Nepal, Trekking around Annapurna, on the way to Annapurna sanctuary and Annapurna Base Camp, Hinko Cave, Machapuchare base camp
From Chomrong the trail leads through a narrow valley to the Annapurna sanctuary. You will not find any more villages. It takes normaly 3 days to go to the ABC. Some people take
only 2 days, but you might have problems with altitude.
In the beginning there are huge bamboo forests
The fishtail mountain Machapuchare
The famous rock of Hinko cave.
Up to 50 Persons can sleep under it.
Avalanches on the way to the ABC
Just on the beginning of march 2002 an avalanche killed three Germans an their nepali guide on the way back from MBC. In April 2001 this happened to an Israeli and two Australians.
Till now, this is the most serious threat to trekkers, far more dangerous than all the Maoists ever have been. The most dangerous part is surely between Deorali and MBC, but avalanches can come
down till Bamboo. You are walking in a deep gorge and don’t see any snow mountains at all, so its difficult to even think about snow. But the step slopes of the Hiunchuli are full of
snow. If an avalanche start there some thousand meters higher, it will be funnelled in the valleys above and suddenly fall down over the wall.
There a two dangerous situations , first if there has been heavy snowfall. Then you should consider to stay one ore more days just in the lodges, waiting that possible
avalanches have come dawn. It is crucial, that you have planned this already from the beginning in you time schedule. These avalanches can come down at any day time.
The second situation is in the warm spring months. As the sun gets stronger, it will warm up the snow on Hiunchuli. These avalanches get normally down after 9 o clock. 1. ask for information from locals and groups coming down. If they tell you not to go, don’t go. Nepalis tend to be quiet fatalistic and don’t worry to much about possible
dangers, if they do, it’s really dangerous. 2. If there have been avalanches in the past two weeks, start very early in the morning for
the stretch between Deorali and MBC. In April 2001 I started at 5:30 am from Deorali and on the way back from MBC and I stopped later to have breakfast. If you start very early at
Himalaya hotel, you pass also the most dangerous part before 9 AM. For the way back it is better to start very early in MBC, this means you should stay there the night! Starting in
ABC after the marvellous sunrise an a breakfast will be already pretty late-. 3. Be aware that the small snowfields you encounter on the way are not children
playgrounds but the remains of former avalanches! There the chances are high that a new one will come down again. These tinny little snowfields are the most dangerous parts of
the Trek!. Just cross them very quickly and don’t make a single stop. 4. When travelling in a group, have a distance from at least 50 meter between the
persons when crossing the snowfields. Most of the avalanches are not very large, so that only a part of the group could be catched and the other can help quickly. When I was
going with a group in April 2001, we did this for most of the part between Deorali and MBC.
Machapuchare Base Camp (3700m). Many people will sleep here in one of the 5 lodges to
have a better acclimatization. From here it is only 2 hours to the ABC. But if possible, it is absolutely worth to stay at least on day in ABC to see the sundrise in the very early morning.
East of the MBC lies the holy mountain Machapuchare
The Annapurna Base Camp
Annapurna Base Camp with Annapurna south
Sir Edmund Hillary called the Annapurna Sanctuary one of the greatest mountain sites in the world.
The east sid of the Annapurna sanctuary
Snow in April 2001
Anita in the ABC
The south face of Annapurna 1
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