Mardi Himal Day 2

FROM FOREST CAMP TO HIGH CAMP (2500m)

We had some brutal days of trekking along the way but the challenge was as brilliant a part of the journey as any. And we met some interesting and fun people along the way. JoJo and I trekked separately because the two of us move at very different speeds but I would wait along the way. We would use flashlight flashes, whistles and yells to stay connected through the fog. We also went very fast. Compared to how long the signs and locals said it would take to get places we were able to take in general 3/4 or less of the time. There were tons of dogs on the mountains and they would accompany us / guide us along the way.

We didn’t get to see anything at all from the Mardi base camp or view points but we got some good views from high camp. And the landscape around base camp was beautiful so we spent some time exploring the area.
(High camp pics)

Then we climbed down and back up a different mountain heading towards ABC. We hiked up until Machapuchhre base camp the day before making it ABC so we could hike to ABC for sunrise. We walked up to ABC along a path at over 4,000 meters that was illuminated by the full moon with views of stunning mountains. I was guided up through the night by a dog who also joined me back down for a long while. We got to base camp and watched the sky and mountains light up including some of the most unbelievably beautiful mountains I’ve ever seen. Some of the notable mountains we could see were Annapurna 1 (8,091 m/26,545ft), Annapurna 3 (7,555/24,787), Annapurna South (7,219/23,684), Gangapurna (7,445/24,459) and Machapuchhre (6,993/22,943) which is a twin-peaked, holy mountain that has allegedly never been summited.
As I said before, during this season you have to be lucky to see any of the mountains even for a short time but sometimes the sky really clears up and we got insanely lucky on the morning we went up. It was totally clear for a really long time and we had a truly special show. The mountains are just so spectacular and at points almost looked on fire with the sunrise lighting up their peaks. We even could hear an avalanche happening far in the distance on the side of Annapurna 1. The mountains have an immense and powerful presence that is absolutely amazing.Читать далее