It is unique in my life that I walked such ups, downs and distances in mere 1,5 weeks. After 10 days on the Annapurna Circuit, our focus turns rather to touristic, religious and other attractions. Every time I think back to Nepal, a kaleidoscope of impressions enfolds in my head, loud like a freight train…

The day starts at 4:15 a.m. Inside our room we still have temperatures (slightly) above 0°C. Opening the door, we stand in glistening snow and the water ton outside has turned into a giant ice cube. After breakfast, we start slowly (“bistare, bistare”) on the steep, snowy path uphill. Ignoring the head lamps of my…

Isn’t it great to have the toilet outside at some distance? Not long after sunrise I get up and stumble clueless over rose and golden light on white peaks – the charming view sort of crossed my way even before I had the eyes fully open. Looking south, I see the Annapurna. Looking north shows…

Today, “get up” is more than breakfast options and another hiking day, it means that we enter serious height levels. Beginning on 3.550m in the morning, the upcoming night will be beyond the threshold of 4.000m above sea level – for whatever sea level this may refer to. While local farmers work hard for their…

What looks like half-finished buildings of untreated stones is in fact one of the larger villages on the track. Manang is milestone of the Annapurna circuit where all trekkers come through – and it is famous for German bakeries. Looking back now I damn myself for not having taken pictures of the fantastic pies and…

Today is joker day: We leave our luggage in the lodge, enjoy a late breakfast and combine sightseeing with a bit of a hiking tour around Manang. Before getting lost in mountain names, here comes the orientational glossary: Annapurna II is the most beautiful mountain in my world that we half-rounded these days. Annapurna III…

The first four days of the trek left me exhausted almost every day. The hiking portions have been more than I have ever been used to and secretly I wonder if and how I will make it over the pass… Although I never figured NOT getting by, I do know that there is a fair…

On our 4th hiking day the daily routine becomes a habit: Wake up and change into hiking clothes. Condense Fred down to merely 5% of its size. Go for coffee, wait for breakfast serving. Then out and off we go, straight to Chame’s big mani wheel. The route starts easy enough, but my bones and…

Departing the next morning, we see white peaks of significant height all around us. “Significant” in this context is more than my front-yard Alps ever can be – the 6.000-m-mountains here have a similar look, but the magnitude is just a scoop more. The scenery presents itself in excellent picture mode: a bit of a…