Annapurna Trek -- Nepal

Hi folks... Sorry for the lack of news the last couple of weeks... 

I made it to Pokhara under torrential rain almost 2 weeks ago, and didn't think that rain at low altitude meant snow, and a lot of it, at high altitudes. 

I met a German girl who wanted to go trekking, so we got our permits and planned to leave on Thursday. Then the news started showing that a lot of people got trapped under avalanches, or lost their way in the snow, exactly where I was going, the Annapurna Circuit trek. 

I hesitated. 

But let me put this into perspective for you guys: I first heard about the Annapurna Mountains 11 years ago, in a magazine. I fell in love instantly and started planning the trip in my head. I even emailed a friend who traveled a lot, and asked if he knew about it and wanted to go. He actually replied with a picture of himself at Thorong La, the pass at 5,416m which you have to cross on this trek. He'd already done it. He encouraged me to go. 

Then, 8 years ago, I came to Nepal for the first time. It was January and I only had 9 days, so it was impossible to do the trek. I went to Pokhara anyway, because I wanted to at least see the mountains. But they were hiding behind a thick curtain of clouds and I didn't get even a glimpse of them... 

(View from lakeside in Pokhara with the mountains in the background)

Now, I planned my trip perfectly. The weather is supposed to be perfect this time of year, crystal clear skies, sunshine, no snow. But a typhoon in India messed everything up and created a storm up here. Last I heard, 39 confirmed dead and about 100 missing... http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/18/world/asia/nepal-snowstorm/

But the weather cleared, and I decided to go, at least as far as possible. I had been waiting for this for too long... Got an experienced Nepali guide (just in case) and went. 

So we took a bus to Besi Sahar, where the trail starts. I could see the mountains getting closer and closer... 

(Lunch spot at Chamche, beginning of the trail).

We hiked 4 days up through the mountains, for a total of about 80km and an altitude of 4,000 meters. 

The views from the trail were incredible, the pictures really don't do it justice... Every day, getting closer and closer... 

And then, on a beautiful, sunny day, you hear a noise that sounds like thunder, and you look at the mountain in front of you and watch an avalanche.. (The cloud-like thing in the middle of the picture is actually snow coming down...) 

Then you have to actually climb over an avalanche, and wonder if there's anybody trapped underneath it... We saw rescue helicopters all day, every day... 

(All 3 of us, Larissa - my German trekking buddy, Iman- our Nepali guide, and I, on the upper trail from Pisang to Manang)

We finally got to Manang (3,540m), and were told that the pass at Thorong La (5,416 m) was still closed. We took a "rest day" and only climbed up to a monastery at 4,000m. (If you think 400m is not much, think of climbing the steps all the way to the top of the twin towers in NYC... They were 417m tall...) 

That's me at Praken Gompa, at 4,000 meters, with Annapurna II in the background, standing at 7,973m. The view from up there is just breath-taking... We just sat for a while, and admired the beauty and majesty of those mountains. 

It was a great place to meditate a while, and think about Chad... There were a few things still weighing heavy on my heart, but I think I made peace with it now... 

Walking up and down a mountain gives you a lot of time to think... 

The next day they reopened the pass, but said there was still a lot of snow on the top, and specially on the other side where you have a 1,600m *descent* and no sunshine... Slippery, icy, windy and potentially dangerous. 

I waited 11 years to come here. I really wanted to go over that pass and down the other side... but I wanted to make it *alive* and not stay permanently in Nepal, buried in the snow for some unsuspecting trekker to find next year when the snow melts... 

So we decided to come back down the way we came... that's 80km down the mountain again. We walked 160km in 7 days (4 up, 3 down). But not over the pass, which only means I'll have to come back to Nepal! :) 

Lunch spot with a view, already far down, somewhere just above Dhorepani... 

And today, back in Pokhara, with a beautiful sunset over Phewa Tal... 

Alive and well, with more muscle in my legs than ever before. A little tired, a little sad (I really wanted to make it over that pass!!), but alive. Happy. In peace. 

I think that's all I can ask for...