6:15am. We woke up really early. The sun was just about to peek over the mountain peaks. 6:35am we were out at the front yard of the guesthouse, led by our guides to the glacier about 10 minutes’ walk away. There was a monument there and the ever-changing glacier was there.
THE VIDEO
Click on image below for my Strava record of today's trek
Click on image below for my Relive Video of today's trek
Relive 'ABC 2018 Day 9: Annapurna Base Camp through Deurali & finally back to Dhovan'
Most of the groups got off early and made their way there. Some of us took our own sweet time. By the time is second group walked there I could see Serene running back towards the guesthouse.
“It’s so cold! My fingers are frozen!” She cried! And she ran back to the Guesthouse without us.
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| The earlier group to walk to the glacier. Photo: Kong Wan |
The view of the basin surrounded by all these majestic peaks was simply breath-taking, whichever way we turned there would be a famous peak basked in the golden rays of the rising sun, except, of course those that had their backs against the sun- Annapurna South was in her glorious golden view, and on her right, Annapurna Fangs also roasting in the lights, and to their right was Annapurna I. To our left was Himchuli, still half in the dark. Turning around towards the back where we came from was Machhapuchchre, and on her left Annapurna III, followed by Gandharvachuli.
Finally, only we and Lakpa were the ones left at the glacier and the monument. A last shot before we ran back to the warmth of the guesthouse.
Was it cold at just before 7am this morning? You bet it was. Kong Wan’s Garmin registered a minus 5.3 degrees. But the night before was a minus ten degrees something. Up here at ABC the Gueshouse boss apologised for not having a working wifi to rent so we were (again, for the umpteenth times) without signal.
Flowing below us on our right was the glacier bringing with it debris from the high peaks.
I was glad we did the ABC as it was a significant trek for many Himalayan trekkers.
After soaking in the atmosphere for a little more than we were supposed to, and having breakfast a little more leisurely than we were supposed to, we finally left ABC at 9am.
At last, we were on the move.
It was steep and fast (I qualify myself here- fast as in Singapore’s pace, not the typical Nepali speed) descent and we just went bang bang bang down down down, covering about 900m descent in around 4 hours. In between we had some long toilet breaks, and rests.
We were supposed to have lunch at Himalaya and then continued another 3.5 hours to end up at Bamboo. But after reviewing our rate of going, Babu cleverly readjusted our itinerary and decided that we would just aim to finish the day at Dovan instead.
Today’s weather was really good on our way down. It was sunny and bright and plenty of the snow on our way up had melted away. Certaintly that presented with slippery paths and our shoes spikes again found themselves great lives savers.
Somehow we realised that the rubber straps of our shoes-spikes couldn’t last and quite a few of them snapped on the way down.
Fortunately on this day the weather was kinder and many parts that were ice-logged two days ago were now ice-free. So we were able to trek without what remained of our shoe-spikes for a long distance, only to strap them on when we made some detours to avoid an avalanche.
A big detour to avoid an avalanche
As we descended, our guides came to a part where there was a recent avalanche. The decision was made to go a big detour to avoid that.
One after another our shoes-spikes’ rubber straps broke. Fortunately we had quite a few black shoe laces and these came in handy to keep the shoes-spikes still intact and usable. In fact, after the village of Himalaya we didn’t really have to use the shoes-spikes any more.
The quick (again to qualify here- by Singapore standard) banging and pounding-style descent really banged up some of our knees and hips (my right knee included) and by that evening when I tried squatting down when using the toilet, I could not squat fully due to the swelling.
Approaching Deurali...
Suddenly one of the guides pointed out Deurali somewhere ahead.
And she laughed over my jokes.
Himalaya, once again...
We arrived at Himalaya at around 2:45pm and Babu very kindly offered us a short tea break with biscuit. The last time when we rested at the village of Himalaya on the out leg, I was suffering from sickness and acute sinusitis. But now moving back on the return leg I was feeling much better. The only part that was not better was my right knee, which was already acting up after so many days of pounding.
I secretly laughed inside. This Shu Ning was such a tough cookie. On the outside she appeared so petite but she really could trek, and trek at a strong pace too. I have every respect for this young lady who possessed such strong mental capacity.
3:15pm. It was cold sitting in the shades at Himalaya. So we set off again. The signboard at the Himalaya Guesthouse stated that it would take 2 hours to arrive at Dovan.
Dovan, again.
On the record we should arrive zhun-zhun at Dovan at just before 5:35pm because the sun was already setting and weather was colder.
Along the way the weather changes a little and it became colder, but for some, like Serene, who had lost her body’s autonomic temperature regulation function due to hormonal changes, everything was hot hot hot to her.
We were dismayed to find that in Dhovan. Being in winter, the sun set earlier and it was off peak season for trekking visitors. So in this small village they closed up three of the five guesthouses. We could not get any rooms in the guesthouses further down as they were already full. So we made do with a closed up Guesthouse that was opened up just so they could accommodate us.
By then we all had our rooms distributed, and after dinner at the lower guesthouse we finally went back to rest our tired and 酸酸 legs. Many of us had swollen and painful thighs especially so much more apparent when I tried squatting down.
I hadn’t been brushing my teeth for the past three days due to the cold. I could not stand the feeling of cold water on my hands. So I went without. Together with this I also hadn’t done any powder baths for the last 2-3 days, from Dovan up to Deurali, all the way to ABC, and then finally on this day back to Dovan, I did a full powder bath and changed a new set of underwear, Base layers and socks. Well, I always argued that when you are exposed to the elements, ONLY you yourself knows best what to do to be at the sweet spot of your comfort zone.
Time to sleep...
A short and delicious dinner filled up our stomachs and we were ready to sleep.
“Please all remember.” Reminded Babu. “We will have breakfast early at 7am and we set off at 7:30an sharp, because we need to make up for lost time today. Tomorrow will be another 7 hour trek and we will try our best to arrive at Jhinu for our hot spring soak." That alone, I believe was a motivation enough for us.
Finally, only we and Lakpa were the ones left at the glacier and the monument. A last shot before we ran back to the warmth of the guesthouse.
Was it cold at just before 7am this morning? You bet it was. Kong Wan’s Garmin registered a minus 5.3 degrees. But the night before was a minus ten degrees something. Up here at ABC the Gueshouse boss apologised for not having a working wifi to rent so we were (again, for the umpteenth times) without signal.
Flowing below us on our right was the glacier bringing with it debris from the high peaks.
“This view was so worth it,” said Ah Li later that night. “It was totally worth the difficult trek of the first few days.” And I agreed with her.
I was glad we did the ABC as it was a significant trek for many Himalayan trekkers.
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| Brotherhood! |
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| One wefie before we move out. Photo: Kong Wan |
After soaking in the atmosphere for a little more than we were supposed to, and having breakfast a little more leisurely than we were supposed to, we finally left ABC at 9am.
At last, we were on the move.
It was steep and fast (I qualify myself here- fast as in Singapore’s pace, not the typical Nepali speed) descent and we just went bang bang bang down down down, covering about 900m descent in around 4 hours. In between we had some long toilet breaks, and rests.
We were supposed to have lunch at Himalaya and then continued another 3.5 hours to end up at Bamboo. But after reviewing our rate of going, Babu cleverly readjusted our itinerary and decided that we would just aim to finish the day at Dovan instead.
“I think Babu over estimated our speed,” jokingly said Kong Wan. I laughed inside my heart. “Well we did walked quite fast right from the beginning mah, didn’t we?” I asked.
“Yah but we dragged quite a bit yah. When we went up this part it took us only 5 hours. But now coming down we did it in 4 hours which was not on par with the expected timing mah,” reasoned Kong Wan. Yeah, I guessed that was quite true too.
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| Photo: Fann |
“Let’s do this,” suggested Babu. “Now that we are behind time, let’s have lunch at Deurali instead of Himalaya. Then we will nice off drom Himalaya after some hot beverages there.” That was very kind of him.
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| One final look at Machhapuchchre Base Camp before we made our way down. |
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| This Serene really the epitome of extreme menopause. Early early snowy snowy everybody cold like don't know what she already down to T-shirt. |
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| Photo: Beautfully captured icicles by Ah Sing |
Today’s weather was really good on our way down. It was sunny and bright and plenty of the snow on our way up had melted away. Certaintly that presented with slippery paths and our shoes spikes again found themselves great lives savers.
 |
| This poor poor Jacalayn placing all her hopes on all the helicopters flying by to see if she can Grab one or Grab Hitch one. But sadly the mobile signals over these parts don't work. So her iPhone Grab App could only Grab her a couple of mules. |
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| Jacalayn desparately trying to wave down the helicopters. Photo: Kong Wan |
“I think the deep cold hardened the rubber and made them brittle, so they tore easily,” explained Kong Wan. Yes, such a brilliant explanation! No wonder we saw many Korean trekkers using the better (and more expensive) shoes chains instead. These would definitely be more durable.
Fortunately on this day the weather was kinder and many parts that were ice-logged two days ago were now ice-free. So we were able to trek without what remained of our shoe-spikes for a long distance, only to strap them on when we made some detours to avoid an avalanche.
A big detour to avoid an avalanche
As we descended, our guides came to a part where there was a recent avalanche. The decision was made to go a big detour to avoid that.
One after another our shoes-spikes’ rubber straps broke. Fortunately we had quite a few black shoe laces and these came in handy to keep the shoes-spikes still intact and usable. In fact, after the village of Himalaya we didn’t really have to use the shoes-spikes any more.
The quick (again to qualify here- by Singapore standard) banging and pounding-style descent really banged up some of our knees and hips (my right knee included) and by that evening when I tried squatting down when using the toilet, I could not squat fully due to the swelling.
 |
| As we descended rapidly we left the showy terrain high up, and came to more shrubby lower levels with trees. It was amazing how quickly the vegetation of the mountain changed as one went from lower to higher altitude and vice versa. |
“Wah I really can feel no strength in my body as I didn’t eat much just now,” complained Jacalyn.
“Yeah that’s why I forced myself to eat all the carbs replenishments I could lay my hands on during breakfast because I knew my body would run out of energy very quickly.
“Some more my thighs and legs are burning and flooded with lactic acid,” Jacalyn's body really presented with a lot of patterns.
Approaching Deurali...
Suddenly one of the guides pointed out Deurali somewhere ahead.
“Yes I see it I see it,” cried Jacalyn.
“Wah Jacalyn your eyes very sharp ah!” I remarked jokingly.
“Of course lah, I have hungry eyes leh,” she replies.
“That’s very true hor,” I replied her. “Hungry eyes and burning thighs and legs make your vision sharp sharp.”
And she laughed over my jokes.
Himalaya, once again...
We arrived at Himalaya at around 2:45pm and Babu very kindly offered us a short tea break with biscuit. The last time when we rested at the village of Himalaya on the out leg, I was suffering from sickness and acute sinusitis. But now moving back on the return leg I was feeling much better. The only part that was not better was my right knee, which was already acting up after so many days of pounding.
I asked Shu Ning: “Shu Ning, did your parents and sisters worry when you told them you are coming to climb to Annapurna Base Camp?”
She replied: “I don’t think they knew what it entails.”
“But I’m sure your sisters will find out by googling on the internet mah, right?”
“Yes, later I explained to them. But even I myself was not sure what to expect. All that my family needed to know that ‘Uncle is bringing me along’ and they felt reassured enough.”
I secretly laughed inside. This Shu Ning was such a tough cookie. On the outside she appeared so petite but she really could trek, and trek at a strong pace too. I have every respect for this young lady who possessed such strong mental capacity.
3:15pm. It was cold sitting in the shades at Himalaya. So we set off again. The signboard at the Himalaya Guesthouse stated that it would take 2 hours to arrive at Dovan.
“Don’t believe that lah. That at Nepali speed. We need to be realistic and give ourself Singapore speed.” someone said.
“Ok ok then let's take it to be 2.5 hours - so that we arrive at Dovan by 5:45pm."
Dovan, again.
On the record we should arrive zhun-zhun at Dovan at just before 5:35pm because the sun was already setting and weather was colder.
Along the way the weather changes a little and it became colder, but for some, like Serene, who had lost her body’s autonomic temperature regulation function due to hormonal changes, everything was hot hot hot to her.
We were dismayed to find that in Dhovan. Being in winter, the sun set earlier and it was off peak season for trekking visitors. So in this small village they closed up three of the five guesthouses. We could not get any rooms in the guesthouses further down as they were already full. So we made do with a closed up Guesthouse that was opened up just so they could accommodate us.
By then we all had our rooms distributed, and after dinner at the lower guesthouse we finally went back to rest our tired and 酸酸 legs. Many of us had swollen and painful thighs especially so much more apparent when I tried squatting down.
I hadn’t been brushing my teeth for the past three days due to the cold. I could not stand the feeling of cold water on my hands. So I went without. Together with this I also hadn’t done any powder baths for the last 2-3 days, from Dovan up to Deurali, all the way to ABC, and then finally on this day back to Dovan, I did a full powder bath and changed a new set of underwear, Base layers and socks. Well, I always argued that when you are exposed to the elements, ONLY you yourself knows best what to do to be at the sweet spot of your comfort zone.
 |
| Time to order dinner. But not served here but at the guesthouse downstairs. |
Time to sleep...
A short and delicious dinner filled up our stomachs and we were ready to sleep.
During dinner Babu was chit chatting with us: “Even for us guides we need to trek to the mountains to acclimatize ourselves. Every time we climb the mountains, we are acclimatized for 72 days.”
“Wow that’s really good! Acclimatized for two months plus,” remarked Kong Wan. Somehow this 72 hour after-climbing-acclimatization effect stayed in our minds.
“Please all remember.” Reminded Babu. “We will have breakfast early at 7am and we set off at 7:30an sharp, because we need to make up for lost time today. Tomorrow will be another 7 hour trek and we will try our best to arrive at Jhinu for our hot spring soak." That alone, I believe was a motivation enough for us.
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