Day 8 - Climbing into the White

Bam! Bam! Bam! "Rise and shine."

It was 5:15 am when we got a knock on our door to wake up. There is no such thing as sleeping in late here. Early is best for hiking especially when it's the last two hour leg to Annapurna Base Camp.

In a sleepy daze we had a bowl of energy drink, a few raisins and some oatmeal we cooked on our camp stove and then threw on our packs. There was no need to bother with getting dressed; we'd never really undressed the night before. It was much to cold to think about removing anything except perhaps one layer of fleece.

Layered up like snow bunnies we walked outside to a view that made even my sorest muscles smile. Crisp white was all around us. We stood for a moment looking up at the mountains in front of us. "Somewhere up there is ABC. Let's do it."

We climbed up a steep grassy trail to look down upon where we had just been. Over one more small hill, expansive white snow fields opened up to us. After one hour of walking breathless up the sloped snow field we rose over an embankment and stood in the middle of a pristine snow bowl. We were surrounded on all sides by high Himalaya peaks. A thin line of hikers had formed behind us; from where we were they looked like tiny ants.

At 7:30 the sun peered over the Eastern mountains and long shadows grew in front of us. The mountains turned instantly into dazzling bright shields of white against a royal blue sky. Eight days of brutal hiking suddenly proved worthwhile.

The Snow Land Lodge, Room Number 1, is our new home. Snow is up to the windows along the back and in the front a four foot walkway has been dug into the snow from the dining hall to the rooms to the toilet. It is a far different feeling from the lower villages and the heat that had us sweating earlier in the week.

This is the longest I can remember going without taking off my hat. The temperature here is 10 degrees Celsius during the day and minus 5 degrees Celsius during the night. I hike with my hat; I eat with my hat; I sleep with my hat. We are going to spend another day up here and after that amount of time I'll probably be afraid to remove it. My hat has become an extension of my head. Will I ever recognize my hair again? It is too cold here to wash and the available water has a temperature just a tad above freezing, so there's really no point. When we get back to Chhomrong we'll get a solar shower, until then John's just going to have to live with my new look. Yuck!

We arrived here so early in the day that now, at 4 pm, I feel like it should be the middle of the night. I've ordered a slice of high-altitude apple pie and some custard and I'm snuggled in our sleeping bag waiting for it to be served. After this I think it'll be time for a nap. The altitude is making me very sleepy. Hmm...John doesn't look tired. He seems to have a reserve of energy. Must be those Twix bars. He's off somewhere exploring. I hear some afternoon thunder starting so he should be back soon - probably just in time to dip into my dessert.

It's been raining a bit every day since we left Chhomrong four days ago. Yesterday we got hail and snow at MBC. Today looks like it will bring more of the same. Sometimes though it's hard to tell the thunder of clouds from the roar of an avalanche.

I'll leave my exploring until tomorrow. I plan to sleep in late (at least 8 am) and then visit the Russian Expedition team again. They've set up their base camp just a few hundred feet from the lodges. On May 5th eight of them are planning to hike Annapurna I (8081 meters). They have a second base camp already set up at 5000 meters and a snow cave at 6000 meters. I think they are planning one more snow cave at 7000 meters. We talked for a bit today with the cinematographer of the group who spoke fairly good English. He and the doctor were running around in the snow in their underwear and cat-eye glasses. That seemed perfectly normal to them. The other team members will be coming down tonight after spending five days setting up one of the snow caves. Fargo is anxious to talk with the cinematographer too. He wants to be the first frog filmed as part of a Russian documentary. He's been practicing his Russian all day.

By the way, Fargo is acclimating to the altitude just fine, although he did look a little green earlier. (I just had to say it!)