It was a pretty three hour walk, with 900 metres of climbing, to reach the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). We crossed stretches of old snow in avalanche chutes, before bursting into the sunshine above the Macchapuchare Base Camp. Helicopters buzzed overhead,...
It was a pleasant climb through a mature hardwood and bamboo forest today. We are in a narrow valley leading into the Annapurna sanctuary, so despite the clear conditions we did not have direct sun until 10:30 am. There are monkeys in the forests we...
Today was rather uneventful, but we did have some of the nicest weather we have experienced. It often gets partly cloudy starting at midday, but today was blue sky from dawn to dusk. Because we were at moderate altitudes of 1800 to 2400 metres, it was also...
The walk today was distinct from previous days in a couple of ways. In the first place, the vegetation was much richer. It is apparent that the rainfall is greater here than in other areas around Annapurna. We walked through a lush forest of large...
Today Matthew and I climbed a net 1600 metres to Ghorepani. This is the biggest climb on the Annapurna Circuit. We felt very strong at first, sucking in the viscous and oxygen rich air at 1200 metres. The last hour, with fatigue and thinner air, was...
Today all four of us descended 800 metres to a land of bananas and oranges. The first half of the day we walked on extraordinary trails cut into the sidehill above the river, or rising or falling on stone staircases. I frequently imagined that we were walking on...
We have walked 5 hours each of the past two days, mostly on trails on the opposite side of the valley from the road. We started in conifer forests, but now that we have dropped to 2000 metres, we are walking through bamboo and other subtropical plants. It is so...
Matthew and I set off from Thorung Phedi at 5:00 this morning. It was a clear and cold night and the ice crystals on the juniper shrubs twinkled in our headlamps. We could see other headlamps grinding there way up the steep slope above us. (Some...
Another beautiful day’s walk has brought us to Thorung Phedi (“foot of the Thorung pass”) at 4540 metres. It has been a cloudless day with good views of Annapurna for most of the walk. We saw a couple more herds of the chamois like animals, one of them...
It was sunny and comparatively warm all day today. The skiff of snow that fell yesterday evening melted quickly in the morning sun. Matthew, Rick and I walked from Manang to the collection of lodges called Yak Karka (Yak Meadows) located at 4,020 metres....
We are enjoying the two night acclimatization stay in Manang. To aid the process it is recommended that trekkers hike as high as possible on the acclimatization day. Matthew and I chose an ambitious outing: an 1100 metre climb to the “Ice Lake” above...
There are two routes from Upper Pisang to Manang: a 3 1/2 hour walk along the bottom of the valley and a more scenic and challenging 6 1/2 hour higher trail. We broke into two pairs, with Rick and Don opting for the lower trail and Matthew and I embracing the...