The Annapurna Circuit Day 9 - Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi

Yak Kharka To Thorong Phedi + High Camp

ICEY WATER | BLUE SKIES | BOURBON BISCUITS | STARS

• 28th October 2018
• 5 Miles / 9km
• 5 Hours 30 Mins (Moving Time 2 Hours 10 Mins)
• Starting Elevation 4054m
• Finish Elevation 4450m (4886m High Camp)
• Average Temperature 19.4C (Low 14C - High 23C)
• Average Heart Rate 115bpm (Max 157bpm)

Cold Start

It was a freezing night in Yak Kharka and in our room. So much so that our water bottles had started to fill with ice for the first time on the trek. One of those mornings where you plan every move between leaving the warmth of the sleeping bag and getting dressed to avoid any exposed skin being exposed to the biting cold. I can’t remember if we even had the option of a shower on this night but it simply wasn’t a desirable option anyway due to the cold.

Breakfast for me was another round of Tibetan Bread with peanut butter, but this particular one was as rock-hard as the mountains above us. I’ll put that down to the cold and not blame the cook, after all, it still tasted good alongside some tea and the calories would be much needed against the short but cold walk ahead.

The Bluest of Skies

Leaving behind the small collection of buildings that were Yak Kharka we slowly walked our way further into the valley. On the left, the hillsides dropped down to a stream of water making its way down from Thorong Phedi, the reverse of our journey. Ahead of us were the scorched colors of the low mountains of the Himalayas, we were constantly trying to catch a glimpse of what lay ahead but ultimately the steep sides of the valley kept the surprise hidden from view.

At some point as we walked Ryan made one of the most memorable quotes of the journey when he exclaimed “I’ve never seen a bluer sky!”. He had a point, you don’t get skies this colour in Doncaster. I don’t think my photos will do justice to the vibrancy of the sky (due to a bit of stylized editing), however, the thin air, the lack of clouds, and the lack of pollution probably do make it the bluest sky you can find.

The sun was concealed behind the mountains which cast a shadow onto the half of the valley where the path followed the ups and downs of the hills. On the opposite side, the moon made an appearance as the only thing interrupting the endless blue.

Crossing The River

The trek to Thorong Phedi is a relatively short distance, but it’s recommended to set off early to make sure you get a room at the other end and to give yourselves time for the optional test walk up to High Camp. After just over an hour and having walked through a few more small villages the sun came around and lit up the valley ahead. The trail seemed fairly quiet for the early part of the route until we started to be caught by the porters carrying supplies up to the hotels ahead.

Each part of the trail seems to bring a different feeling, partly down to the landscape and partly down to the people around. The nature of this valley means the much-maligned roads will probably never reach up to Thorong Phedi and so the quietness is to be enjoyed. Yet the landscape around has the feeling of being unforgiving and not a place you should linger or relax. Perhaps that was just the thought of the unknown challenge we had the following day that added a little more sense of urgency. To get to the destination and prepare as much as possible to cross the pass.

Two-thirds of the way into the route the path sharply descended down to the river via a zig-zag jumble of rocks and retaining walls. The path looked very much like a temporary structure that could be changed at any point by a little movement in the steep rocks. At the bottom, a narrow timber bridge crosses the river before a steep climb back up to path level on the far side. Reaching the path a sign warned of landslide risk. I’m not really sure what you are supposed to do about a landslide risk with tonnes of rocks perched above. I guess you either turn around or run through it as fast as possible. Running certainly wasn’t an option so instead you just have to walk on and pretend it’s an old sign meant to warn of a danger that applied to a different day.

Thorong Phedi & High Camp

There wasn’t much at Thorong Phedi, a small complex of bedrooms and a couple of dining rooms to serve the hundreds of people making their final stopover before going over the pass. We arrived fairly early (10:30 am) and had no problem getting a pretty cozy room for three before heading for a flask of tea and some biscuits.

At midday, we started the shuffle up to High Camp for our afternoon of acclimatisation. Having felt worse for wear on Day 6 and had the rest day in Manang I was by now feeling much better and I think it was mainly dehydration that had caused my previous slump. Stay hydrated!

The walk up to High Camp is a shuffle, constantly zig-zagging across a loose rock path, upwards and constantly gasping for air. I found solace in just accepting a slow rhythm to my walking, the repetitive sound of my backpack creaking kept me in time at a steady pace with the odd rest to let people descending come past. I tried to retain this comfortable rhythm in my mind for the next morning, making this same walk in the dark.

Emerging through an opening in the wall surrounding the high camp we were suddenly in quite a busy, bustling crossroads it seemed. We headed straight up to the High Camp Viewpoint which would be our highest point of the day at 4886m. The mountains to the north were some of the last rows of the Himalayas before the Tibetan plateau. Prayer flags were strung out between the promontories of rocks and constantly waved in the winds at this exposed point. It felt like being stood in a cauldron of mountains and seeing the prayer flags drop into the abyss combined with the strong wind made me feel a little dizzy. Behind us was our best view of the path to the pass so far as it followed the banks of barren earth towards the mountain of Yakawakang.

Leaving the viewpoint we stopped at the busy teahouse at High Camp before making our descent back down the path to the hotel.

A Welcome Awakening

The excursion up to High Camp took us around an hour up, an hour at the viewpoint and getting tea, and around an hour to get back down. It was just after 3 pm when we got back to our hotel and it now felt like a bit of a waiting game. The walk up to High Camp meant we had at least some idea what we were facing in the early morning but now it was a case of preparing our gear and passing time in the dining room.

The dining room got progressively busier as the evening went on. The warmest place to be and plenty for people to talk about making the time pass quickly. The many packs of Nepali Bonbon biscuits we ate also helped.

A now familiar evening of darkness and Dal Bhat in the dining room was followed by an early night, just hoping that you would be able to switch off and sleep despite the apprehension, cold, and altitude. I think I managed just enough sleep but I was suffering a bloated stomach which had troubled me all afternoon and I had to make a trip to the toilet in the middle of the night.

This turned out to be a little blessing in disguise as on my way back to the room I glanced up at the sky to see an unrecognisable quantity of stars that I’d probably not have seen with a full night’s sleep. I switched off my head torch and for a moment forgot about the cold and my desire to sleep. Having seen the bluest of skies in the day, this was now no doubt the blackest sky I would ever see, in such a remote place with clear air. The density of stars stopped me in my tracks, but soon the bitter cold pushed me back inside the room in search of another few hours of rest.