The Himalayan Jaunt. Part IV

Two nights before we passed over Thorong-La pass, Baba-Ji and I had a small bout of AMS. On two seperate occasions, we woke up In the middle of the night, gasping for air and feeling suffocated in our sleeping bags. We had what’s called Cheyne-Stokes Breathing. Your body is gasping for air, and alternating between shallow and deep breathing. One of the scariest things that happen to me on the trek. 

It’s not a very comforting feeling waking up in the dark, 9 days into the middle of no where, gasping for breathe. I was confused and in a bit of a panic when I woke up, which felt like it must have lasted for 20 minutes. I eventually fell back to sleep, but when I woke, I was dead tired.

The next day was absolutely beautiful and we had only a short hike to the tea house below the High Camp. We arrived at Thorang Phediin the early afternoon and we quickly settled in. Fraser and I hiked up to the High Camp to acclimatize before heading over the pass the next day. The rest of the night was spent by the fire, playing ‘shithead’ and other random card games with all the other trekkers and guides. 

We started out to for Throng-La pass with a 4:30am start. We had a huge day ahead of us which include a steep jaunt up to 5500m and a decent of 1700m into Muktinath. The day before we went over the pass, the winds were heavy and it delayed a lot of the trekkers crossing over creating a bit of a bottle neck. We made it to High Camp before sunrise and I had time to snap a few photos before breakfast.

After breakfast, it was time to head over Thorong-la pass.

Himalayan Jaunt. Part III

Part of the acclimatization process is to climb higher than where you are going to sleep. So for the days we were above 3500m we had to climb up a few hundred vertical metres. On this particular day my trekking companion and I decided to summit a small peak just behind our guest house, at around 4200m. Not a good plan.

We started our climb up after an epic photo-shoot of the Annapurna Valley. 

By this time it was 10:00am, and the sun had started to climb. We had little trouble on the first half of the way up, but then it started to get brutal.

We made a huge rookie mistake by being on the mountain when the sun was hot. We were no longer stepping on top of the hard pack, we were sinking deeper and deeper as the day grew hotter. The pitch at the top of this peak was also becoming steeper and it was taking ten times as long to go farther up than before.

Almost at the top, we came to the decision we had to turn back and start our decent. We could have reached the peak maybe within another hour, but it wasn’t worth the risk. The nearest hospital was days away and my trekking partner already had a scare where he had almost broke his leg. He had sunk in well past his knee and because the pitch was so steep, he started falling backwards at a dangerously obscure angle. Luckily he caught himself with his makeshift bamboo “ice-axe” and arrested his fall.

The way down seemed to take forever. Our guide was expecting us back around 2:00pm and we were well past that time. Every step we took was knee-deep in crusty snow. Soaked and exhausted, we finally made it back to where we started our ascent. Here we came across some snow leopard tracks that were be deep enough in the snow, that we assumed they were fresh. After the previous night spent by the fire listening to our host talk about how deadly these mountain cats were, we had no intention of sticking around that area. With our head on a swivel, we finished our decent and made it back to the main trail.

Back at the camp there was a stern look on Baba Ji’s face that said, “You two are idiots.” He didn’t say anything to us but we knew he wasn’t impressed. As an experienced mountaineer, and having experienced the loss of good friends to the mountains, Baba Ji knew we were lucky.

The next morning we set out to Manang. The last settlement before our the final ascent up taking us over 5000m and through Thorong-La pass.

Anonymous asked: Very interesting stories, and your photos are so beautiful! Where will your next jaunt take you?

Thanks for the love! The next Jaunt will probably be to the foodbank!

Jaunting is expensive and after traveling/not working, it’s tough to look abroad and see what’s next. Many countries come to mind but I feel I need to give a bot more love to Canada at the moment!

Himalayan Jaunt. Part II

Eight days into our trip, we had reached 3500m above sea-level. This is the height where altitude sickness starts to become an issue. Up until this point we trekked around six and a half hours a day. We weren’t in a rush, and every morning we woke up felt like being in a different country. It was going to take us around four days to trek the length of the valley and everyone in our group was excited for this part of our journey.

After 3500m, it’s recommended that you make camp 500m higher than where you had slept the night before before. Your body needs to adjust to the lack of oxygen in the air, and if you move up to fast you’re likely to get AMS.

So our hours of hiking went from 7hrs of trekking each day, down to about 4hrs. A welcome relief. The past few days were steep, cold and wet. We ran into a storm, the night before we broke 3500m, everyone was soaking wet and we spent the night curled up in our mummy bags, and drifting in and out of sleep.

We awoke the next day to what I have written down in my journal as “The Most Epic Day of Hiking Ever!”. It was a bluebird day, and this was our view for the next week.

It’s hard to really explain how epic that day really was. Breathing in that fresh, crisp mountain air first thing in the morning was exhilarating.

The only thing that could have made it any better was the temperature. Those were cold days in the valley and Nepalese guest houses aren’t known for their insulation. Before climbing into the sleeping bags, most of our nights were spent around the warmth of the fire, centered in Nepalese/Tibetan kitchen houses.

We decided to trek along the valley wall instead of down the valley floor like most trekkers.This gave us the opportunity to spend two nights in a medieval Tibetan village called Ngawal. The owner of the guest house we stayed at spoke excellent English and was an amazing host.

This was the view from our view from right outside the door of our bedroom hut.

The owner kept us all entertained by telling us about the snow leopard that was in the area. Apparently, these elusive cats are just a bit taller than your knee, but can take down a horse with ease. The had recently lost a horse to the leopard that was in the area. He hadn’t actually seen the mountain cat, but had come across its tracks. Little did I know we’d be coming across them soon enough ourselves.

Anonymous asked: After experiencing such as amazing journey or jaunt, I could only imagine all the diverse, wise and creative people you have met. Is there one piece of advice or words that you carry with you that you have learned through the wisdom of others or someone?

Lot’s of advice comes to mind, but I think the biggest piece of wisdom I’ve put into practice is from a fable a traveler once  told me.

From the famous poet Attar of Nishapur. He records the fable of a powerful king who asks to assemble a crowd of wise men to search the world for a ring that will make him happy when he is sad, and vice versa. After deliberation, the sages hand him a simple ring with the words “This too shall pass” etched on it.

This saying has helped me get through 32hr plane rides, a million shitty bus rides, smelly rooms, bug infestation, sickness and even heartache. I hold it close to me and would give it to anyone who is in a tough time or wants to appreciate where they are right now.

This too shall pass

Anonymous asked: If it takes a cow and a half to have a calf and a half, how long does it take a wooden legged woodpecker to kick a hole in an onion?

Ahh a question for the ages. Well my friend, it’s impossible. The allure of pecking wood is too strong for the woodpecker. He pecks his own leg into toothpicks and the onion survives to be featured in another Shrek movie.

Anonymous asked: Don't really have a problem.....but where would you recommend going on your first worldy jaunt! And why?

Go to Malaysia! Cheap, easy, English speaking, oh and it’s a tropical paradise.