Day 1:Dharapani

By -

Yesterday we flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara, then had the afternoon relaxing and mooching around the shops in Pokhara. We celebrated James's birthday with a lovely meal, seated on the floor overlooking the lake. Lizzie turned her ankle while racing James down a staircase- so she is now strapped up and moving gingerly! Good thing we're moving slowly!

Today, an early start and we were loaded onto a bus for the 4 hour drive to the start. The road worsened as the scenery grew more spectacular. We got very close to some big drops - especially where the road was washed away.

At the start, we met the rest of the team, so we are:
14 trekkers (including us)
1 Brit leader (Cory)
1 Sirder (Arjun)
2 assistant guides
Head Cook
2 Assistant cooks
25 porters!!!

We've now arrived at first camp, and our tent has just been readied!

Spirits very high

Popular posts from this blog

YB Connect Message from Robert Withers

By -
What a day! Last night was a chilly -18c (-14 in tents). We got up early to get a headstart on a long day. 1 1/2 hours up to Dampus pass where the Annapurna massif appeared ahead. Then long arduous traverse- 5 miles going up and down the 5000m contour through deep snow. The cloud came in and it made navigation tricky. Then we started to head steeply down to tonight's camping spot below the snow line with yaks grazing around us. We're perched high above Jomsom with views of snowy peaks all around. The tents are pitched on grass tonight, a lot warmer than snow.
Read more

YB Connect Message from Robert Withers

By -
French Pass A hard day in awe-inspiring scenery. Finally we were high enough to see Dhaulagiri i and ii in all their glory. It was a long tiring slog up to French Pass 5360m and then down into Hidden Valley through deep and tiring snow. Now camping at 5050m - v cold already. We check our blood oxygen saturation each night - expecting scores in high 70s
Read more

YB Connect Message from Robert Withers

By -
Image
YB Connect Message from Robert Withers To reply, please go to: https://yb.tl/yb-reply/eb72cd22-a8a3-432d-b66b-bbe1600f481c Rest and acclimatisation at Base Camp. Temp dropped to -13c last night. A few people chilly in bed. Temp in tent a balmy -11c. Today the clear night led to sunny morning and the temp rapidly rose. Avalanches and rockfalls all around. There are definitely places where you don't want to be! Just done crampon practice and the sun has gone in. Tee shirt replaced with thermal top and down jacket immediately Big day tomorrow over French pass. This email was sent from a YB satellite device. Please take care when replying - the recipient is charged for every character they receive.  http://www.ybtracking.com  
Read more