Annapurna Mini Circuit Trek - Day 10

Day 10 This was the day before the big day when we would cross the pass @ 5400 mts. After the usual breakfast of omlette and hot coffee, started on the trek by 8 am. Getting the morning things done is getting to be more and more painful. To wash hands means making them numb. I can't hold my hands under water for more than 2 sec at a time. Initially when they come in contact with ice cold water, they hurt a lot. After doing the 2 sec dips multiple times, they become numb and instead of prickly pain, there is only a dull continuous pain. Once the hands pass the initiation ritual, it's time to wash the face. I generally try to wake up early so that I can be among the 1st few to use the toilet. That way, it is in a decent condition. Trekkers are not among the most hygienic people and after some time, toilet is the 1st place to bear testimony to that.

Today is supposed to be a 4 and 1/2 hour trek with a continuous climb and an elevation gain of just over 600 mts. We are supposed to be going to high camp which is at an elevation of 4850 mts. By the time we leave Letdar, there is about 2 inches snow accumulation and it is still snowing lightly. I have my gloves, ear muffs and 2 fleece jackets on me.

Initially it feels cold but pretty soon the early morning climb makes the body temperature go up and I remove 1 jacket. Initially it is mostly a gradual climb with some steep inclines in between. It feels great to be walking among the mountains with the surroundings rendered white with fresh snow. The vegetation is now foot high shrubs here and there and pretty soon it disappears altogether. Just before crossing a bridge, we come across a steep descend. It is loose gravel covered with snow that is compacted by fellow trekkers. So it is extremely slippery and I cannot get good footholds. So the inevitable happens and I slip on my bum and slide down a few feet. Luckily I am still on trail and am able to get up and very gingerly descend the remaining 20 ft. or so of the very slick path. Crossing a bridge means two things - the trail descends towards the bridge and there is a steep climb after crossing the bridge. This particular climb after the bridge is particularly steep and at this altitude, pretty much everyone is out of gas by the time they take a rest break at a tea shop. I use the rest break to put moleskin on my toe fingers. As usual, the nail of one of my toe finger has managed to pierce the fleshy part of the adjoining finger. Since the 2 fingers are squished together in my hiking shoes, each step is now painful. The moleskin does the trick and I feel much better. After a few photos, we are on our way again.

On the way we see some blue sheep (they live near mountain tops and have huge horns).

It has stopped snowing now and the trail has gradual inclines. We finally reach Thorong Phedi. This is the last place before high camp. It is at 4450 mts and some people prefer to stay there overnight. We reach there at 10 am fairly out of breath. After a good 15 mins break, we proceed towards high camp. High camp is just over 400 mts above this place. However the trail pretty much goes straight up. Forget about any declines, flat paths or gradual inclines to offer any respite. It doesn't even have many switchbacks to cut down the incline. It is a relentless climb and this is the 1st place that I really struggle. My guide estimates that it would take us about 90 mins to reach high camp. Pretty soon I am counting every minute on this trail. Quite a few people slowly pass me. I take frequent breaks to catch my breath. I try to follow a routine - take a 10 - 20 sec break after every 200 excruciating steps. Many times I cannot make 200 steps before having to pause to catch my breath. This is the part of the trek that makes me wonder why I decided to do this painful activity on my break. However other than fatigue I am not suffering from any altitude related symptoms and I am very grateful for that. Just imagine having a severe headache or nausea or inability to get back your breath even after a rest. Finally after what seems like an eternity, I make it to high camp. It is snowing lightly.

After dumping my things in my room, I rest for a few mins. I look at the watch to see that, in spite of my struggles, i still made it in less than 75 mins. Since there is no shower facility here and I didn't have one yesterday as well, I strip off and clean myself with lansinoh wipes. I then put on 2 expedition weight t shirts, 2 fleece jackets, 1 outer shell jacket, thick thermal pant, hiking pant, ear muffs, woolen cap, gloves, 1 woolen socks pair, 1 thick woolen socks pair and my hiking shoes and go to the common area for lunch. There is no heating in the common area and it is very cold even with so many clothes. It is close to freezing inside. Outside it is very windy and don't have the enthusiasm to measure the outside temperature. After drinking hot garlic soup and eating egg fried rice I feel somewhat better. After a few mins rest, I decide that the best time to take pictures would be now since it would only get darker and cooler from now on. There is a 100 mts climb right outside the lodge to reach the top of a hill that would offer a panoramic 360 degree unobstructed view of the surrounding mountains. So I along with another person make the climb. My guide politely declines our offer to join us and scoots to the relative warmth of the common area.  We take our time to catch our breath after every few steps. However there is no day pack with us and the top of the hill is clearly visible. So after a few mins we reach the top and are greeted with awesome views of the surrounding mountains. The Annapurna range is covered with clouds. Other than that we get clear views of the other mountains.

After a few snaps, we head back down. Then starts a marathon session of cards. My Israeli friends from yesterday have also reached high camp and we play multiple rounds of Yanniv and Shithead with different folks. I teach some people the game of Canasta. Since there is nothing else to do, all we do for close to 7 hours is shiver, play cards, drink something hot and go to pee. Finally at 8 am we call it a day and head back to our beds. The 1st few mins in bed is pure agony as everything is very very cold. It takes about 5 mins to get warm under my sleeping bag. I cannot sleep by zipping up my sleeping bag as I like to flex and spread my legs before falling asleep. Also my sleeping bag has a -20 degrees rating. So if I sleep with all my jackets and all then I start to sweat soon. If I remove my jackets and sleep then whenever I have to get out of the sleeping bag (say to pee), I start shivering right away. So what I normally do is remove 1 jacket and use the sleeping bag as a comforter. If I need more warmth, I cover my head with the sleeping bag. If it gets too hot then I expose my head out of the bag. The only drawback is that I sleep fitfully due to these adjustments. Since it was so cold outside, I was constantly adjusting my sleeping bag and probably caught 4 hrs. of sleep before the alarm went off at 4:30 am.

Random Facts
Cost of boiled water - Rs 100/liter
Altitude - 4450 mts