Himalayan Adventures - Tilicho Lake

After a cold night in Braga, our group would split up temporarily. Tony and Jimmy decided to do a side trip to Tilicho Lake, while Helen and I spent a couple of extra acclimatization days in the town of Manang. On the morning that we left Braga, our group took the short walk to Manang. Although only an hour long, the thin air still made the walk mildly challenging. Tony and Jimmy refilled their water bottles and headed off. We would reconnect again two days later in the town of Yak Kharka.

Over the next two days, Helen and I spent hours chatting away in our sleeping bags or at the bakery down the street where we paid Western prices for delicious Italian coffee and freshly baked pastries. In these parts of the mountains, such things are considered a luxury. We took an acclimatization hike to a small lake close to Manang and handed out pens and stickers that Helen had been carrying with her at a small school just outside the main village. The children, with their snotty noses, were as cute as ever, showing off their ABCs and numbers in English. On day three, we left Manang early for a four hour hike to the town of Yak Kharka, where we would secure rooms at a guesthouse and reconnect with Tony and Jimmy.



The following is Tony's account of his three-day excursion to one of the world's highest lakes:

Visiting Tilicho Lake (or Tilicho Tal in Nepalese) is a highlight of trekking in the Annapurnas. This high altitude lake sits at the base of a melting glacier off Tilicho Peak and is literally a breath-taking climb. Most trekkers start the accent early in the morning from Manang and do a 2-3 day ambitious excursion to visit the lake and return to lower altitudes back in Manag or on to Yak Kharka. It is also possible to continue on from the lake via a sketchy lake trail and dump into Jonsom bypassing the Thorung La pass.

Our motley crew only made it to Braga the night before, approximately one hour before the bustling town of Manang. My Spaniard companion Jimmy and I had been tossing up the idea of climbing up to see the lake. Originally I hadn't planned to go there for timing reasons but the trek thus far was making good progress and so we thought why not.

I had already gone through one acclimatization in Upper Pisang the day before and suffered a migraine headache, but with adequate hydration, a good night's sleep and a diamox or two I'd be fine, it was really Jimmy's sprained ankle that was concerning. He was probably fitter than me, about 6ft tall, medium build and strong lungs but with a bad ankle and a heavy pack it was a gamble. Jimmy didn't want to discuss his ankle's condition much and was so passionate and stubborn about visiting the lake he convinced me to make preparations. The plan was to split off from the ladies in Manang and rendezvous in a few days further up the circuit at Yak Kharka.



I gleaned a bit of info off a German guide book in Braga that night, loosely translating that "Food is expensive and conditions are cold and cramped at the Tilicho basecamp." Armed with that knowledge, a good map and high spirits the group set off for Manang.

We arrived in Manang at 10 a.m. refilled water bottles at the safe drinking water station and stocked up on dried fruit, nuts and chocolate. I stopped in at the ACAP office to see if they had had any reports from the Tilicho base camp, but the simple reply was: "Ya, there many people here now." No chance of reserving a bed eh? Jealously leaving the ladies at a western style coffee shop Jimmy and I quickly set off through town and found the fork up to Tilicho valley.



Comfortably behind the packs of trekkers we got to an outpost with two competing guesthouses in the early afternoon for lunch, ordered a double of boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs, some to eat immediately and the rest saved for next day's lunch.

Keeping a fast pace ever upwards, the barren flat tundra valley started to give way to steeper canyon like river valley which we were to follow all the way up to the lake. I imagined the ice cold lake water finding its way here to this now hot valley. Gradually we winded up to a small group of guesthouses near a hamlet called Kangshar and took a break. It was getting to be late in the afternoon and we still had a long way to go. I checked in with Jimmy, his ankle seemed to be holding up. An inquisitive Brit came upon us and was surprised to hear that we were going all the way to the Tilicho base camp. He urged us to press on, as the sun was low and warned that the terrain was about to change dramatically. Curious and anxious about the next leg we pushed off at quick pace.



The massive Annapurna I peak started to loom above as cold shadows chased up the valley floor. We rounded a sharp bend, crossed over a precarious foot bridge and paused to see the monster that awaited. Well above tree line we looked head on to a grey mountain face wrought with landslides and eerie rock formations caused by violent erosion. A narrow trail cut through what looked like impossible canyon terrain enveloped by shade. It was foreboding but beautiful. Jimmy and I paused silent to catch our breath and take in the route.

The impossible trail revealed itself as we weaved through the alien landscape. Huge pillars of rock jutted out of the landslides where the trail skirted through with rudimentary trail supports. It occurred to me that Julie probably wouldn't have liked this part of the hike, for any miss-step here would send you tumbling down a 500m landslide into a churning ice river below. Surprisingly the trail was not that physically challenging, but the loose footing around precarious drop-off's made for mentally exhausting trekking. Jimmy was still faring well in front of me using his hiking poles as a crutch at critical turns. I too was glad to have borrowed one of Julie's poles for significant added stability on the slope.



At dusk clouds set upon us and the landslide fields seemed endless as exhaustion set in. One foot in front of the other we reached a final bend and could see the lights of Tilicho basecamp in the distance. At this point even with hat, scarf and gloves I was getting cold and was thankful to see smoke coming out of the chimney.

Clearly being the last trekkers to arrive that day we had no choice of sleeping arrangements. Jimmy was assigned to an empty bed in a Spanish group's room and I was placed in the last bed at basecamp with an older Austrian group. I was thankful for the bed, but one stingy Austrian was making a fuss that he had to share his group's room with me. I was quite taken aback by this gesture, as back home in North America you would never contest accommodating a fellow trekker at these altitudes. This was no club-med resort in the Alps man, this was base camp at 4000m (13,000 ft)!



Eventually the Austrian settled down and I went to have a hot noodle soup for dinner. There were a few familiar faces in the dining area and we chatted excitedly about the next day's ascent before heading to bed.

I found sleeping at high altitudes was difficult. Early that morning I got up before the sun and strolled out under the clear cold night sky. My eyes still adjusting I gazed upon the magnificent Annapurna I jutting into the starry sky, illuminated by a setting moon. The icy cold breeze was cutting, but the scene before was majestic. Only pausing briefly before heading back to the camp I meditated on the upcoming day.

We set off as soon as the sun's warming rays entered the camp. Jimmy was very sore from the previous day but insisted that we attempt the lake today. It was a blue-bird sky morning hike that started by following a melting ice river out of the camp's valley and ascending steadily. Jimmy's grimace worsened as we neared the top of the steep high lake basin. I took his day pack and we hobbled over the last stretch of trail to the lake's edge. The air was very cold and thin, however a complete lack of wind and strong sun overhead made for a perfect climbing climate. The lack of oxygen at this point was very apparent, we ran across a young Swede who was returning from the lake with an acute headache and dizziness. I invited him to sit with us for a moment to gather senses. At 5000m (16,400 ft.) this was by far the highest I'd ever been, and it was definitely a new surreal sensation for me.



We crumbled at the edge of the Tilicho Lake and gathered our breaths. My thoughts were moving slow, but soon the beautiful turquoise lake filled our gaze. A huge melting glacier snaked down the side of Tilicho peak and into the barren lake basin. There is a small plaque near the shoreline shrouded in Tibetan prayer flags declaring Tilicho Tal to be the highest lake in the world but I have since heard with global warming on the rise, new lakes now exist at even higher altitudes.



For the first time the peak of Annapurna I seemed within reach. Up till now it seemed larger-than-life, but from here I could actually pick out some kind of navigatable route to the peak. Ahh, this must be summit fever at work. The stillness was suddenly interrupted by a deep rumble above; an ice fall started on the north face of Annapurna I, and a thick white avalanche cloud came plummeting down the mountain. We were in no immediate danger but as the Annapurna peak beckoned I started to really appreciate the risks of high altitude climbing.



I checked in with Jimmy over a simple lunch of hard boiled eggs and potatoes. He was in bad shape, I knew he could get back down to base camp, but I was concerned we wouldn't meet up with the girls on time. Clouds started appearing overhead signaling us to get a move on back down to base camp. Jimmy downed an IB profuen and we set off at a slow pace. A few groups of people passed us, but generally there weren't many people at the lake that day. Some folks were headed over the lake basin and down the other side, but they had proper camping equipment, and some even with porters.



We got back to basecamp in decent time, and Jimmy actually fared better than I thought with the downhill. I proposed we stay at basecamp and not head down the valley further to where we had planned to spend the night, but after inquiring at the camp, there were no more available beds. They offered us a tent accommodation, but upon inspection the smell of sherpa funk and broken zippers urged us to press on and hope to make it to Kangshar by dark. Going back through the landslides and canyon formations again was daunting but we fared well, admiring the new views on the way back down.

We arrived Kangshar by dusk, and checked into a nice clean room for the night. Sleeping at the lower altitude was comfortable and both of us managed to sleep in the following morning. We emerged from the room to another glorious day, and as we had our morning porridge the last remaining group set off leaving Jimmy and I in solitude with the Guesthouse manager.



Jimmy's ankle still hurt, but was manageable. I knew he needed to rest on it, but we were pressed to rendezvous with the girls (no cell phones here). We eventually set off at slow pace that morning walking through lazy pastures that reminded me of the Scottish highlands. Finding a spur in the trail that took us over to the neighboring valley we passed through an eerie deserted outpost ranch with wild Yaks roaming around. We took a break around midday on a gentle ridge affording expansive views of the two valleys. After snacking some dried fruit and nuts we catnapped in the warm sun whilst giant Himalayan eagles soared past us riding the thermal updrafts. I stared up as they gained height and felt the serene eyes of Buddha looking down upon us as we rested in the peaceful moment.



Coming down into the new valley we crossed into greener and livelier terrain. We noted some scattered rare blue tailed deer, birds and a roaring blue river through. Skirting down quickly we lost the trail for a bit and eventually rested up with a Tibetan refugee who lead us over the final bridge to Yak Kharka. Strolling into town comfortably as the oxygen rich air pumped through us again, we felt revival and triumph as we re-united with the girls.