
Suryakunda is where the Thai Airways plane crashed in 1992:
“Flight 311 departed Bangkok at 10:30 local time. It was scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu at 12:55 Nepal Standard Time.[After crossing into Nepalese airspace the pilots contacted air traffic control and were cleared for an instrument approach from the south called the "Sierra VOR Circling Approach" for Runway 20. Nepalese ATC at the time was not equipped with radar.
Shortly after reporting the Sierra fix ten miles south of the Kathmandu VOR, the aircraft called ATC asking for a diversion to Calcutta, India because of a "technical problem".[Before ATC could reply, the flight rescinded their previous transmission. The flight was then cleared for a straight-in Sierra approach to Runway 02 and told to report leaving 9,500 feet (2,896 m). The captain asked numerous times for the winds and visibility at the airport, but ATC merely told him that Runway 02 was available.
A number of frustrating and misleading communications (due partly to language problems and partly to the inexperience of the air traffic controller, who was a trainee with only nine months on the job) ensued between air traffic control and the pilots regarding Flight 311's altitude and distance from the airport. The captain asked four times for permission to turn left, but after receiving no firm reply to his requests he announced that he was turning right and climbed the aircraft to flight level 200. The controller handling Flight 311 assumed from the flight's transmissions that the aircraft had called off the approach and was turning to the south, and he therefore cleared the aircraft to 11,500 feet (3,505 m), an altitude that would have been safe in the area south of the airport. The flight descended back to 11,500 feet, went through a 360-degree turn, passed over the airport northbound, and crashed on a steep rock face in a remote area of the Langtang National Park at an altitude of 11,500 feet”
The crash claimed the life of the son of the mayor of Winnipeg. I remember reading about it. The owner of the hotel that we stayed at remembered the crash. After the plane crashed, the locals searched the bodies for cash and valuables before the police and army arrived. His hotel was full of parts and pieces of the airplane. I asked him to give me one of the parts of the airplane that was really a piece of mangled steel.
In the late afternoon, the clouds started to part and revealed a great panorama of the Himalayan foothills down below. The rocks surrounding us were quite steep and overgrown with vegetation. The clouds that formed lower down in the lowlands had now an intense orange hew. They looked like orange towers in the sky. We could also see the glow of the lights of Kathmandu lower down.
We started in nice sunshine and climbed up to a high pass at 4,165m called Laurbina Pass. At the pass, there were numerous prayer flags. We were the only party on the trail and had the pass to ourselves. From the pass we could see a chain of lakes down below. These lakes are apparently holy to the followers of Hinduism and receive pilgrims in late August. We took photos and admired the great view from the pass. To the north west of us we could see the main lake of Gosainkund. Beyond the ridge flanking the lake, we should be able to see mountains of the Manaslu Range and the Annapurna but due to the afternoon clouds we could not see anything. We descended down to the lake. As the trail approached the lake, we passed by some Hindu shrines with bells and symbols of Hinduism. The clouds were now moving in and we made it to the hotel above the lake shore.
After late lunch, I took a walk around the Gosainkund Lake. I was alone and it was strange to have the entire area to myself. The path around the lake is a pilgrimage route and it is supposed to be auspicious to make the round. The path is marked with many prayer flags, simple chortens and memorials. The views were great and the lake was crystal clear. I had a great view of the setting sun and multi colored clouds reflecting in the lake.
As we left the hotel by the lake, we walked along a rocky path that dropped steeply to the valley below. The river flowing down in the valley below started at the Gosainkund Lake. Once we turned the corner along the trail, a great panorama of the Himalayan peaks opened before us. It was very impressive! We descended a little lower to a small Buddhist shrine on the promontory with the best view. The shrine was surrounded by tall poles with prayer flags.
From that point, we could see the Ganesh Peaks almost directly ahead. To the left the snow and ice-covered ridge of Langtang Lirung ascended to the clouds above. The peaks in Tibet, far away lined the horizon between Langtang Lirung and the Ganesh Peaks. For a short while we could also see the Manaslu Himal and part of the Annapurna Range but they soon became covered by clouds.
We spent quite a while at the viewpoint and took many photos with a zoom lens. The sky was clear, there was little wind and it was magnificent! After we got enough of the views, we descended to a small hotel at Laurbina at 3,900m. Laurbina is a collection a few tea houses serving pilgrims and trekkers alike. It is located right above the tree line with great views to the valleys and peaks below. The valley of the Langtang River that we would be following into the high mountains was visible below on the right. On the left, behind the ridge was the Valley of Trisuli River. The Trisuli River Valley is one of the main valleys connecting Nepal to Tibet and China.
The day was totally overcast and we were entirely in the cloud. We could see absolutely nothing. Since we had the time, we decided to take a day off and wait out the bad weather as we had enough of walking in the clouds and rain. We spent the day in the kitchen of a small hotel eating and chatting. The break gave us an opportunity to get to know Kumar better. He was a really nice guy always smiling and very positive and attentive. Kamsing was his neighbor from the same village and Suri was his cousin. Suri did not speak any English. I would get to know the three of them much better in 2011 on the trek around Manaslu and Annapurna.
In the morning, the weather cleared up and we could see the high mountains again, especially Langtang Lirung. We started our steep descent to the Langtang River long way below. It was down, down, down. I thought that it would be quite a workout to be doing this trail in the opposite direction.
As we walked lower, the forests of thick old trees with monkeys gave way to fields and houses. The area was quite populated and we walked through many clusters of farms along the way.
In late afternoon, we reached Syabru Village. Syabru is a village built on a ridge. This was the Upper Syabru as the Lower Syabru is in the Trisuli Valley and is the road head for the bus to Kathmandu. Upper Syabru Village consisted of a long row of rickety houses. We had a great view of the Langtang Valley from our hotel. The hotel owner claimed to be a Lama and promised to put me in touch with a local shaman. This never materialized to my disappointment.
I had a great encounter with a shaman in 1996 in Kathmandu when I was in Nepal for the first time. Patricia Cory, my accidental travel companion at that time was on a mission to find healers offering alternative treatments for her terminal patients from Italy. We ended up visiting a shaman who gave us a performance of his powers in Kathmandu. It was a very powerful experience.
Since the Goisakund is known for religious pilgrimages, I thought that maybe, there would be shamans in the villages below the lake.
From Syabru, the trail follows the Langtang River that is the main drainage of the Langtang Himal and starts at the Langtang Glacier. The trail dropped down to the Langtang River. We crossed a long suspension bridge and followed the trail in the thick jungle to the collection of teahouses in a settlement called Bamboo. We had lunch there. It was hot and humid. We dipped our feet in the cold Langtang River for temporary relief from the heat. The river was quite turbulent as the descend grade is quite steep at this point. The valley was very narrow and deep. We could not see anything except the steep walls across the river.
After the trail started to climb up and ended in the village of Lama Hotel. It was another collection of teahouses. We were now on the main Langtang Valley trekking route and the teahouses were bigger and busier. Given the proximity to Kathmandu, this is one of the most accessible and popular treks in Nepal. We walked for another forty minutes to a small settlement with one teahouse where we stayed for the night. The teahouse was located among huge old trees by the Langtang River. The riverbed was full of huge boulders that rolled down from the mountains during nasty landslides.
We started early and hit the Langtang trail checkpoint early in the morning. We presented our trekking permits and continued up to the Langtang Village. Langtang Village is located directly below the south face of Langtang Lirung. The glaciers and snows above are not visible as the steep walls of the mountain obscure the view. The glacier above terminates in the rocky funnel that looms over the village below.
The village is a collection of stone huts spread in the broad valley. From Langtang Village, one can see Ganchempo and other snowy peaks of the High Himalaya at the end of the valley. It was starting to get exciting to be entering the realm of the high mountains. We stopped there for lunch and I made a quick expensive call home. The weather was now sold: blue sky, sunshine and hot.
After lunch and basking in the hot sun outside the teahouse, we started our final part of the walk to Kyanjin Gompa. We walked by some impressive and long Mani walls. We also passed some curious contraptions: Buddhist prayer wheels run by a water mill powered by water flow redirected from the stream above. This is lazy Buddhism!
As we neared Kyanjin Gompa in late afternoon, the sun was getting lower and soon would hide behind the mountains. The valley was now opening up but the surrounding mountains were also higher and steeper. Just before the village, we climbed a small hill from which we had a fabulous view of the open valley, the Langtang River and Kyanjin Gompa below. Towering over the valley and illuminated by the late afternoon sun, were the snowy peaks of the High Langtang Himal partially obstructed by the afternoon clouds. All peaks had snow and glaciers and were over 6,000m high. The vista was absolutely fantastic and it all looked very atmospheric. To the left of us was the terminus of the Langtang Lirung Glacier. Kyanjin Gompa must be one of the most beautiful villages in the entire Himalaya.
We descended the small hill to the village below passing a small temple (gompa) and the local cheese factory.
After dinner, I took a walk to the moraines above the gompa with a fine view of the East Ridge of Langtang Lirung. The last rays of the setting sun illuminated the high mountain. It felt like we were finally among the high peaks that we came here to see.
We needed to acclimatize for our climb of the Yala Peak. Yala Peak is 5,500m high and it would take us two days to do the climb. For our acclimatization, we had a choice to go to the base camp of Langtang Lirung or climb the hills above the village for magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. Unbeknown to us, Tomas Humar was climbing Langtang Lirung and he was in the base camp at that time. Unfortunately he died on that climb two weeks after.
Finally we decided to for a walk to the hills above the village to 4,500m. The view to the Langtang Lirung was very impressive as it is one of the major peaks in the Himalayan chain. We could also see the way to the Yala Peak and the climbing route to Naya Kanga across the valley.
After our walk, Kumar negotiated assistance of a local guide to help us with the Yala Peak climb. Since we did not have a permit, we needed to pay off a local goon. For a while, it looked like we would not be able to do it but I guess it was all part of the negotiation.
We left in late morning and climbed back up the hill above Kyanjin Gompa. We traversed a long slope and arrived at the Yala Peak BC in late afternoon. We camped in a yak pasture with threatening Yaks all around us. In the evening, we had a fabulous sunset with great colours for photography.
We got up around 5.30 and left the camp at first light. We had clear weather and great sunrise with white peaks all around. The snow line was at 5000m making everything look very alpine. We climbed for a few hours and arrived at the rocky outcrop that is the main summit in late morning. In order to gain the main summit, we needed to traverse a short section along a steep ridge dropping to the Shalbachum Glacier below. It was quite beautiful. We finally arrived at the summit at 5,580m. The view from the summit was outstanding. We could see the Shalbachum Glacier below, Shishapangma peaking from behind the ridge across, Penthang Karpo Ri, Langshisa Ri and Langshisa Glacier directly ahead. We could also see the peaks across the Langtang Valley with Naya Kanga and Ganja La Pass. To the west, we could see the entire bulk of Langtang Lirung. We had a beautiful weather and very good visibility. We took many photos and lingered on the summit for quite some time. We were the only people there. The fine weather held for the remainder of the day. As the afternoon approached, we descended back to the BC retracing our steps on the snow and glacier with fantastic views all around. It is such a beautiful valley!
Yala Peak is the highest point along the rocky ridge
Yala Peak (the point on the ricky ridge) and Langtang Lirung behind
Instead of walking back to Kyanjing Gompa, we decided to drop down the slope to the east to arrive at Langshisa Kharka. We descended down a slope all the way to the Langtang River and then followed the river to Langshisa Kharka. We arrived there around 2pm. Right before the Langshisa Kharka, we stopped at a small viewpoint and got the first glimpse of the Langtang Glacier. We did not realize that the glacier is 10km away from the campsite and that it also continues for another 15 km to its terminus.
Deceived by how close it seemed, we decided to go to the Langtang Glacier for the afternoon walk. Of course the distances here are very deceptive due to the scale of the terrain. We left the camp at 2.30 pm (it gets dark around 6 and it was 10 km to get there with a 600m elevation gain). We arrived at the snout of the Langtang Glacier at very late afternoon. We had a fabulous sunset on Langshisa Ri Peak 6,427m and Penthang Kharpo Ri directly across the Langtang Glacier.
Suddenly we realized that we were both wearing our sunglasses and did not have our regular glasses with us! It was getting dark and we could not see very well with our dark lenses. We got caught in the dark and thankfully Kumar came with the flashlight to meet us. I was just following Kamsing’s runners that had a reflective stripe. Without glasses I could not see the many rocks that dotted the trail. With the glasses I could not see them either so I was screwed both ways! We got to camp tired. It was a fabulous sortie though into a beautiful valley that would warrant further exploration had we had more time.
According to David’s recollection of events:-): “this is an entirely fictitious account (above)! What actually happened is that 4 of us went to see the glacier: you, me, Kumar and Kamsing. It happened that you and Kamsing were far ahead of me and Kumar. Kumar and I realised at a certain point that we would have to turn back to avoid walking in the dark, but no amount of waving and shouting could attract your attention, so we were forced to continue to avoid getting further separated. Thus we ended up night walking in the Himalaya. “We could not see very well…” Understatement! I could not see at all! I had to hold Kumar’s arm to find the way and avoid obstacles. It was not Kumar but the one who stayed behind - Suri? - who came with the flashlight. I remember that to your credit you did acknowledge that it was all your fault. I was not happy.” But it gave us something to remember forever!
Langtang Glacier and Shishapangma in Tibet (photo from 2018 trip - see 2018 year)
Today we had a long walk back to Kyanjing Gompa; it seemed long, as we were tired.
We walked in the windy and sandy riverbed. Small loose rocks were whipped up by the wind. David got sick as he was quite under dressed for the weather. We arrived at Kyanjin Gompa in the afternoon and the valley was filled with clouds. I guess we were very lucky with fine weather during our Yala Peak adventure.
In Kyanjin Gompa we stayed at the same hotel. The hotel has a very nice lady working in the kitchen with a nice kid helper. We also met some Danes who told us that Denmark is an unhappy place. I gave them my “Trekking in the Langtang” book. In the afternoon we wandered to the cheese factory to buy some local yak cheese.
The walk down the valley was fast and easy as we were well acclimatized by this time. Since we were retracing our steps, the walk seemed long. It was mainly through a forest with no views. It seemed, as it would never end! The trail had a lot of small ups and downs. We could not find any rooms at the first village so we needed to carry on to the next camp. There I met a German man who had been to Nepal 11 times (I was shocked and thought how could he visit the same place so many times. Little did I suspect that I would catch the same bug!).
Again, the walk was down along the same path in beautiful hot weather. We walked in very narrow valley all the way to the Trisuli River. At some spots we had great views back up the valley with white peaks barely visible above the green lush forest.
We had a relaxing lunch at Pahare Hotel and arrived in the village of Syabrubesi in late afternoon. The surroundings were lush and green. We walked through more signs of the recent civil war. We were happy to be done and celebrated our conclusion to the trek with a cold beer. I had no plans to come back to Nepal at that time. We had a nice trek but Pakistan seemed better but unfortunately more dangerous.
We took a long jeep ride back to Kathmandu stopping at a beautifully restored farm (The Famous Farm in Nuwakot, near Trisuli Bazaar. http://thefamousfarm.com). We had nice views to the valley below with high peaks on the horizon. We passed by many overloaded buses on dirt roads. We arrived in KTM after dark. The road had numerous switchbacks and although the distance was only 60km, it took the entire day to drive.
October 23, 2009 – Kathmandu– Delhi on Air India
October, 23 – October 25, 2009 – India - Agra
October 26, 2009 – Depart for Canada
Elevation gain: Ktm – Gaoisakund – 2930m
Syabru – Kyanjin 1520m
Kyanjin – hills 770m
Kyanjin – Yala 1850m
Langshisa – Langtang Gl 500m
Total elevation gain: 7,570m
Distance: 170 km
The Langtang National Park. Our route followed the Langtang Khola with the trek up the Yala Peak 5,520m.
We came up from Kathmandu via Ghost, Gosainkuda Lakes, Syabru, Bamboo, Langtang Village, to Langshisa Kharka. We then hiked up to the Langtang Glacier but lack of time did not allow for further exploration. The trek was around 170km in total distance covered (excluding the Yala Peak portion).
Langshisa Ri 6,733m
See photos of the Yala Peak climb
Hiking up to Ghopte
Kamsing at the Gosainkunda Lakes at Laurebina Pass, 4,664m
Gosainkunda Lake is one of the holiest places in Nepal with large pilgrimages arriving in August.
Gosainkunda Lakes
Langtang II 6,596m (left) and Langtang Lirung 7,227m (right)
The portion of the Langtang Himmal in this photo is in Tibet (China).
Ganesh Himal
Ganesh Himal
Langtang Lirung
Water powered prayer wheel.
Langtang Village buried by the earthquake of 2014 by the avalanche from the glacier visible above the rocky cliffs.
The final stretch of the trail to Kyanjing Gompa.
Kyanjing Gompa
Hiking above Kyanjing Gompa
Langtang Lirung Glacier and basecamp. The tent of late Tomasz Humar is visible by the moraine in the centre. He died a few days after this photo was taken on the rocky slopes of Langtang Lirung above the BC on the ridge visible on the left side of the photo.
Langtang Lirung
Langtang Lirung
Langtang Range
Mani Wall in Kyanjing Gomba
Approach to Yala Peak
Ganchempo 6,387m
Ganchempo in beautiful sunset light from Yala Peak BC.
Yala Peak
Yala Peak
Yala Peak
Yala Peak
The view from Yala Peak to Langtang Lirung
Yala ridge
David, me and Kamsing
The view towards Tillman Pass and Langshisa Glacier
Closeup of Langshisa Glacier. The Tilman Pass is on the right (not visible).
Descending from Yala Peak. The Langtang Valley below.
Langtang River and Langshisa Ri on the horizon
Langshisa Ri Mountain
Langtang Glacier and Langshisa Ri Mountain.
Langtang Glacier and Pemthang Karpo Ri Mountain.
The Langtang Valley
The Langtang Valley
Going back to Kathmandu after hiking down the Langtang Valley.
Local transport on the Langtang to Kathmandu road
One of the most popular hikes for wilderness enthusiasts is the Donjek Route. Rising over the vast alpine of the Burwash Uplands and then descending to the toe of the Donjek Glacier, this hike typifies "pristine mountain wilderness". This route is a recommended 8 - 10 day trip that starts where the Duke River meets the Alaska Highway. It then travels southwest over Hoge Pass to the Donjek River before turning southeast past the Donjek glacier to Bighorn Creek. From this point the route turns northeast rising over Atlas pass then continuing on to the Duke River and finally following Copper Joe Creek (still marked as Halfreed Creek on some maps) out to the Highway. The estimated map distance from where the Alaska Highway crosses the Duke River, to where Copper Joe Creek meets the highway, via the following described route, is approximately 100-120 km. About ½ of this route is outside the park boundaries. The route follows creek and river drainage for the most part with some sections along an old road, horse and wildlife trails, and some sections, without any obvious trail at all. (source: Parks Canada).
Straddling the border of DR Congo and Uganda, the Rwenzoris form the tallest mountain range on the African continent. Their nickname, the Mountains of the Moon, goes back almost 2000 years, given by Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy who gathered geographical information from Arab traders about this mysterious snow-capped mountain chain in the heart of Africa. It was explorer Henry Morton-Stanley in the late 19th-century who confirmed the existence of these mountains and more appropriately adopted the name Rwenjura, meaning rainmaker which has now been corrupted into Rwenzori. The highest point of the range is the glaciated Margherita Peak at 5109 metres, the fourth highest in Africa.
The trek is about 10 days and covers a distance of 50 km. It traverses 2 passes around 4,500m/ Along the way, it is possible to ascend Mt. Speke and Mt. Margarita. Although not long, the trek is strenuous due to the challenging terrain.
Mt. Margarita 5.109m
The trek starts in the mountain hamlet of Nyakalengija, nestled on the banks of the roaring Mubuku River. There’s a lot of commotion in the village with the arrival of a group mzungus, as westerners are collectively known as in East Africa. Mountain tourism is the main reason for foreigners to visit, and usually means an army of porters is recruited to haul equipment and supplies up the mountain. It’s a rare job opportunity that attracts scores of people from the entire valley.
John Matte Hut 3,505m
Mt. Margarita 5,109m from John Matte Hut
This is the route that the famous 1906 expedition followed, led by the Duke of Abruzzi. It’s hard to imagine how these pioneers found their way through this uncharted territory, hacking their way through the thick jungle. They managed to climb all major Rwenzori peaks including Margherita Peak, an incredible feat considering there was hardly any knowledge about these mountains.
The final approach to the pass runs through open moorland with the green stacks of the Giant Lobelia’s poking out of the bog. On our right, the black rocky spine of Mount Baker, named after explorer Samuel Baker and the third highest mountain in the range.
Approaching Lake Bujuku
mud, mud and more mud
Mt. Margarita 5,109m
Mt. Alexandra from Mt. Speke
Mt. Margarita 5,109m from Mt. Speke
On Mt. Speke
Mt. Speke 4,890m
Mt. Speke
Bigo Hut 3,400m
Lake Bujuku on the way to Mt. Margarita
View from Elena Hut 4,500m
Mt. Baker from Elena Hut
Mt. Margatita 5,109 from Elena Hut
Sherpa of Uganda
Mt. Baker from the Margarita Glacier
Mt. Margarita
Summit ridge of Mt. Margarita
Mt. Alexandra from Mt. Margarita 5,083m
View into DRC (Congo)
