Simple LIFE: ANNAPRUNA CIRCUIT part two

Having the extra time in Manang to rest up for the eventual 5500 meter Thorung La Pass summit was a blessing. Despite my feeling a little lightheaded and somewhat short of breath at 3500 meters I went on a climb with Robin and Emily on our day off which took us another 500 meters higher.
Going up and coming back down was a good opportunity to adjust to the higher elevations and at the highpoint we were also offered a chance to see the village of Manang and a good stretch of the valley, pictured on the left. Although there doesn't appear to be any snow in the picture, the sun's reflection off the snow and ice on the mountains is so brilliant it's literally blinding.
I can totally understand why so many people in Nepal and Tibet have problems with cataracts and other eye problems.
Sunglasses in the mountains are as essential as good foot wear and most locals don't have either. As the saying goes there's no bad weather just bad dress and no place on the planet is this saying more true than in the Himalayan mountains.

Believe it or not the beautiful image on the right is from the same vantage point, just off in another direction!
Our time in Manang, the acclimatization hike, a seminar on altitude sickness and its symptoms, plus resting up and mending our wounds from the trail was well spent. The day we left we were ready, and with our gear strapped to our backs we slowly walked out of the village toward Yak Kharka, our next stop. Along the way I was struck with the realization of just how completely immersed in the Annapruna range our little group of three was! Everywhere, all around us, the rock climbed up to meet a deep blue sky and the invigoratingly cold wind continued to blow steady keeping us radically present. My experience was becoming surreal or dreamlike and not being able to get a full expansive breath because of the thiner air made it all seem ever more so! Very strange indeed! By the time we reached our destination five hours had elapsed and I had adjusted well to the higher elevation. I must admit I was moving noticeably slower though. It was like I'd started walking through a thick membrane of some kind and my toe joints and back muscles, especially lower back, were starting to complain about the amount of effort it was taking to get the job done!
In the thiner mountain air everything changes profoundly, especially for someone like myself who's not completely acclimatized. Loss of appetite and lethargy, where even doing the simplest things can become a challenge such as reading or something as basic as sleeping.
My evening at the guesthouse in Yak Kharka was a quiet reflective affair, I was tired physically and mentally and my ponderings were on the next day's hike. High Camp at 4850 meters was where we'd be staying before going over the Thorung Pass early the following morning. Aware that people often die at these elevations because they don't adjust well and their bodies shut down was a bit of a concern.
This knowing was brought even closer to home a couple weeks after our trek ended. I had discovered that Dave, a good friend, had to be airlifted out of Manang to a lower elevation as he'd fallen victim to the mountains' thin air.
It's easy to make a wrong choice when you're lightheaded and sluggish. A momentary lapse in judgment and balance could have a person taking a tumble and getting hurt or worse. Needless to say that night in Yak Kharka there was a fair amount of excitement mixed with nervous energy by all staying in the guest house.
The next day our climb wasn't all that long in hours but the time we did spent on the trail was a slow grueling process. It was tiring and I'd get lightheaded often feeling the need for oxygen, I could never seem to get enough. Whenever this would happen I'd either slow down or just stop until I could recover enough to go on. Everyone experienced something relating to being oxygen deprived so when we eventually got to High Camp that day, we were all totally exhausted, exhausted and happy to be there.
There was one more push to get over the top and then it'd be down, down, down where the air was rich with life-giving oxygen again.

HIGH CAMP 4850 METERS

Never slept much that night in High Camp, as I was feeling off (a little sick), had a bit of a headache and again couldn't seem to get enough oxygen. The next morning had everyone in camp up at 4:30 wearing headlamps and moving on some pretty slippery pathways. Better to get out and make headway before the sun comes up because once this happens the ice begins to melt making everything even that much more treacherous. It was a very strange experience moving in single file along the steep narrow ridges of snow and ice pack into the black of early morning. It didn't take me long to find my stride and second wind, then carefully start making my way past people (some were moving quite slow) and put myself in the front of the group. A short time later I was leaving everyone behind eventually going over the hump (The Thorung Pass) on my own.
It's here I'll stop the story and include a few pictures that I hope will give you a sense of what it was like hiking between Manang and going over the pass.