The Annapurna Death Walk

March 8

Four weeks ago, we blindly threw ourselves into an adventure of a lifetime. We took a few clothes and a bag of snacks and followed our guide, Bhagawan, into Annapurna National Park.

The first day was full of ups and ups. It was hard enough for Henri, who had trekked in Switzerland on his own before, but imagine what I had to go through. I start wheezing after one flight of stairs!

The Annapurna Trek is considered a "teahouse trek" because food is always within reach and you can stay in one of the charming tea houses on the way up.

On our first night, we stayed at Tadapani and "Didi" (big sister) gave me a walking stick because the first day had killed my legs.

My second day would have been much worse if not for the stick, which Henri carved with a cross. The grooves in teh wood were perfect for my fingers to grip.

Still, the second day was probably the hardest. We went up 80° for 2 hours non-stop.

It got so hard that I asked to be put out of my misery. In between wheezes, I asked them to kill me or get me a pony.

There was a full moon that night, and outside our window, we could see the snowy peaks glowing in the night. Just like the night we were in the desert in Jaisalmer, it was magical :)

The following morning, we woke up at 5am; the steps up to Poon Hill were frozen and there was snow on the path up. While we stopped to catch our breath (it was 3,200 meters high, after all), I saw a shooting star's glowing trail in the dark horizon.  

And as we reached the peak, the sun poked its head out of the clouds.

Planes started arriving, carrying passengers who wanted to see the sunrise - minus the agony ;)

But to be honest, the pain was worth it. Up to that point, this was the highest peak we had reached, and it was a darn good accomplishment!

After celebrating, we went back down to have breakfast.

The altitude had made the chips bag puffy, and the tibetan bread... well, it's supposed to be puffy.

 

Fluffy pony and friends.

We climbed to 3,400 meters after, and it was getting warm so we had a chance to show off our matching trek  shirts. An Australian woman told us it was cheesy :)

The path down was wet, snowy, and slippery.

Henri and Bhagawan fell once each. I only escaped because they helped me out.

Once we were low and warm enough to take off our jackets, we passed by this river full of yaks!

Our first yak encounter! Yeah!

That night, we slept a bit lower, but the view at sunset was still spectacular.

To be continued :)