ABC trek takes us closer to home

The early sunrise casts shadows over our pathway leading to the Annapurna Base Camp

The bus trip to Pokhara was done. Our permits had been paid for and the taxi  sent on it's return journey to town, we shouldered our packs and faced the steps leading to our first real trek. The path that ends at  Annapurna Base Camp lay ahead. The four day ascent may test our stamina and our ability to cope with altitude but it would take our minds away from the thoughts of Christmas back in the UK. Our first Christmas away from home and our children.

The staging posts are to be some of the many simple guesthouses clustered along the way. Together with the warm Nepali welcome, for this is a district inhabited by the Gurung ethnic group, these houses offer a basic room, set menu rich in starch essential for walkers and some even provide a hot shower. As we climb, the facilities become more basic but the food is always good and our needs are more than met. To minimize the haggling and ensure the cost is covered of manhandling gas, food and all manner of things the trekker regards as essential to achieve comfort and happiness, prices are set and rise with altitude. The room rate of 350nrs is the same whatever the height but vegi. daal bhat is 300nrs at the trek start rising to 530nrs at base camp, where a bottle of water will cost nearly ten times the normal rate. No guesthouse offers heating so we carry sleeping bags and thermals for the long nights which begin at sunset, or when the first power outage dims the lights.

Our first night is spent in Syauli Bazar, where things are quiet since this is the off season.

Simple but clean.

Jude and I have been joined by our first UK visitor, Sarah.  She is on her way to Australia and has broken her trip to spend Christmas with us and our plan is to have reached base camp and celebrate there. The trek begins at Nayapul, 1070m and will finish when we reach the lower slopes of Annapurna 1, the world’s 10^th highest peak, 8091m. The base camp is 4150m, so nothing too challenging but our first taste of Himalaya, proper.

Along the way we pass women making traditional mats from rice straw. The mat width being set by the length of straw. It must have been a reasonable season here, the mats look wide.

Another one of the many uses for rice straw. These mats are mainly used to sleep on.

Gas bottles are carried by man or mule to all places on the trek but cooking over wood is still most common.

 

Sunrise over the terraces

 

The terrace method of cultivation is amazing in many ways. Since the autumn rice harvest only a small area is replanted,
demonstrating the marginal nature of the farming but also showing that these fallow paddy fields could be a lost opportunity
to grow much needed fodder for the livestock.

 

Our route is along an increasingly narrow valley, which even here is still carved up by paddy terraces that step away into the clouds. The rice and millet harvest is long gone and some ground has been replanted with familiar potato and cauliflower crops. A testament to the mild winters, even here. On other steeper scree clad slopes the vegetation is scrub but to our surprise bamboo grows well by the rushing melt water fed streams, and even at 3000m we see the Grey Langur monkeys feeding high in the evergreen canopy. Their black faces peer down at us, but at the first sign of a camera disappear behind the nearest branch.

Grey Langur Monkeys look down as they feed in the canopy

Grey Langur's are the most common monkey in S. Asia

 

Jude carefully negotiates a rough timber bridge

 

Native Honeysuckle and Bougainvillea adorn the houses even at 3000m

Winter flowering Jasmine has a delicate scent.

 

Small Alpine members of the Primrose family.

 

 

One of the many resting places where stone steps and benches are handy
to put the many bags hauled by porters, and also provide a level place
for our bovine friends to relax.

 

 

Above 3000m the gorge narrows and there is a risk of avalanches as the sun melts the recently fallen snows. 

 

You either love ‘em or hate ’em but long sections of the path climb and descend using beautifully crafted stone steps. The dry stone constructed houses remind me of Hartsop in the Lake District where my parents lived and our family holidays were spent. The Bell Bros. from Patterdale, who are masters of dry stone construction would feel totally at home in these villages where local building stone is split from ground rock using steel wedges and sledge hammers.  

'THORN HOUSE', HARTSOP, CUMBRIA

 

Many similarities between the dry stone construction of  our family home above and the Nepali houses below. 

 

A typical stone Nepali house of the district

Rice straw drying

 

As we go along altitude plays it’s part in slowing progress but just a little shortness of breath and nothing more. The less fortunate pass us, descending to try and alleviate the crashing headaches and nausea or worse still have to be airlifted to safety.

Not the most subtle of names but the noodles, daal bhat, or Gurung bread that is the usual fare at these
guesthouse is very welcome as we burn up the energy.

 

 

 

Simple rooms offer little insulation as the night time temperatures plummet

 

Who wouldn't want to be guided by Kaji Sherpa who has already climbed Everest eight
times and was so helpful to us as we plotted our way to the base camp. We chose to
trek on our own but most parties use the skills of guides like Kaji. Behind him is a
 young porter carrying two bags.
 

 



Towering over us since the first day is the massive double pointed fang, Machhapuchhre, the Fish Tail (6997m), which seems to diminish as we get closer and her lower slopes hide behind lower peaks. We meet the first snow at Deurali and as the valley closes this Hindu holy mountain reveals its full glory like a bare icy rock shard reaching to the heavens. Scaling these faces is strictly off limits due to the sanctity of the peak and looking from our trail they seem beyond human ability and totally unclimbable.

The Hindu Holy Mountain, Machhapucchhre towers over us.

The soaring  Steppe eagles seem to be gripped by the strong forces radiating from Machhapuchhre. We also fall under its spell as MBC approaches. The Christmas season, all that has happened since arriving in Nepal, and the strivings of our family back at home come together and our hearts flutter along with the prayer flags that adorn each Buddhist stupa. The small ghumba bells we ring, send sounds drifting up into the clear cold atmosphere taking with them our silent ‘pooja’.

Christmas Eve morning, 5.30am., and Annapurna 1 finally shows herself in a blaze of early sunshine as we slowly make
the final climb. The wind lifts a cloud of snow spume from the peak.

  

As we rise early from our slumbers, our plan is to leave Machhapuchhre Base Camp behind and climb the last few hundred meters to ABC in darkness to fully appreciate the rising sun. Despite the closeness we have not yet seen Annapurna 1 but as the light fills the fiery sun’s rays illuminate the bowl of peaks which surround our final destination like some surreal gold leaf temple dome.

As the daylight appears Annapurna 3 (7555m) shows her scooped peak to our rear.

Jude looks back to ABC from the stupa at the foot of Annapurna.

 Like ants blinded by a glowing light we creep ‘Lowery like’ through the snow to the huge, prayer flag adorned, bell stupa which is guarded by the surrounding Annapurnas whose summits are blurred by rising whisps of snow spume. Glaciers, moraines and all the effects of erosion by ice lie before us in this bare lunar landscape, all of which seems to be out of scale as any reference points are lost on the massive slopes. Maurice Herzog, back in 1953, must have scanned down on this awesome landscape before he turned and made his horrific descent of Annapurna's North Face after making the first ascent.

A moment of reflection



The Buddhist Bell Stupa, destination, with its commemorative plaques. We add stones to the cairn before returning. 

  A few memorial plaques to climbers who did not make the return journey home but lost their lives in this icy place, adorn the stupa. In a few moments we place our own small stones and flowers to mark the place where we remembered those who did not see out 2014, and then with damp eyes we descend to the huts that mark the base camp. Time enough to warm with a cup of chyaa, and capture a group photo of those with whom we had shared this remarkable climb and special moment. Soon, as the day opens out, we are making our own return journey to lower less formidable places.

Some friends we made along the way.

Simple cooking facilities at Base Camp.

ABC canteen

A warming Cuppa sharing space with the images of many famous climbers of what is known as the 'World's Deadliest Mountain'.

Jude takes a final glance back at the 'Fish Tail'

Life goes on. These men will take three days to climb the route it has taken us a few hours to descend.