RAW Collection

No Pain No Gain

Originally uploaded by wildxplorer

Being in the Himalayas is so overwhelming and contains so many photo opportunities it is easy to miss things. I was also so tired in the upper part of the Annapurna circuit that i chose to rest rather than rushing out and taking pictures. This was probably an unfortunate side effect of carrying my own rucksack.

One of the delights I tried in Manang was seabuckthorn juice. One of the places we ate at promoted it health benefits particularly the advantage it apparently gives to acclimatisation. The advert also reassured the reader that the juice was processed hygienically. Throwing caution to the wind Chris and I took the plunge and tried Seabuckthorn juice and found it very tasty.

Despite my own negligence to capture a picture of the Seabuckthorn plant I have stumbled upon a very good example on flickr taken by wildxplorer

Its all but over. The last week or so has been spent trekking back from Jomsom via Poon Hill, a view point of over 3000m. The trail from Jomsom follows a dusty jeep track for 3 or four days to a village called Tatopani. The name translates to hot water and the village does have some hot springs but they are not how you would imagine them. The two hot pools, made of stone and concrete are outside pools located just next to and below the dusty and bumpy road frequented by jeeps and buses.

From Tatopani our route climbs steeply (from 1100m to 2800m) to a Ghoropani. The journey took us all day and we arrived after sunset (6pm) exhausted and hungry. We had dinner and went to bed ready for a 4:30am start to get to the Poon Hill viewpoint. There is much hype about the Poon Hill sunrise and it is described as unique. The truth is you share the 45 minute walk and the view from the top with around 300 other people, all trying to capture the moment with as many cameras as there are people. There is no doubt the view is spectacular and is unique for so many who do the much shorter Poon Hill trek. However I must admit, after hearing so much I felt a little disappointed. I recall sitting on a balcony in Manang, to the north of the Annapurnas, watching the first rays of sun slowly reach the summit of Ganagpurna, changing it from a silhouette to orange tipped behemoth before my eyes as a more unique, gratifying and solitary experience.

From Ghorapani it was another log day. We descended a flight of 3280 steps to cross a river which we followed to our resting place last night. Today we had a very short walk of about 30 minutes to the road and bus stop. We traveled in a local bus which took 2 hours to travel the 42 km journey to Pokara, our resting place for a few days.

So the walk of 220 km over 19 days is over. Now its time to rest and there is no better place than Pokara. It is a town in the shadow of the Annapurna range, with 400 guest houses and many restaurants. Reaching Jomsom was a bit of a shock as it was a return to civilisation from the wilderness but there was no shock in reaching Pokara, only satisfaction.

We have made it! Well as far as Jomsom but the hard work of crossing the Throng Pass is over and it pretty much all down hill from here. It took us 12 hours to climb to and over the 5400m pass and down to Muktinath (3700m) and then 4 hours to Jomsom (2700m) which is a surprisingly large town, complete with airport.

The pass itself had a good covering of snow and took us from one landscape to a much more arid valley. The afternoon winds here are much stronger and therefore more noticeable.

I was hoping to upload some pictures today but the internet is very slow here, it seems much slower than dial up but at 2,700m in the heart of the Himalayas what can you expect?

Today (1st November) is a rest day and as we have passed our high point there is no need to go a day walk to ‘go high, sleep low’ to help acclimatization. Today really is a lazy day and the first chance we have had to wash clothes for a week or so.

From here we head south toward Poon Hill to view the Annapurnas from a distance then on to a relaxing few days in Pokhara.

All in the team are well although a little tired from walking 140km with the knowledge we have 60km remaining.

It’s been four long days walking in the Himalayas to reach Chame which is at 2700 meters. Day one was spent on various buses to get to the start of the walk and from there we walked, in monsoon rain to Khudi and a timber lodge. Day two we had our first view of an 8000 meter mountain and day 3 took us into a narrow valley where we stop in a settlement called Tal. It was a funny little place nestled deep in a valley. From there the path took us up into a wider valley, past rainbows and onto our lodgings for last night, Danaqyu.

I would love to write more but I must keep it brief as the cost soon build up, it is 600 rupees an hour. We have taken quite a few photos but it’s hard to do geology on such a large scale with photography alone.

We should be in Manang in two of three days where I should be able to write more.

The first few days have gone reasonably well. We moved hostel as the first place was over-priced. Yesterday we were able to get our trekking permits (2000 rupees) and today we booked the bus for tomorrow. It will be an early start, 6:30am we have to be at the bus stop, and a long 7 hour drive up to the hills.

It will be nice to get out of Kathmandu, more importantly Thamel which is the tourist and shopping centre of the city, to see the real Nepal. We are not sure how bad the bus will be, we have opted for the luxury tourist bus which even has air-con. However this only takes us part way, after which we have to endure a 2 hour jeep drive to the start of the trek in Besisahar.

Yesterday we visited Durbar Square which contains many temples and shrines and the Kumari Bahal, house of the living goddess. Taking pictures of the Kumari is prohibited and she only shows herself occasionally. I was lucky enough to see her in 2006 but this time she did not show her face in the intricately carved wooden balcony.

We are in a period of festivals. It was dog festival yesterday and many of the buildings have covered in decorative lights. There are also candles and shrines, (painted pavements or colored rice) outside many buildings. They are there to welcome the gods into the house. Kids circulate the street repeating a mantra until they are moved on or paid 5 rupees.  We have become accustomed to the sound of fireworks and firecrackers exploding only a few meters from us.

Last night we had a power cut and an area of the city was plunged into darkness. There was also a fire, which could have caused the blackout, which flared up, illuminating the sky.  Unfortunately the blackout started just as I was about to take a team picture with many decorative lights in the background, instead we ended up with a much darker background.

Chris updated his blog yesterday which you can find at http://chris-nepal.blogspot.com/

You can find my pictures here Nepal

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Well it took best part of a day for us to travel from the Midlands to Katmandu but we have finally made it, all 5 of us safe and well. The flight from Heathrow to Delhi took about 8 hours. After a manic few minutes which involved grabbing our bags, entering India and running to the check in desk we were back in the airport departure lounge waiting for the Royal Nepal Airlines flight to Katmandu. We took of 90 minutes late with no explanation but the flight was short and 90 minutes after takeoff we had landed in Katmandu.

After a lengthy queue to get our visas we were free and grabbed a taxi, offering a free ride to their chosen hotel. We have a room for $5 US a night but this is probably over the odds. It is peak season however so it is hard, at this point, to workout what discount to expect.

It got dark around 6pm here so i have not taken many pictures yet. The view of the Himalayas from the air was stunning and i hope to upload some pictures within a few days.

Katmandu is as manic as i remember it. Cars, buses and bikes manage to navigate the roads within microns of hitting each other and some not to touch. The sound of horns constantly fills the air so much so it is hard to tell when it is a genuine ‘get out the way!’

We have been out and grabbed an evening meal, quite a spicy one in my case. I had a Nepali dish, momos, whilst Simon opted to acclimatize slowly and had a pizza.

On the way back we popped into a supermarket and got a 1 liter bottle of water for 10 rupees (9p maybe). The supermarket had a vast range of western goods, snickers, mars bars, Volvic water, Alpen cereal. It just goes to show what effect tourism has.

We are 4:45 hours ahead of British summer time and it is getting late here. Tomorrow we will be off shopping in preparation for the trek. Monday morning is the day we will be leaving Katmandu and heading into the mountains to start the Annapurna circuit. I will write as often as I can but internet access is likely to be scarce.

In my previous post I briefly mentioned my recent climbing trip to Lundy, an Island in the Bristol Channel. The island is a mass of granite which towers above the Bristol Channel at the point where it meets the Atlantic. It is 3 mile in length and is located 12 miles north of Harland Point in Devon, which is itself has a variety of climbing but on rather different rock.

We arrived at Ilfracombe, Devon to catch the 10am boat to Lundy, a two hour crossing, and prepared for the worst. The boat, M.S. Oldenburg, is used in the shallows, it has a flat bottom and therefore rolls a lot when at sea. The result is an interesting and ‘fluid’ crossing to an island that appeared out of the mist. After the crossing on moderate seas we were all glad to be back on dry land and the 13 of us, from Wolverhampton Mountaineering Club, made our way to the village to check in. We had a few hours to explore the island and climb a few routes before our accommodation, the Barn, was open.

The Barn on Lundy

The Barn has two sleeping areas, a kitchen and a large living room complete with a fire place, more on that later. The climbing was superb, and some one in the  team was out every day. We tended to spread out over the island which has around 28 permanent residents, rather than all climb on the same crag. The first few days were quite windy and cold but climbing was not difficult but you soon got cold sitting around at the top of the routes.

It rained for most of one day when only two of the team climbed. Some of the team took the rain to their advantage and had a rest day whilst other partook in the alternative activity of letterbox collecting. The challenge is  similar to orienteering, you search the island with a map and some clues to find hidden letterboxes which contain a stamp to mark your notebook. Its great for climbers on a wet day or for anyone else on a better day.

Tom on Satan's Slip - The Devil's Slide, Lundy

Most of the climbing is on the west of the island with only a few crags on the east of the island, including the Knights Templar. There are two stunning pieces of rock on the west. The Devil’s Slide is a perfect slab of rock some 120 meters (400 feet) high which rises (or plunges) from the Atlantic Ocean. The slab has a variety of routes, the classic of the island, The Devil’s Slide - Hard Severe, takes the right hand of the slab and Albion, graded VS, takes the left of the slab.  The slab also offers harder routes in the middle of the slab.  The other stunning piece of rock is the Diamond located just to the north of the Devil’s Slide. It boasts a number of hard routes from E3 to E6 and you have to see it to believe it.

After the mid week rain I was able to climb the Devils Slide whilst Dale and Tom climbed Satan’s Slip – E1 to our left. I was comfortable with the climbing and placed protection when i could, which was not too often. We linked the first two pitches together and we also did the last two pitches together making it a 3 pitch route. Tom and Dale decided to solo the route after we had finished and I was able to get quite a few photos of them climbing without ropes or protection.

Lundy has a number of properties which are available to rent. I believe they are all self catering accommodation but there is also a tavern which serves food all day and a shop which is adequately stocked.  There is also a museum and three lighthouses. The Old Light is located in the middle of the island and was built too high to be useful. It light is to high to be seen when the fog is low and the steep cliffs of Lundy can also block the beacon from view. As a result the island now has a north and south light to warn craft of the deadly cliffs and shallows around the Island. The Island also has a working farm, it is an SSSI and was the UK’s first marine nature reserve. Apart from the permanent human residents and hordes of tourist the island has a host of wildlife such as Seals, Puffins, Soay Sheep, Sika Deer, Goats and the endemic plant species, Lundy Cabbage. Lundy has a long history of human inhabitants from as long as 7000 years ago.  It is currently owned by the National Trust and maintained by the Landmark Trust.

Buildering at Dusk

The team visited many of the Islands crags but left much exploring to be done. Lundy is the type of place where exploring is essential to find its hidden gems rather than been handed them on a plate.  My last climbing day was spent on the flying buttress, a massive pillar of rock than leans against the main land creating a bridge at the top and an island at the base. It was a impressive place to climb and the weather was perfect for the last day. Once back at the Barn we all rushed out to grab some shots of the sunset when I was able to capture some good shots of Tom buildering on the old light.

Unloading of the bags in Ilfracombe

Our last day on the Island invlolved playing Scrabble in the beer garden and waiting to board the boat. The weather had been good to us and the sea was much calmer for the return leg. We had book the barn two years ago which seems so long but went so fast.  The Wolverhampton Mountaineering Club will be going back to Lundy and I also plan to return, so watch this space.

You can find a selection of pictures in my gallery by clicking here.

It was a fine weekend climbing in Pembroke over the bank holiday. The area we visited is a MOD firing range, Castlemartin range, and is separated into two areas, range west and range east. Range east is open to the public on weekends and has a stunning costal walk and range west is closed to the public. Any one wishing to enter range west must attend a range briefing and have a pass for that day. The briefings are held on a number of occasions throughout the year and one was held on Saturday. The number of people attending the briefing this weekend greatly surpassed the number in attendance during my previous visits. After a manic rush to the guard house it was clear that we would fail to get a climbing pass for the day (only 30 climbers are allowed on range west at any one time) Peter and I therefore opted to climb on range east which does not have the same restrictions.

We found ourselves climbing on a busy Stennis head. It was getting towards the end of the day when two climbers set out to tackle Pleasure Dome – E3 5c. I only had my point and shoot but managed to get a few good shoots. The one to the right is the best on of this unknown climber. (continue reading…)

This weekend I was in wales doing a spot of work on the WMC club hut. Wales was in a magical state, blue skys covered a crisp and landscape. Thin sheets of ice were preset on llyn Ogwen which was dead still and mirror like. I could not help but to stop, savour the moment and take a few pictures.

LLyn Ogwen in winter