Annapurna I — Local services in Annapurna

Shaun told me to climb Annapurna. He said, “You should do it, it’ll clear your head.” I thought he meant it. Later he said it was a joke. He was smiling when he said it. That confused me. I didn’t realise until base camp.

Now I’ve been on Annapurna. I don’t like Shaun anymore.

It was too cold. Too bright. Too high. The clouds moved in ways I couldn’t track. I lost spatial awareness halfway through the second day. I couldn’t tell what was close or far. Everything looked flat but wasn’t.

I forgot all my safety gear. No gloves. No oxygen. No headlamp. No whistle. I also forgot my red yo-yo. The one with the soft string and balanced spin. I noticed it was missing in the tent. I screamed for two minutes. Full meltdown. Rocked, sobbed, kicked the sleeping mat. Tried to punch snow. Snow can’t be punched. That made it worse.

Breathing was uneven. My shoes made the wrong noise on the snow. It squeaked like wet plastic. I kept looking behind me because I thought I was being followed but no one was there. Just snow and anxiety.

I tried to count clouds to regulate. They wouldn’t stay still. I tried footsteps. People walked at inconsistent speeds. I asked a Sherpa how long until lunch and he said “not long” which was too vague and made me cry again.

I left early and didn’t say...

Ugh... can you believe this place? No decent night's rest for miles and no ability to charge my ipad anywhere and the 4G-LTE was basically nonexistent. All I wanted was a coffee but I had to suffer through french-pressed Ethiopian grounds, while my friends on Everest were drinking Starbucks. Felt like general service at Annapurna was inferior compared to the other 8,000 meter peaks; I'm not sure I'd recommend it to my 97 year-old great grandmother. If I ever come back, I will definitely bring tons of lip balm, since it is SO DRY at base camp! The Ozone layer here was outrageously thin and the entire place was littered with Russian Poisk oxygen bottles. 3-stars, there are like 13 other 8000m peaks I'd recommend...

Historically, the Annapurna peaks are among the world's most dangerous mountains to climb, although in more recent history, using only figures from 1990 and after, Kangchenjunga has a higher fatality rate. By March 2012, there had been 191 summit ascents of Annapurna I Main, and 61 climbing fatalities on the mountain. This fatality-to-summit ratio (32%) is the highest of any of the eight-thousanders. In particular, the ascent via the south face is considered, by some, the most difficult of all climbs. In October 2014, at least 43 people were killed as a result of snowstorms and avalanches on and around Annapurna, in Nepal's worst ever...