Day 14 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Marpha

Everyone has been focused on getting across the French Col and climbing Dhampus Peak and hadn't really given the last day of the trek much thought.  It turned out to be a real sting in the tail and longer and harder than anyone had expected.

Actually, according to the schedule, it was a two rather than a one day walk but no one had noticed.  We knew it involved a massive descent (2,000 metres) but had all somehow assumed that this would start almost immediately and not after a tough three hour walk through the snow.

The campsite we stayed in last night was not exactly comfortable.  Just beyond the Dhampus Pass it had been carved out of deep snow at just a smidgen below 5,000 metres.  The weather had also changed, the wind had got up, spindrift was blowing of the top of Dhampus Peak, and cloud building up in the valley below.  After yesterday's perfect weather today felt just a bit ominous.

Tougher than expected final trudge through snow

Day 13 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Dhampus Peak

Pasang went round the tents with the "early morning cup of tea" at 4.30 and it was very cold. Everyone sees the cup of tea as some sort of starting gun rather than a chance to gently wake up.  All around me there are noises of zips being zipped and bags being tossed out of tents and already I felt off the pace.

Everything seems harder to pack in the cold, bigger and less malleable. Even without the huge plastic boots it seems impossible to get everything into the bags.

Apart from Steve I'm the last person to get to the mess tent for breakfast.  The casualty list from last night has shrunk, Mandy and Andy are going to attempt to summit.  I manage two bowls of porridge but can't stomach the stodgy pancakes and Nick's discovery of a rotten one puts me off the eggs.  Despite the limited breakfast I'm still the last person to leave the table and have only had time to put on one of a decidedly suspect pair of gaiters from Shonas before we set off.

Everyone had their head torches on as we crossed the valley but within minutes the summits of the mountains to the south west were starting to glow from a sort of pre-dawn light.  The Swiss party had already left but there was no sign of them ahead or any indication of the route they had taken. Ominously one of the Sherpas was walking well to right of the group and may well have been looking for a trail. If he was he didn't find one.

Day 12 - Dhaulagiri Circuit - Hidden Valley

Two massive days at the end of this trek - French Col and Dhamphus Peak. We all got over the Col today but I'm totally knackered.  To be honest I'm not sure if I have anything left for what is a bigger climb tomorrow.

It was a very cold night last, Chris registered -7C inside his tent - but I did get a good night's sleep.  The only disturbances were rumbles from avalanches and rock falls and the occasional loud cracks as the glacier moved beneath the tent.

Cold nights seem to herald sunny days and that's exactly what we got.  Tenzing has crossed the French Col 5 times and this is the first time he has done it in the sun.

Brad and Deborah climbing towards the moraine

I ended up wearing the huge chunky plastic two layer climbing boots and given the cold and the amount of snow I'm glad I did.  I hired them from Jagged Globe without trying them on and they are a bit too tight.  With hindsight I would have been better getting them in Kathmandu at Shonas, which is what I did on the Mera Peak trip last year.  They were old, battered and bright yellow but at least they were the right size.

Day 11 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Dhaulagiri Base Camp - Rest Day

It's hard to exaggerate how much the temperature changes when the sunlight hits a particular spot. It's like a switch being turned and the transformation is almost instant. The temperature increase must be around 20 degrees and knowing when the sun is going to hit the campsite or the trail is an important piece of information.

Last night was particularly cold, minus five inside, and that and the fact that we are sleeping on ice made for a very cold tent. Despite that I had a good night's sleep helped I think by the Diamox. I'm taking half a tablet a day and the irregular breathing I suffered from on my last high altitude trip, known as Cheyne-Stokes respiration (according to my medical team) has not recurred.

Hanging around on the campsite gives you a chance to see the whole support team in one place. There are 26 people in all including 17 porters and 3 kitchen boys. Pemchhii is the lead Sherpa, the Sidr, and his No 2 is the cook Kacheman.  There are the 4 other Sherpas, Tenzing the most experienced, Rakes, and Pasangs 1 and 2.  It's a big team reflecting the fact that it's a camping trip, it's a long trip and high altitude and a lot of gear is being carried all the way around the Dhaulagiri circuit.

Day 10 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Dhaulagiri Base Camp

So at 3 o'clock last night I decided that this was the last high altitude trip I was going to do.

Having gone to bed at 7.30 I had been awake since 2am. I was cold and uncomfortable and was clearly not going back to sleep.  I just couldn't understand why I was there - why am I paying money to be cold and uncomfortable?

Writing this and the whole thing has flipped again. The cold cloud free night meant a beautiful day - clear blue skies and, once the sun cleared the mountain, a warm day. The walk up the valley along the glacier was the best of the trip so far and, until 3 o'clock tomorrow morning it all seems worth it.

It wasn't a long walk, perhaps 4 hours, but it was perfectly paced and very relaxed.  Yesterday's anxiety about rock falls and beating the thaw had disappeared and there was plenty of time to chat and take in the views.

I had a particularly interesting talk with Pem. He told me that the weather had actually been worse when they did the trip last year and when they got to altitude it was snowing.  I asked him whether I would need to wear heavy plastic boots to go over the French Col, the big pass we do the day after tomorrow, and he said if conditions stay as they are he didn't think we would.  My boots are the lightest Miendl's money can buy so to continue in these rather than the clod hopping plastic boots would a great relief.

He also compared trips and admitted that from his point of view Dhaulagiri is a hard trip to organise.  It's not popular with the porters who find the number of days at altitude difficult; they prefer the Annapurna Circuit.  The only way to recruit them is to pay them more, 1000 Rupees at day plus food at altitude compared to the 600 Pem gets.

Day 9 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Chhonbardan Glacier Camp

Despite my best efforts to convince everyone we were doomed, the news last night was good. A Sherpa and porters have been all the way to Dhaulagiri Base camp and Pem still thinks we can complete the trek.  Either the Dutch guys coming back from the camp yesterday were exaggerating or the snow has gone in the day it took them to descend.

The weather is definitely better.  We had sun for most of yesterday and compared to the night before last night was not so cold.

Today's walk took us to a camp 600 metres higher and onto a glacier.

We left Italian Base Camp at about 7-30am.  Pem wanted to complete the walk before the sun had melted the frozen moraine on the side of the valley.  Once melted these moraines become unstable and dangerous.

Porters leaving Italian Base Camp

Day 8 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Italian Base Camp - Rest Day

For the first time in three days I'm writing a blog when it's not raining. The weather has definitely improved and the question is, has it improved in time?

Early morning at Italian Base Camp