Back on the GR1 Sendero Histórico - September 2013

I'm committed to writing a guide on the GR1 Sendero Histórico for Cicerone.  Great fun but a lot of work and just a bit of rescheduling in terms of the trips I plan to do.  So last September instead of going to France and walking around the Ecrins circular, I went back to Spain and another two weeks on the GR1.

It was happily a great trip.  Good thing too, as it would be a bit late to discover that I didn't like the GR1.  It was great to walk the route at a different time of year.  I'm already looking forward to my next and hopefully final trip next April to its eastern end before completing the guide next summer.

Dhaulagiri Circuit and Dhampus Peak - A Review

It is definitely a personal weakness but I'm a sucker for recommendations.  I booked a trip to Kanchenjunga after seeing a claim that the base camp there was the most beautiful campsite in the world and I did something similar with Mera Peak after reading that it provided the best mountain landscape a trekker is ever likely to experience. Once I had seen that Dhaulagiri Circuit was No 1 Adventure Travel's top 100 treks I was caught - hook, line and sinker!

Dhaulagiri Circuit

Days 15 -17 Dhaulagiri Circuit - Back to Kathmandu

The last few days were frustrating and perhaps Jagged Globe need to think again about the schedule for future trips.

It's standard practice on a trip like this to have a contingency day. But by combining the last two days into one - the descent down to Marpha, we ended up with two.  This meant three nights hanging about: two at Marpha and one at Jonsom, before we could get the plane back from Jonsom via Pokora to Kathmandu.  Having watched the planes fly in and out on Monday and Tuesday it was ominously quiet on Wednesday.  It turned out it was foggy in Pokara so no flights, and we ended up having to get back to Kathmandu by "road".

With any other group this could have been totally grim but with this group it was just grim.  In my experience groups go through a distinct life cycle. As the trip draws to a close you start to think about the journey home and life after the trip. The group, whose only purpose is the trip, starts to lose cohesion as people disappear into their own thoughts.  With this group this didn't happen and everyone continued to get enjoyment out of each other's company to the end.

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.