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Easy
as ABC! by Richard Kingston Nepal has eight of the ten highest mountains in the world and arguably the most impressive scenery and the finest trekking. During over two years in Nepal. Jayne and I had only once been on a trek of any duration - to the foothills of the Himalayas. During our tour in Nepal, we wanted to go on at least one of the major treks; the Annapurna Sanctuary, the Annapurna Circuit or Everest Base Camp. Khumbu region, which includes Mount Everest, is better known, but most people agree that the Annapurna region is more attractive. Although it was late in the trekking season, and the pre-monsoon rains were already affecting the trails, we decided to take the opportunity to try to reach the Annapurna and Machapuchre Base Camps before the monsoon winds brought the torrential rains and avalanches which prevent trekking during Nepal's summer. Both Annapurna and Machapuchre Base Camps are located in the "Sanctuary" of the Himalayas, an area completely surrounded by some of the highest mountains anywhere. Friends we consulted advised us that we would need at least nine days for the trek from Pokhara - five days from Birethanti (which is close to the only road in the region) to the Sanctuary and four back to Damphus (also close to the road, but nearer to the regional centre of Pokhara). Events at the British Council meant that the only time which we could attempt the trek was around the second-last week in May. So, despite the back problem from which I was just recovering, we arranged our flights from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Saturday 17th and planned to return on Monday 26th. Unfortunately, both our planned start and finish dates coincided with election dates, 17th in Pokhara and 26th in Kathmandu and, curiously, on such dates, the government bans ALL traffic from the roads in any district in which elections are being held. Reasons suggested for this are to prevent constituents from voting more than once in different districts and to reduce the potential for violence (a number of people have been killed during the run-up to the elections). It was too late to change our dates and so we flew to Pokhara as arranged and, on arrival, got some enforced practice by trekking from the airport to our hotel at Lakeside. As there were no taxis or buses on the road to take us to our start point, we spent the day walking the length of Lake Phewa and enjoyed a meal at one of the many excellent tourist restaurants along the lake. We were very fortunate as our hired porter was not only extremely knowledgeable regarding the route of our trek, but also extremely strong, fit and, unusually, rather large for a Nepali! Very early on Sunday, we set out by taxi, with our single porter, for Birethanti, our start point from where we trekked to Ghandruk, the regional headquarters which, like all other settlements in the region, can only be reached by foot or helicopter. Six hours later, after some fairly level trekking followed by quite a lot of steep walking, we booked into the Annapurna Guest House at Ghandruk. A very early start again on Monday and we headed towards the magnificent sight of Machapuchre ("Fishtail", because it has two peaks which make the mountain appear like the tail of a fish) far in the distance. We could hardly believe that in a few days we will be at the base of this most attractive of all Nepal's mountains. We were surprised how few trekkers we meet on the trail. Contact is usually made only at stopping points. Trails are fairly well marked although, once the trail is left, it is very easy to become lost. During the afternoon, we came across a procession of hundreds of marching, chanting Nepali Congress supporters who were celebrating the success of their candidates in the local elections. Our arrival at Chomrong rewarded us with a superb view of the distant peaks glinting in the afternoon sun, from our guest house "Mountain View". Our very long trek on Tuesday, limited by hours of rain (fortunately during the afternoon only), took us over steep rises, across rivers and through forests. We were indeed fortunate that it was still a little early for the many leeches, which can make trekking a bind. We went on via Khuldi, Dobhan, Bamboo, Himalaya, where we waited for the conclusion of the regular daily rain storm before leaving for Hingko and Deurali, where we stayed overnight at the Panorama Guest House. Breakfast of onion omelette, chapati and Tibetan bread on Wednesday morning prepared us for a day of crossing rivers and avalanches and an arrival at Machapuchre Base Camp for another spectacular aspect of this mountain. Then a late lunch under the "Fishtail", before an afternoon trek across the snow-ice up to Annapurna Base Camp, start point for the Southern approach to this 8,000 metre mountain. As we crossed the ice, we saw many beautifully colourful birds with, according to our porter, exotic names such as "blue-brid" and "orange-brid"! (Many Nepalis have difficulty with successive consonants!) As we approached ABC, as it is known, the sole from my left boot finally parted company with the rest of the boot and, for the whole journey back to "civilisation", one boot was held together by string which broke regularly. Jayne and I shared our ninth wedding anniversary at over thirteen thousand feet with seven or eight other trekkers, many of whom "enjoyed" the benefits of marijuana smoking. Our hosts told us that another guest house at ABC contained the corpse of a Korean who had walked off the edge of a glacier. Machapuchre Base Camp is misnamed - climbing this sacred mountain is probably impossible - and strictly prohibited. A very cold late afternoon was followed by heavy snow, then a cold clear night during which we experienced the benefit of double-lined sleeping bags. The intense cold (-10C) inhibited our previous plans to see the full moon shining on the mountains. Although many of our fellow trekkers suffered from altitude sickness, various injuries and infections, we survived without any of those problems. Arising at 5.00am on Thursday, we watched the sun rise on the High Himalayas although the most spectacular views appear hours later. After breakfast of Swiss rösti made from onion, cheese and potato, we headed back down towards our destination over 10,000 feet below. We crossed the main snow-ice back down to Machapuchre Base Camp, then on to Deurali and lunch, before an extremely long afternoon trek back to Chomrong. We arrived after sunset, following an extremely tiring slog up what seemed to be a thousand steps up to the village. Our day's trek was punctuated by a two-hour rain-hail-lightning storm during which we sheltered in a goat shed. After the 11 hour trek, Jayne was compensated for this achievement by a warm shower and a chocolate Snickers (Marathon) bar. On Friday morning, we headed down to Newbridge and took a new trail down to Birethanti, which follows the Modi Khola river. This route, broken twice by heavy rain, brought us back to Birethanti by dusk. Our taxi brought us back to Pokhara to enjoy a superb meal of steak and chicken chasseur at our favourite Lakeside restaurant. P.S. "Tea
houses" are spaced approximately two hours apart on this trek and
prices increase in proportion to the distance from the road. For example,
a bottle of "mineral" water which costs (Nepali Rupees) NR2O
in Pokhara costs from NR3O in Ghandruk to NR100 at the Base Camp. Coca
Cola, which costs NR8 in Pokhara, was priced from NR2O to NR60 depending
on altitude. The price of mineral water usually exceeded the cost of accommodation
at the teahouses - NR4O per person for a private room at Ghandruk to a
high of NR75 at Annapurna Base Camp (a bed in a dormitory at NR30 per
person). £1 = NR93, $1 = NR57. Ghandruk is the last point on the
route with electric power; beyond here, only kerosene and candles are
available - burning of wood is discouraged to protect the limited remaining
forest in the district. |