The Annapurna Circuit and the Base Camp

...without supplemental oxigen!

It is December 14th, 1999 and my watch tells me it is 14:45 Nepali time. The rest of my trip I will stay on Nepali time as a few days ago I noticed that the button of my watch is gone.

In front of me there is a statue to memorize Anatoli Boukreev saying:

Mountains have powers that call us into their realms. There left forever are our friends, whose great souls longed for the heights. In respectful memory of all those who have not returned from the summits.

ABC

Today is the 20th day of the trekking and I have arrived in ABC (for non-mountaineers: Annapurna Base Camp).

This is the most fascinating spot I have been. Surrounded by giant and impressive 7000-8000m mountains, a huge icefall and steep walls into the depth. On arriving at ABC, I met Fred and Inge, a Dutch couple. Together with Fred I climb another 200m towards the Icefall. These huge ice formations are ready to fall and you hear the constant cracking sounds of the ice while small blocks of ice and stone are falling all the time.

Machhupuchare seen from Annapurna Base Camp one evening during October 1997. © Ian P Johnson.

On our way up we pass many little 'in memorial' signs, like the one of a German girl who fell over the ridge (we are on) taking a picture, just a month ago. When you look down you imagine that you would survive a fall, but that is a wrong interpretation of the mind. Fred who loves to throw big rocks over the edge (is this typical for Controllers ?) proves that the ravine is at least 1000 m.

We watch the sun go down and see the snow turn red (unfortunately my digital camera compensates that and makes the snow white again). We sleep in a hotel where all these famous mountaineers have slept and have a talk with one of the Sherpa's who was there when Boukreev disappeared. He thinks Boukreev was punished for the fact that he took meat with him on the trip. Killing animals and eating meat is not done in holy places like the Annapurna.

Anatoli Boukreev     Anatoli Boukreev, a 39 years old legendary Russian climber, died on Christmas Day 1997 in an avalanche on Annapurna.   more

The most charcteristic mountain in the Annapurna is the Machhapuchhare, which has never been climed. In 1957 when an attempt was made the Sherpa's refused to continue the last 50 m, out of respect of this holy mountain.

This is a world with different rules and beliefs.

Early morning view of Annapurna I © Ian P Johnson.

After a cold night at ABC and a beautiful sunrise I decide to go down again although I would have liked to stay a bit longer. The chance of getting snowed in however, is growing every day and I am not sure if the insurance will cover the US$ 5,000 for a helicopter rescue. ABC was the climax of the trekking which started 20 days ago...

Besi Sahar

...after stepping from my other life into this new one (which is great !!), I first spent some days in Kathmandu to get used to this unlimited freedom! Made many photo's with the new camera and realized that leaving the manual at home was not my best idea.

November 24th I took the bus to Besi Sahar, where the hike starts. Many people go with guide and porter but I don't want the hassle and decide to start on my own in the hope to find company on the road. Going over the 5418 m pass alone however is not a good idea. The people that run the Everest hotel in Besi gave me a hard time in trying to sell me a porter and a guide. They don't stop referring to the many tourists, that seem to die each year, the robberies and the difficulty I will have to find my way. Their ultimate argument to take a guide is that he can take my last wish in case I die !! As if spending a night with Claudia S. or Cindy C. would then still be an option.

Nevertheless I was very happy to meet Lauren, Stephanie, Richard and Ellen on my way and we decided to stay together.

We are an international team with an Australian, 2 Canadians, an American and me. Stephanie is our most experienced long-term traveler from the US and all animals and kids we met on the trail have good memories of her. Lauren and Ellen are family and come from Canada. Like most Canadians Ellen has the flag attached to her backpack. Ellen plays soccer and is very interested in Buddhism. Lauren is the best card player in the team. Richard is a strong Australian. Once he has started walking it is difficult to stop him.

Together we spend days in a fantastic environment, that changes everyday. We pass beautiful Buddhist villages which welcome you with their prayer flags and wheels. Each flag or wheel carries a sacred mantra (=prayer formula) which is said when the flag flutters or the wheel spins.

We meet very friendly people all the way. Because it is off season we can choose the best hotels with rates as low as half a dollar. In many hotels you will see pictures of the Daila Lama. As the circuit can only be done by foot the only traffic we meet are the 'donkey trains' and the porters carrying huge loads to supply the villages.

The nights that normally end before 9 o'clock, we sit on a table that is heated by a little fire under it and we play 'shit-head', a card game we learned from Stephanie (you cannot win but if you loose you are a shit-head; I am glad my English is not good enough to understand what that is). During the day we have magnificent views on Annapurna I to IV, Gangapurna, Dhaulagiri etc. etc.

Dhauligiri 8,167 metres from Poon Hill near Ghorepani one morning in October 1997. © Ian P Johnson.

Gangapurna, seen from Manang. © Ian P Johnson.

The nights are very cold and we sleep with our woolen caps on. Richard, I share rooms with, does not even take off his gloves during the night! The cold makes me think of Christmas, but Richard disagrees and relates Christmas to sunny days on the beach. One of these days I wrote in my diary: At 6 I woke up, my head is cold but my body is still warm because last night I asked for extra blankets to put on top of my -20°C sleeping bag. (I will never survive -20°C in this bag). The first thought these last few days is "where are my ski's?" as doing the Annapurna circuit in winter is like wintersport while sleeping in hotels without heating.

Thorung La In the group English is the native language except for me. They taught me the latest "turbo language". My vocabulary is extended with words like "cool", "awesome", and "fucking". So with this cool team we managed to go over the fucking cold, though awesome, 5418m high pass called Thorung La. None of us suffered from Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), and when we arrived save in the "Bob Marley" hotel on the other side there was a big party and we were still able to dance.

After 10 days without alcohol we celebrated our achievement with beer and managed to stay up late: 10 o'clock.

The Sanchez Factor

Annapurna Base Camp

The track I am following is quiet and changes from a relatively smooth path into a real Alpine path where donkeys can no longer supply the villages. Everything has to be carried by porters, which is reflected in the prices.

The first few days are in the jungle and there are playing monkeys everywhere. Though walking alone is not advisable in this environment, I reckon the risk is within limits as there are villages every 2 hours and during the day I meet at least 6 people going down. In the hotels I stay I am welcomed as a friend of the family. In one of the places I am joining a big party of a father who just had a son born after he had 4 daughters. This message was given to him via a porter as his wife was somewhere in a village down the mountain. Sons are needed as a kind of pension, while girls are "lost" to the family they marry. This celebration is the night before I go to ABC at a height of 3500m but I cannot avoid getting to bed completely drunk.

The day after I reach the overwhelming environment of the ABC which eliminates the little hang-over of the night before.

From ABC down to the world of electricity, cars and western pleasures like television and hot showers, took me 4 days. Then there were 2 days in Pokhara at the edge of a beautiful lake in the sun at 20°C, reading The Climb by Anatoli Boukreev, the book he wrote one month before he died. Now I am back in Kathmandu and I am reunited with my team members. We have a good time here in Kathmandu and will celebrate Christmas together. Nepal is awesome!

A fishmonger of Pokhara. © Ian P Johnson.

Stay cool!

Ron.

PS 1
I would have added some of the pictures to this text but I just found out I took the wrong cable with me and now I cannot transfer pictures to a PC. Hope I will be able to solve this in Bangkok (end of January).

PS 2
After Christmas I'll head for India and New Year I plan to celebrate there. After a short visit of India I'll fly to Bangkok, end of January.