After finishing our photo opportunities at the top of the Larke Pass, we make our way down. Rick has accessed the Manaslu map and points to the spot that says Warning: Loose rock and scree. At first, I'm not sure what scree means. Eventually, I find out. Rick has warned that the first 45 minutes of the downhill may be a bit tricky. When we ask the Nepalis this, they say that it is difficult as well. This does not sound good.
The downhill section of the Larke pass at first seems gentle. It opens up into a wide canyon. From the distance, you can even see where the snow stops and the rock begins. Unfortunately, this proves to be quite the misleading picture. Soon thereafter, the trail narrows. We begin to deal with rock and scree, or sheer ice.
I make my way down slowly. I have let the others pass. The only people behind me are Tika and Jose. Jose still is not doing well. Every 10 minutes he slips and falls. Tikka is just about walking for him. The ice is bad. I try sidestepping, which turns into slidestepping. The others are going quite slowly and have begun to use the help of Gopal - the other guide of our trip.
Like a newly trained jedi or a Dungeons and Dragons player that has recently received new weapons, I now realize the power of my walking stick. Every 10 feet, I reach out with my stick and break down some ice. Once the ice is broken down smoothly, I move one foot to the appropriate spot. I repeat this action over and over again. This action helps me get down the hill for some time.
I pass by some of the others and am now right behind Bobby. Bobby slips, stumbles and breaks his stick in two in the process. He becomes so disgruntled, he tosses his stick into the snow and purges on. He has developed a snowboarding like stance and tries to carve the hills.
After the 5th fall in 30 minutes for me, I decide to take a similar course of action. I decide that it's time to go sledding. I get on my behind, push, and go. I feel like I am 6 again. I am dodging rocks and making turns. I feel like I am on the Jamacian bobsled team. I roar past Anup and Vinay. I am actually beginning to enjoy myself. I wonder in amazement why the Tibetans and Nepalis have not gotten together and open up a slip and slide. Later on, Tika tells me that he wasn't too happy with us sledding as he feared we could have fallen off the edge.
I am dog tired. It is roughly noon. The sun is shining down heavily and I did not bring sunglasses nor my brimmed hat. I have had nothing to eat since 4 AM. My gas tank has hit empty long ago. I have gone maybe 1000 feet in the past hour. I see a group of rocks in the distance that signify the end of the snow. The Canadians have pressed on and have taken a break. Krisna - one of our sherpas (or leaders) - has already walked down a mile passed this point and is now walking back up to meet us. Anup and I are picking off rocks with our walking sticks and are hopping from place to place like the frogger video game. With a little help from Krisna, I get down 30 minutes late to the rocks. Lisa, Rick, Vinay and Bobby are now down there as well. I lay down from utter fatigue.
The Canadians were nice enough to give us some chipote (pancake) with salami. I devour my share like it was Thanksgiving. Supposedly our guides and cooks forgot to give us the snack pack that was promised. I am cursing them with all of my might - inside of my head of course.
Jose comes down about 20 minutes later and we all regroup. We take some water. The toughest part is almost over. We have come down over 2000 feet already to now be at a little bit under 15000. Soon we will be below where we camped last night. And tonight we are supposed to be down at under 12,000 ft - balmy conditions compared to our current situation.
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We walk for another 45 minutes and find all of the porters sprawled out in a grassy knowl. They have given us some Nepali Capri Sun and day old wafers. I'm not sure whether to thank them or punch them in the nose. I choose the first option as to not cause a scene. I slowly come to my wits and realize I am just happy to have finished the hard part.
We all take some time out and take pictures. The mountains are indeed beautiful. I feel like we have just taken a helicopter high up into the Alps. White mountains and glaciers as far as the eye can see. We did it! We are over the Larke Pass!!
The only problem is that we still have another 3 hours of walking to do. The good news is that it's all downhill from here. Or should I say, all fairly easy downhill with some uphill, but no falling rock and scree...from here. It sounds like a mouthful. I'll just keep quiet and continue walking.
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2 PM. The same day.
When will this hike ever end? I can not concentrate anymore. I simply look down at my feet so that I do not trip. I look up to see Tika sitting on a low rock wall. He is grinning brightly. Welcome to the Manaslu cafe, he says. Shalesh - The youngest of the porters at 19 years old - has come back from our base camp to bring us tea. What a guy. Vinay, Lisa and myself sit down and take in the views. Out in the distance over a grassy field we see our tents. High above the tents Manaslu mountain makes its appearance. We finally see the mountain we have been circumscribing. At roughly 24,000+ feet it is the 8th largest mountain in the world. You feel like you could just run up the side and climb to the top. Not me. Not this trip. Not this lifetime. I walk down for the remaining 45 minutes into camp and collapse in the tent. Lisa is beside herself. Having a migraine come in during the last part of the hike, she is having a tough time. I blow up her thermarest as she walks into Bimtang. Free at last, free at last. We have done it!
We are both teared up from the day's events. We are both puzzled and insulted when the lunch call comes. It is 4 PM. The latest of lunch hours usually end at 2:30. I should take it easy on these guys, I know. I'm in bad spirits but I'm feeling great. I feel like a contradiction in terms. Tika assures me in his broken english, "The Larke Pass trek is really One day". "It is happy day, sad day, proud day, Manaslu day, our day." I couldn't have said it any better. Bring on the rice and potatoes. You may just have to pick my face up from the soup bowl.
Travelling Sherman
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