Machapuchare Annapurna Sanctuary Trek Nepal 1980
**** My latest poem 'The Sacred Mountain' was inspired by the peak of Machapuchare. I have just uploaded it to the 'Poetry' section of 'Beyond the Sacred Mountains'.
Our first view of Machapuchare Nepal 1980
Machapuchare Nepal 1980
Annapurna Trek journal Nepal 1980
Annapurna Trek journal Nepal 1980
"We have now set up camp with incredible views of Machapuchare and the surrounding peaks. The fading sunlight caught the peaks in a beautiful pink glow. As soon as the light faded the mountains turned ice-grey and very forbidding. It is now going dark and cold. We are about to have our evening meal. Local people with stacks of wood or foliage on their backs are passing our camp on their way down the trail . . . . . "
. . . . "We were up at 6.00.am and packed by 7.00.am. The sky was crystal clear and all the peaks were very clear. As the sun rose its light caught the glistening ice and snow on the summits of Annapurna South, Machapuchare and Annapurna IV and II. It was hard to concentrate on our porridge with the fantastic sights around us! Finally we set off at 8.00.am. The trail through the woods and up and down the ridge was superb. There were now vistas at every corner with the Himalayas putting on a magnificent display under a clear blue sky . . . . "
David and Machapuchare Nepal 1980
. . . . "The walk up to Machapuchare base camp was a very hard slog. We moved slowly and our packs felt very heavy. We had to go over big moraines to get to our camp. We had a welcome tea and brandy. The temperature dropped considerably as darkness came on. After our evening meal we all went straight to bed. It was freezing! . . . "
Machapuchare - the 'Fish-Tail' Nepal 1980
. . . . " After a cold and restless night we got up at 5.00.am. Breakfast in darkness just before dawn. Porridge, eggs, pancakes and jam! At 6.50.am we set off alongside a medial moraine. Again it felt hard going because of the altitude. The cloud had thickened during the night and we initially thought we were going to be unlucky. However as we climbed the clouds broke slightly and we got clearer glimpses of the peaks. The ascent to Annapurna Base Camp at 13,200 feet took us one and a half hours. We finally reached base camp with amazing views of the Annapurna Sanctuary. We had a super view back to Machapuchare as the wispy clouds cleared from the summit. Annapurna I was visible at the top end of the cwm through the wisps of white cloud. The patches of blue sky contrasted with the snow, rocks and cloud. It was great to reach our goal after a hard five day trek in. The Annapurna Sanctuary was awesome! . . . ."
Machapuchare is forever etched into my memory! It was the inspiration for my poem 'The Sacred Mountain' which I finished a few days ago.
**** Today I uploaded 'The Sacred Mountain' into my 'Poetry' anthology in 'Beyond the Sacred Mountains'.
**** You can see more photos of our Annapurna Trek in a gallery in 'Photographs'.
**** My scrapbook page 'Sanctuary' celebrating the Annapurna Sanctuary can be viewed in a gallery in 'Scrapbooking'.
If you have enjoyed 'Beyond the Sacred Mountains' please get in touch either by secure email on my 'Contact' page or by a comment on this blog.
Regards
David