At Manang, we pitched our tents on the flat roofs of the buildings…
…essentially, it is the only flat area in the village that doesn’t either have someone living on it or crops growing on it.
A Buddhist temple in Manang. We took care to visit the priest and receive his blessing for the crossing of the pass in a few days time. The high pass- Thorung La – is at 5416m and is the highest pass in the world, and who knows what the weather and fate might decide to throw at us.
A view of Annapurna I (I think!) from Manang. Annapurna I is the tenth highest mountain in the world, but also one of the most dangerous. The reason for my uncertainty is that the route of the trek takes us around some twenty or so peaks, including Annapurnas I – IV, Gangapurna, Tara Kang and Khangsar Kang, all of which can be seen from the Manang part of the trail.
Nomadic herders’ camp above Ledar, at about 4300m. Theirs is not an easy life.
Bridge across the Khone Khola, near where we camped before crossing the pass. The bridge is covered to protect it from snowfall.
The porters at Thorung Phedi, where we camped before crossing the pass.
A couple of hours later…
We were snowed in the next day (and you can get very bored stuck in a tent for a day), but the following day we set off at dawn to cross the pass (Note the small figures passing the first rock).
Some of the rocky, icy, snowy, lumpy bits beside us as we crossed the pass.
After several hours hard slog through the snow, and the pass crossed, we began descending the western side down towards the village of Muktinath.
Really spectacular. No words.
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It is spectacular!
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These are awesome pictures from the past. In a world full of pictures, these old photos look priceless. These are kind of reminiscent of the prints one find in 80’s.
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Thanks, Arv. They do have that feel, don’t they?
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Absolutely. They do. That’s what I like about them
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What a trip Mick, looks absolutely astounding. Great photos.
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Thanks, Jonno. It was a brilliant trip.
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Really enjoying this series, Mick
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Thank you, I hope I won’t disappoint.
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A very interesting post with great photographs!
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Thanks, Malcolm!
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Beautiful captures!
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Thanks, Sumith.
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They are rather wonderful photos Mick and I think you were indeed very brave to do the journey
I am sure the snow was great a challenge in that terrain . Love the idea of the Blessing from the Priest. Wonderfully symbolic and more importantly, it obviously worked!
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I don’t think bravery was involved, Jackie – I was young and foolish then, anyway! But it was a challenge, certainly.
And always a good idea to have the gods on your side!
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Indeed it is!
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That’s some high country. How long did it take you to acclimate before going that high?
BTW, when I saw the name Manang I was reminded of the Philippino word that’s roughly equivalent to “older sister”, but also something like “second Mom”. It’s a term of respect. I guess that mountain is a very big sister.
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It was very gradual, so we acclimatised as we went – the old adage of never sleeping more than 1000 ft (or whatever it is) higher than the previous night, but even so it was a steep climb over the pass and a few of the trekkers had headaches. Thankfully, nothing worse.
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Wow, this looks so incredible, Mick.
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Thanks, Robbie. It really was!
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That does look like an adventure! How many were in your group? Did you have to take extra supplies for when the weather turned bad?
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There were 7 of us, I seem to recall. But then there was all of the others looking after us!
Supplies were replenished as we went through villages, and I suspect there was always a little extra carried in case!
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Sounds like a smart plan, and an amazing adventure! Thanks for sharing it.
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Wow. So majestic. A little scary with that unpredictable weather and cold. What an adventure, Mick. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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It was incredible, Diana. The weather may have been unpredictable, but at that height it’s always sensible to expect the unexpected!
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Simply awesome views! It must be requiring very high stamina and high mental strength to survive those heights.
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It is very tiring once you begin to get high – every step seems to take all your reserves of energy!
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You’re so lucky to have done it.
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I am, I realise that.
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