Annapurna Trek 2000

"Scott and Dan's Fluff Adventure"

In 2000, I returned to Nepal with two friends, Christal and Dan. I met Dan on my climbing trip in Bolivia in 1998, and had also met him in California to climb Mt. Shasta in 1999. This trip was a celebration of my 40th birthday, which took place in Manang. It also was to include a climb of Chulu East, so we had a climbing guide and camping and mountaineering equipment. Christal, who was not along for the climbing part, called it "Scott and Dan's Fluff Adventure", but got angry with me on the first day of trekking, when we covered about 10 miles and 6000 vertical feet (net - the total was far more) on the way from Birethanti to Poon Hill. (It took days for her to recover.) We hiked the circuit in "reverse", crossing Thorung La clockwise to aid in acclimitization for the 6500 m peak. However, heavy snows fell as we crossed Thorung La, closing it for a week and canceling our climbing plans. We did get to experience much of the circuit under a magical cover of snow, and our climbing boots were useful for several days along the snow-covered trekking route. Here are a few pictures from the trek. Click the links to open them.

Lal Man Trekking	My guide Lal from my previous trek now operated his own trekking company with this office in Thamel.
Lal Man in Office	Lal Man poses with his phone in the office of his trekking company. He now runs the trekking company and only occasionally guides clients. He arranged this trek for me, but I will have a mountain guide, a Sherpa named Ang Dawa, since I am planning a peak climb. Lal will fly up to meet me in Jomsom, and accompany me on part of the trek, celebrating my 40th birthday in the holy city of Mukhtinath.
Camp at Deorali	This is our second camp, at Deorali, near Ghorepani and Poon Hill. The tents are new ones belonging to Lal Man Trekking and Expedition. The logo on each tent includes the address of this web site. Yesterday's hike from Birethanti had been somewhat excessive (with a net elevation gain of 6000 ft in around 10 miles, but much up and down), and Christal was very unhappy with my planning this morning.
Rhododendron	An advantage of visiting the Annapurnas in the springtime is the large number of blooming rhododendron trees, which have brilliantly colored flowers. These were seen on the way to Tatopani.
Houses in Marpha	A view of houses in Marpha on the way to Jomsom. Most of the buildings in this area have a boxy stone construction.
Woman Spinning Wool	This woman was spinning wool near our lunch stop near Rhupse Chhahara between Tatopani and Ghasa, our third stop on the trek.
Yak Karka	A heavy snowstorm began just before we crossed Thorung La pass, and continued the next day on our trek from Thorung Phedi to Manang. Typical conditions are seen here in Yak Kharka, where we stopped to have lunch and get warm. One of our porters refused to wear his sun glasses, saying they were for "old people", and got snow blindness. He was being led by a trekking pole today.
Manang Lake	This is a view of a lake near Manang. I walked to it during a free day in Manang where we rested after the heavy snows of the previous days.
Upper Manang	This is a view of Upper Manang from a hike in the hills above Lower Manang following the big snow-storm while we crossed the pass.
Manang Monastery	This is an old, snow-covered monastery in the hills above lower Manang. We hiked up past it until the snow became too deep to continue.
Avalanche near Manang	We saw the large cloud of snow coming down the valley toward lower Manang while hiking in the snow-covered hills across the valley. No damage was done.
Pisang	This is a view toward Pisang from the high trail overlooking the valley.
Nepali Child	This is a child seen in front of an inn where we stopped for a break along the trekking route.
Child with Mandal	This child in Chame has a mandal, a drum popular in Nepal.
Flowers and Waterfall	This is a beautiful view of a waterfall behind flowering trees. This was the next to last day of our trek.
Rhino on Elephant Safari	After the trek, we traveled to Chitwan to see the wildlife. Elephant safaris in Chitwan National Park are an excellent way to see rhinos and other wildlife. We also did a walking safari, which did not go too far into the woods. I did a long wildlife drive as well, during which I actually touched a young rhino.

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