The 220 mile trek around the great, semi-circular,
multi-summitted, Annapurna Himal takes some
20 days to complete and is one of the classic journeys through
the Nepal Himalaya.
Starting amid lush, sub-tropical rice-paddies
the route follows the course of the Marsayangdi
Khola ( khola - river ) on primitive trails through small farming
settlements and alpine forests
of fir and pine to the arctic tundra of the yak pastures
surrounding the medieval village of Manang
nestling beneath the huge ice-fall tumbling from the giant, 7000
metre Gangapurna.
Beyond Manang the crux of the trek is the
high-level crossing of the snow-covered Tharong La
to reach an arid, wind-swept, mountain-desert region in the upper
valley of the Kali Gandaki.
From the sacred temple at Muktinath the
return leg heads down-river on the trade route from Tibet
via the caravanserai of Jomson and Tukuche through the deepest
gorge in the world between the two
8000 metre peaks of Annapurna ( the world's 10th highest mountain
) and Dhaulagiri ( the world's
7th highest mountain ) to finish at Phewa Tal ( Tal - lake ) on
the outskirts of Pokhara - the
second city of Nepal.
It was my first visit to Nepal and at our
trek starting point at the ancient royal city of Gorkha,
namesake of the illustrious Gurkas ) I suffered from conflicting
emotions - anticipation and
apprehension of what was to follow. The thought of being up to 10
days away from the nearest
roadhead was daunting - in Scotland and the Alps the most had
been only a couple of days.
Another member of our group, Judith, a doctor from the USA, was
also concerned and her rucksac
was extra heavy with medicines for all eventualities.
As we headed up the scenic valley on narrow
trails beneath high rock walls and lofty snow peaks,
criss-crossing from bank to bank on long, swaying, suspension
bridges, the tension in our party
increased as we approached the huddle of flat-roofed houses of
Manang. Rumours circulated of an
early snowfall blocking the pass, disconsolate trekkers were met
returning having been defeated by
altitude sickness.
Our group leader, Phil did not help morale;
" If you don't make it over the pass you won't see your
kitbags ( carried by our porters ) again until Kathmandu!".
My daysac was therefore at its heaviest for
the 1000metre climb over steep scree and snow slopes to
the col at 5500metres - some 2,000 feet higher than my previous
best on 4800 metre Mont Blanc.
However, by late evening, everyone,
including Jack, a 60-years-old Irishman, had successfully
struggled into the walled, fortress-like camping ground at
Muktinath. We had enjoyed perfect
conditions but others have not been so fortunate. A party of four
Sherpas died on one occasion in
a vain attempt to secure help for their group snowbound on their
attempt at crossing the pass.
Poorly clad porters have also succumbed to exposure and
hypothermia.
From the pagoda-style temple with its
sacred water spouts and natural gas flame a dramatic view
unfolds of the barren moonscape of the upper Kali Gandaki valley
and the huge, white dome of
Dhaulagiri far to the South.
The numerous small, simple lodges in the
Kali Gandaki valley originally served as overnight staging
posts for porters carrying goods on the trade route to and from
Tibet but are now the haven of
'tea-shop' trekkers and the route between Pokhara and Jomson, the
most popular in Nepal, is now
known as the 'coca-cola trail'.
A long uphill slog from the riverside at
Tatopani to the col at Gorapani is alleviated by superb
views of Dhaulagiri and its neighbouring Tukuche Peak rising
sheer above the valley floor.
Poon Hill, a short climb above Gorapani, provides an even better
vantage point to witness the great
peaks flame red in the rays of the rising sun.
However the finest panorama is saved for
the end of the trek in Pokhara. On a clear day, from the
dam on Phewa Tal, the entire northern horizon is lined with
mighty peaks ranging from Dhaulagiri in
the West through Annapurna South Peak, Hiunchuli, Annapurna I,
the shapely Macchapuchre ( the
'fish-tail' mountain ), Annapurna III, Annapurna II and the
Lamjung Himal to terminate with the
Manaslu Himal in the East.
As is customary our trekking crew and
porters were well rewarded with generous backsheesh ( money
presents ) for their stalwart efforts in ensuring the success of
our trek and our sirdar
Ang Jangbu, drew lots to allocate the donations we also made of
clothing and other items of
trekking gear. Most, but not all, of Judith's medicines were used
in evening surgeries to treat
local villagers at our camping places.
Article in the Milngavie & Bearsden
Herald, January 15 1988:-
Alan
Ingram of North Grange Road, Bearsden has just returned from an
adventurous trip in Kathmandu trekking through the
Himalayas and around Annapurna. Ventures such as this are not new to
the intrepid Alan who was once a Venture Scout unit leader. Alan has
sent reports to the Herald of venture Scouts visits to the Alps among
others.
Alan was educated at Allan Glen’s School in Glasgow and graduated from
Glasgow University with honours in Physics.
Among appointments since then he has been senior lecturer in Computer
Studies at Bell College, Hamilton, and Chief Examiner with
Scotvec. Alan gave the following account of his recent trek in the
Himalayas to the Herald.
From Kathmandu it took nine hours by bus over rough pot-holed roads to
reach Gorka, home town of the Ghurkas and the starting
point for our 23-day trek around the Himalayan range of Annapurna. The
route followed one river valley, the Marsyangdi Khola, upstream to the
village of Manang, then over the snow covered Thorung La pass at a
height of 17,700 ft. (5500m) and down a second river valley, the Kali
Gandaki, to the town of Pokhara to complete the 220 mile circuit of the
8000m high massif of Annapurna.
The trek was in the classic expedition style. Our group of l4 trekkers
( two Scots, two Americans, one lrish, nine English ) were the
‘clients’ supported by the Trekking Crew. The Sirdar, Ang Jangbu, was
in charge of the trekking crew which comprised a team of
Sherpas, the cook squad and a team of porters. Our five Sherpas were a
cheerful, friendly, seemingly indefatigable group who acted as guides
during
the trek: one leading the way, two in the middle of the party, and two
at the rear acting as “sweepers” to bring in tail-enders. They also
pitched and took down the tents and acted as “waiters” in the mess tent
at meal times.
Although the porters were somewhat diminutive in stature they carried
prodigious loads of around l00lbs, eg three kitbags of 30lbs. Each huge
load was surmounted by a small bag containing their own meagre personal
items. At the start of the trek the porters numbered 36 but, as our
food supplies were consumed, they were paid off until only 14 remained
at the end in Pokhara.
The cook and his four cook boys were the busiest members of the party.
A typical day would begin at 6am with “bed—tea“ being
served in the tents by the Sherpas. This was followed by basins of hot
water for washing. Breakfast was served at 7am but only after
all kitbags had been packed, the tents taken down and the porters loads
made up.
The daily trekking started with a walk of about an hour and a half to a
convenient tea-house until overtaken by the cook squad who proceeded
ahead. A further 2 hours walking reached the selected spot where the
cooks were already preparing lunch. In the afternoon the same pattern
was repeated before reaching the night’s campsite. Tea was served soon
after arriving in camp to be followed by dinner in the mess tent at
about 1800
hours. As darkness soon fell most of us retired before 20.00 hours.
We were extremely fortunate to have an excellent chef ( Dendi ) who
managed to produce some incredible masterpieces from his open
wood fireplace. Other parties we met were not so lucky and complained
of never changing meals of rice and dhaal (a lentil sauce), the staple
diet of
Nepal. A wide variety of climate and terrain was experienced on the
trek. From Gorka the trail led through warm, humid, sub-tropical
forrests and extensive rice fields. Numerous primitive villages with
thatched roofed houses were passed where we were greeted by
youngsters with shouts of “Namaste (hello)” and “Have you a pen”. The
development of Education and a Health Service are
currently two of the major priorities in Nepal. (Two of the things
taken for granted in this country). The extent to which a Health Service
should be provided is a matter of debate, at present, it is very much a
question of survival of the fittest.
As we progressed upstream and gained height the valley narrowed, the
rice fields became terraced, many spectacular waterfalls
were seen and many long suspension footbridges had to be crossed. The
alarming amount of swaying was augmented on some of the
older bridges by missing or broken planking. At times the track was a
narrow stone stairway winding up and down hills or along
cliffsides overlooking raging torrents in deep gorges far below; at
other times a broad flat path through wide valleys with the river
flowing quietly.
After several days walking we had reached a height of over 2000 metres
and the scenery was now Alpine in nature: green grassy meadows, pine
forests and views of snow capped peaks. The influence of nearby Tibet
was also becoming apparent. Stone built flat roofed houses, mani walls
with prayer wheels or stone prayei; tablets, chorten in the forms of
archways at the entrance to villages and brightly painted gompas
(temples) with their white prayer flags were much in evidence.
At this stage our porters were issued with their cold weather clothing.
This consisted of white woollen hats, gloves and socks, heavy shirts
and long
trousers of local tartan cloth, and a pair of green canvas boots.
Hitherto they had been in shorts and most had been barefoot.
The scenery on the final days approach to Manang at the head of the
valley was magnificent. Reaching a col a vast panorama stretched
out ahead. The giant peaks of the Annapurna massif towered above on the
southern side while on the Tibetan northem side the
arid, sparsely vegetated valley was bounded by weird cliffs of yellow
rock eroded into dramatic pillars. Further up the valley a huge ice fall
descended to the village of Manang from the 24,000 ft. summits
immediately above.
ln Manang we made our l0th camp. The village was a compact group of
some 500 flat roofed stone houses separated by narrow snow-filled
alleyways. As with other villages we passed through an impression of
living conditions prevailing many hundreds of years ago in mediaeval
times was
gained. It was cold and dismal when the sun went down.
Leaving Manang we encountered groups of despondent trekkers making
their way back down. Some had suffered from high altitude
(mountain) sickness and could not risk going any higher. Other groups
were frustrated in their ambition to cross the pass by their
porter’s refusal to endure the cold and the snow. We had also heard
reports of the pass having been blocked by heavy snowfall
a week earlier with rumoured fatalities and trekkers getting trapped.
However we were to be for-tunate in all respects: in having ideal
conditions; in enjoying a good rapport with our porters; and in
suffering no adverse effects from the altitude.
The trail from Manang towards the pass was steeply ‘uphill but frequent
pauses were made to look back on the grandeur of the
Annapurna massif to the South. Higher up we admired the majestic flight
of lammergeirs as they soared overhead. A second days climb over a snow
covered trail through a narrow rocky valley brought us to our highest
campsite at the hamlet of Phedi at an elevation of 4420m (l4,500ft).
An alpine start at 0200 hrs. was made and we set off under a clear
starry sky with a full moon but in sub-zero temperatues. After a
five hour climb up steep scree and snow slopes the summit of the
Thorung La pass at 5500m (l7,700ft) was reached at 0700 hrs. just as
the first welcome rays of the rising sun were striking the tops of the
surrounding peaks. The barren Kali Gandaki valley, our return route
South, was
to be seen in the distance far below. Our leisurely descent to the
pilgrimage town of Muktinath included a rest at a nicely positioned tea
house.
Only recently have trekkers been allowed access to Muktinath which is
of major importance to both Buddhists and Hindus having gompas and
pagoda
style temples for both religions. An interesting aspect of Buddhism is
that there is no word for “thanks” in the Nepali language. Any
gift of clothing made to a porter was received with total impassivity.
It is deemed the privilege of the giver to have anything to give and
also to increase
prospects for achieving Nirvana. However gratitude was later made
abundantly plain in other ways - broader smiles of greeting, extra
assistance in
packing and unpacking of kitbags.
From the walled temples a fine view of Dhaulagiri, another 8000m peak,
standing in splendid isolation to the West of the Annapurna range, was
obtained.
We descended from Muktinath along a windy, dusty track through a harsh,
arid moonscape of yellow, desert-like hillsides with strangely eroded
rock
formations, to the broad, flat, washed-out valley floor of the Kali
Gandaki which led to the town of Jomson.
lt was only at Manang and Jomson that it would be possible to evacuate
any casualties as only at these two places are there STOL airstrips.
All other villages could only be accessed by foot or horseback.
At Jomson there was another checkpoint for our trekking permits at the
local police station. The allocation of permits is used
to restrict the number of trekkers in any region of Nepal at any given
period.
The trail continued to follow the Kali Gandaki downstream passing
closely below Dhaulagiri and its icefall, then through a deep
narrow canyon before diverting towards Pokhara.
We were now travelling across the “grain” of the country and two days
of steep uphill climbing was followed the next day by
6000ft. of vertical descent. A long pleasant walk along a ridge, giving
views of the southern aspect of the Annapurna peaks, followed
by a last downhill stretch and a canoe trip across the lake brought us
to the end of our 220 mile trek and final campsite in Pokhara.
The following morning our remaining porters were paid off and
handsomely rewarded with generous tips in appreciation of their
efforts. They departed well pleased after handshakes all round to start
another trek that same afternoon.
Donations of climbing gear and clothing were sub-divided by the Sirdar
and allocated amongst the Sherpas and cook squad by
means of a numbered draw.
On our last evening in camp we were entertained by a display of
traditional Sherpa singing and dancing to conclude a memorable
experience of a land of wild mountains and gentle, people.
