Adventures in 2012

This was trek of great variety, starting with the Manaslu circuit. I venture from the fertile valley at Arughat Bazar, working up to the 5300m pass at Larke La before joining the Annapurna trek at Dharapani. Only for a short time though, as I then duck out to the special zone of Nar and Phu, a spectacular very dry and time forgotten world. That special world lasted only a few days and I then rejoin the Annapurna circuit trail. Not for long thoush when I again take a side trip. This time it's to the high elevated  Lake Tilicho with high mountains as a backdrop. Finally I clamber over Thorung la pass to fly out of Jomsom

I woke early so I had a look around and watched the sun shine its light on the mountains. This was my last day on the Manaslu circuit, and it was time to take on a new guide and say goodbye to Walter and Elena.

My first pass over 5000m. An early start, it was very cold and a very beautiful scene. We were exhilarated, or perhaps relieved when the apex, Larke La was crested at 5135m. As I went down, yak caravans laboured up. We stopped for pizza and an overnight stay with the creature comforts provided in Bimtang.

It was a big climb out of the valley, where we ascended from Samdo at 3870m to 4460m at Dharamsala. According to  altitude.org   " At  4460 m , the standard barometric pressure is  60  kPa ( 449  mmHg). This means that there is  59 % of the oxygen available at sea level."  

It was my birthday, a milestone event - I turn 50, and what a fitting place to do it, high up in the Himalaya at 3800m in Samdo. I felt special when I heard "Happy birthday Stuart". Rajesh gave me a white scarf ( aka khata ) as a gift, which sybolizes peace and purity. Elena gave me a buffalo horn bracelet and a card to remember her and Walter by.

I got up 3 times last night for a call of nature. This hydration thing is a bit over the top, but I guess it worked, as my headache subsided. We decided to go for an excursion to the rim of Birenda Tal (Lake).  On the way to it we got wonderful clear views of Manaslu, the namesake of this trek.

The village of Sama Gaon is nestled in a natural ampitheatre of snow clad mountains all round. My head is aching with a throbbing tightness over the scalp and neck, altitude was affecting me. It was bitterly cold up here, my expensive light weight quilt got a good workout last night. 

I still remember last night's pumpkin pie, I should have taken a photo. I hear that sometimes tourists come and stay a while, some being chefs will pass on their knowledge. The dal bhat; also was of high standard. with good pickle and variety of vegetables including a tomato it is funny how these little things that we take for granted are such a special treat when you are so high up and away from city 'civilisation'.

We had to leave early as this was to be a long, hard day of 10 hours. We all had egg and noodle soup and left at 7:30am. The day again featured deep river gorges. There were more caravans of pack animals, as this was the only way to supply villages further on in both the Manaslu and Tsum valley routes.

The real mountains were starting to peek out on the skyline. The water thunders down the very steep river valley of the Buri Gandaki. Gorges are carved deeply through the mountains and  bridges are mere spidery threads stretching across the walls. The water can be heard loudly thundering through. When the water is quiet, the crickets take over with their loud almost electronic buzzing sound.

We shortened our trip leg to Lapubesi because one of the party was suffering from the heat. The valley narrows and in places is very steep. There are hot water springs at Tatopani.

We were treated with sweeping views of the valley as we walked up it. It was adorned with many waterfalls and a beautiful green rural scene. This will be the theme of the trek until we get closer to Manaslu. Today we ascended from 550m in Arughat Bazar, 200m higher at 750m for Lapu Besi. We will continue to ascend steadily over the next few days to 5000m at the Larke La pass. There is plenty of time to acclimatize.

It was a long trip from Kathmandu to Arughat Bazar. We travelled by a fairly modern and comfortable 4wd. Arughat Bazar is a pretty village at the start of the Manaslu trek. It is situated on the fast flowing Buri Gandaki river.