These are after all the Himalayas. Here one tends to be guilty of ranting and raving in a rash of almost trite superlatives every few minutes and could be pardoned for it. Several minutes before touching down at Pokhara, we got a thrilling feel for the Annapurna massif that loomed outside the window higher than cruising altitude of the tottering twin otter. From this vantage point, gorgeous corniced ridges, long aretes that separated spectacular glaciers and vast radiant snowfields were clearly visible. Hanging glaciers were precariously perched over cirques and frozen lakes. From the relative safety of our plane it was real easy to chalk out a route through the glaciers to various summits and pretend to be real mountaineering pioneers of unclimbed peaks till turbulence jolted us out of our wishful reveries.
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| Towering glaciated peaks in every direction |
We landed uneventfully without summiting any peak. Pokhara although lower in altitude than Kathmandu and hence warmer is a lot more pleasant to explore with its quieter streets around Lakeside. Small spartan budget hotels line the streets and we quickly settled into one of them for the next three days. We needed the rest after a few action packed weeks in Indonesia. To our delight Deepa's cousin Lakshmi from the Bahamas joined us
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| The indispensable wrist bands |
from Kathmandu and we got busy making sure she had all the gear she needed for the hike and a porter cum guide to help with her luggage. Things had changed quite a bit since 1996 when I was last here. A lot more tourists from the sub continent for starters and almost everything sold was fake North Face brought in from neighboring China. Sifting through this shoddy gear was tricky but in the end Lakshmi was all set for the hike to the Annapurna base camp. We spent the reminder of the time just getting our permits ready, sending emails, writing our wills and just bumming around. At 7am on the 24th April, we caught a cab from Pokhara to Phedi, a 30 minute ride to the trailhead, got our packs out, heaved them on to our backs, adjusted the straps, slathered some sunblock, lengthened our telescopic hiking poles and went shopping. Deepa's eye caught a small shop selling trinkets on the opposite side of the road and decided that Nepali wrist bands would keep us safer, perhaps double up as rappelling ropes in a pinch.We then decided to give the hike a second try and took on the steps at the trail head. It was a stairmaster from hell for the next couple of hours!
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| Sublime sunrise on Macchapuchre |
