Nepal - Mt Chulu East Climb (Dec 2012)

My much awaited Nepal climb, happiness is going into the mountains and not being connected (no phone, no internet, back to basics)! This year we attempted Mt Chulu East (6,584m), which was located along the Annapurna side of the country. Ou
My much awaited Nepal climb, happiness is going into the mountains and not being connected (no phone, no internet, back to basics)! This year we attempted Mt Chulu East (6,584m), which was located along the Annapurna side of the country. Our trip was 18 days - 2 days to fly in/ out of Kathmandu, 2 days to take a 7-8h mini-bus ride in/ out of Bhulbhule, and 14 days of trekking and climbing (comprising 9-10 days of ascent and 4-5 days of descent).

It was my first time to that region, my past 4 trips to Nepal have always been to the Everest region. The ethnic composition and scenery was different this time. There was a lot more Indian influence, in terms of the food, dressing and looks. It was only about Day 3 into our trek that the landscape became more Tibetan (prayer flags, prayer wheels, Buddhism etc).

Food 

As it was a climbing expedition with a couple of days of camping outdoors, we had our own kitchen crew for this trip. No more ordering the same food items from identical menus from teahouses for 14 days. We had fun guessing what our creative cook had planned for us - 3 meals a day. They were amazing. Breakfast usually comprised a pot of oat porridege or museli + hot milk, and a plate of toasts or Tibetan bread + eggs. Lunch was sometimes an outdoor picnic, where we laid out groundsheet and ate in the company of river streams and mountainous backdrops. We would start off with a hot lemonade or orange juice, followed by a plate of pasta + veg + ham, or Tibetan bread and various condiments. Dinner would be more luxurious. By late afternoons, we would have reached and settled into a teahouse for the night. Our kitchen crew would set up a cooking tent nearby and prepare huge amounts of food for us. Tea comprises a hot juice and some biscuits. Then it was time for pre-dinner snacks, like pop-corn, crackers or papaduams. Followed by soup, and the mains - which could be rice, pasta or pizza, with an assortment of vegetables (stir-fried, boiled, curried etc) and perhaps some meats if available. We would then end off with canned fruits for dessert, or an occasional apple pie, and a chocolate cake for our last night. I loved having our kitchen crew, it made the trip so much more bearable!

Logistics 

For a client group of 5 pax, we had a support crew of 17 pax (3 climbing guides, 5 kitchen crew, and 9 porters). In between the porters, they lugged our giant duffel bags, and all the camping and climbing equipment up to high camp at amazing speed. Each porter could easily manage 50 - 60 kg, with finesse and speed. They must have wondered what on earth we brought, to warrant such huge duffel bags, when each of them only had an extra jacket and a small pack of necessities.

Itinerary 

Our itinerary was a mix of staying in teahouses and camping (see table). From Bhulbhule to Humde, we stayed in teahouses. From Yak Khara onwards, we pitched tents and camped outdoors. In addition to the sleeping tents, we had a toilet tent and a dining tent. The nights got colder as we went higher, especially those camping nights where my fingers were absolutely in pain from touching water in the cold. Brrrr.....

Date	Itinerary
30-Nov	Fly in to KTM
1-Dec	Take bus to Bhulbhule (840m)
2-Dec	Trek to Jagat (1314m)
3-Dec	Trek to Dharapani (1920m)
4-Dec	Trek to Chame (2713m)
5-Dec	Trek to Humde (3300m)
6-Dec	Rest day at Humde (equipment training)
7-Dec	Trek to Yak Khara (3870m)
8-Dec	Trek to base camp (4500m)
9-Dec	Base camp rest day & acclimatisation (ice-climbing training)
10-Dec	Trek to Chulu East high camp (5300m)
11-Dec	Chulu East summit attempt (6584m) and back to base camp
12-Dec	Trek Base camp to Humde (3300m)
13-Dec	Trek to Chame (2713m)
14-Dec	Trek to Chyamche (1700m)
15-Dec	Trek to Bhulbhule (840m)
16-Dec	Take a bus back to Kathmandu
17-Dec	Fly out of KTM

The bus rides took about 7-8h each way. Each trekking day required anywhere from 3 - 8h of walking. The initial days were spent walking along a winding mountain road, and it was depressing to see jeeps going by while we were on foot. After Chame we were back in the trail and it was a much more enjoyable walk.

I enjoyed the Base Camp. It was a nice open area (ie. exposed to the warmth of the sun), next to a running river (water source), and non-windy. Perfect for setting up base. The first day we arrived at Base Camp, I managed to scoop out water from the river for a hair wash - cold but so refreshing! We spent an extra day at Base Camp for acclimatisation and some basic ice-climbing training. Not the ice-axe kind of climbing, but the basics of using crampons and going up a frozen ice-wall with a jumar. We would need that for the summit day.

From Base Camp to High Camp, it was a relatively steep ascent, taking us about 3h to complete. High Camp was not as hospitable, there was no running water except for a frozen 'pool' near our tents. Our kitchen crew had to hack the ice and snow and melt them for water. We also did not have a toilet tent and every call of nature required a fair bit of walking away from the campsite.

Summit Attempt

Summit Day saw us waking at 3am to prepare for the summit attempt. The plan was to trek up a rocky morraine path to the snow line, put on our mountaineering boots and crampons, and continue the rest of the ascent with fixed ropes and jumars. Our climbing guides were amazing. They had just spent the day before going up the summit and fixing the ropes (while we rested at High Camp). And they now had to repeat the process with us. It was a gloomy, cloudy day, with not much sunshine but lots of wind.

At the start of the summit attempt, it was still dark and I could not really see where I was going because my headlamp was not bright enough. My guide noticed my unsure steps and swapped my headlamp with his stronger piece. As usual, I was not very awake nor functional before the sun was out. I actually contemplated turning around if the guys ahead of me decided to give up. But I could not do it. I ran a mental checklist of 'discomforts' or reasons why I should turn around - cold? (no), hungry? (no), tired? (no).... Oops, ok, I had no excuses and I would not be able to forgive my decision if I stopped. So I plodded on, and I was fine once the sun rose! Especially after we got into our boots and crampons and hit the snow. The summit was nowhere to be seen, we were simply going up the ropes, one undulating slope after another, it seemed endless.

There were 5 of us on the slopes. One guide, Tenzing, was ahead, bringing up the fixed ropes. Alber and WH were the two dots in the middle, and I was with another guide, Dawa, at the back. My guide was very encouraging. He kept reminding me to go at my own pace and not try to catch up with the guys. Half the time he was helping me up the slope, making sure that I did not slip, or holding my arm and setting the pace for me. All of us finally reached the summit at 11am on 11-Dec-2012! It was extremely windy up there. Even though I was dressed warmly enough (including a ninja balaclava), whatever that was left exposed of my face was getting lashed by the wind.

Our summit took us 7-8h, and we spent another 3h descending to High Camp. Of that 10h, I sipped a grand total of 2 mouthfuls of water and ate 1 museli bar! There was hot noodle soup awaiting us once we got to back High Camp. After some rest, we packed up, broke camp, and descended to Base Camp.


Descent

I recall getting out of my tent at 430am for the toilet. It was chilly compared to a couple of days ago. Imagine our surprise when we woke up to a white campsite dumped with overnight snow. Everything was covered and awashed with fresh snow. The entire landscape changed overnight, from grey-brown morraine, to a winter wonderland feel. What a huge difference the snow made.


For the descent, we walked an average of 8h each day, in a bid to cover as much distance as possible to reach the next teahouse.

[to be continued...]

I Have Been Running...

Yes I know, silence for three months. But I've been running, just not been able to find the time to write. I finally have some respite now that school is over and work is winding down for the year.

Trying to do a massive recap and download of what happened in the past months.

The key event would be the annual TNF 50km race in Oct 2012. The weather was fabulous this year ... but! I still cramped. At the same area each year, around Rifle Range Road, approximately 40km +/-. Each year, without fail. Sigh. Despite that, I managed to clock my PB for this race, so I was rather satisfied.

That night after the race, I flew to Brazil with a colleague. Trapped in the 20-odd hour flight, my feet swelled like trotters. People tell me that Rio is a beautiful city, and we were staying on the Ipanema Beach - the place where songs are composed after. A popular running area was along the 12km coastal front. I did that for a couple of mornings, can't say that I enjoyed the runs though. Firstly, I must declare that I do not like running on an endless pavement by the beach (I love trails). Secondly, The morning sun was really blazing - the sun there at 7am felt like the sun in Singapore at 10am.

I kept up with my morning and weekend runs, not as much as I would like to though. Had a few days of study leave in Nov and managed to squeeze in long runs each day. Great way to de-stress and recall my readings.

Then it is off to Nepal for a Chulu East climb - miss the mountains already!

New Shoes - TNF Women's Double Track

I have several brands of trail shoes. I have tried Asics, Salomon and TNF, and I mix them around for runs, depending on the distance and my mood.

I had a pair of TNF Sentinel which I won from a previous TNF race, and it was surprisingly a nice pair of shoes for the trail, with good support for my arches. I was looking for a replacement, googled some ideas, and came upon a fellow runner's blog about a new model from TNF. So here's another ultra runner who used to wear the Sentinel and tried a new pair, enough persuasion for me to check it out when I was in Chicago.

The TNF Women's Double Track  is an award winning trail shoe, providing structured cushioning support while maintaining a lightweight body. It weighed about 272g per shoe and had a very roomy toebox. The shoe did not feel constricted and I felt like I was running with my normal road shoes (eg. Asics GT or Kayano). By comparison, my other pair is the Salomon Crossmax Guidance (structured/ stability), which reportedly is 300gm per side (to be fair, they have their pluses too). The Double Track had a very cushy tongue and heel cradle (it felt snug, like the Asics Kayano), and a mesh front with a couple of drainage holes near the toe area to rid water quickly (should you step into puddles).

I took the Double Track on a maiden run. It was light enough for the tarmac, and snug enough for the trail. I started off with a loose lacing, and my feet slid as I went into the trail. After tightening the laces, I was a lot more in control. The grip was ok - but then again, it was a dry trail.

The run turned into a mud-slosh when the downpour hit. Oh might as well, a chance for me to test the shoes in the wet trail. They were lightweight to begin with, so they did not feel too heavy even when totally soaked. The front drainage holes also helped in relieving the water inside the shoes. However, they had no grip on wet down-sloped granite covered with algae. Trail runners in Singapore would understand that terrain - huge slabs of granite on an incline, covered with a layer of green moss and algae, and incredibly slippery when wet. Otherwise, the traction from the shoes was fine on the trails and other rough rock surfaces, even in the rain.

The other downside of the shoes was the soft mesh toebox. I guess it is a tradeoff between weight, protection, and responsiveness. The ability to flex our toes and respond quickly to the terrain means that the toebox area cannot be too stiff (eg. road shoes vs trail shoes, Double Track vs Crossmax). As such, I could feel rocks and stones on the sides if I stepped into a messy bunch of them. I am sure as a run gets longer, and my legs more tired out, I would end up losing my posture, strides and control of where my steps go. That meant that I am bound to kick into more rocks, which is not good with a softer toebox.

Nonetheless, I was happy with the shoes. First run, 26 - 27km of dry road, dry and wet trails, and I had no abrasion or hotspots whatsoever. The arch support worked well too (no discomfort is good news). All in, it is a superb pair for soft trails, eg. MR loops, and 20 - 30km distances. I will try the shoes again for a better sense of the 'rock-kicking' impact, before deciding if they can go on an ultra.

Back in the Humidity

Chicago is not called the "Windy City" for nothing. Despite temperatures of 15-18 degC, the wind chill factors were enough to cut through my micro-fleece (lesson: research more on the place before packing), which was the only warm jacket that I brought. I was ignorant of the 'wind' until I arrived. Brilliant...

So after a few days enjoying the cool weather, I was back and blasted by the heat in Singapore.

Did a short recovery run on Tues morning, like 50min up and down Rifle Range Road. Legs started off light, then became weights after 30min.

Went down to Safra and ran around Canterbury with Alber on Thurs, about 12km. Ok, decent.

On Saturday, I tried out my brand new TNF shoes (I will blog about that separately). Felt in form and aided by the cool weather, I went from BT-MR-Zhenghua-DairyFarm MTB route. It was about 26 - 27 km, of which the last 4km was a sudden downpour. It was one of those catchment area rainfalls, coming down strong and hard. In no time, the trail was transformed into a teh-tarik-orange mud pool. At many parts, there was no where to step but right into the puddles, with no clue of how deep it might be. Most of them were feet or ankle-deep. After a while, I gave up trying to circumvent the waters (conserving the new shoes was futile). There is something about running in the rain, in the trail (very important - not roads, but trail), that makes one feel alive. Like a child told not to go out and play in the rain, this is like a rebellious streak at work. :)

Sunday was spent on a supposedly last long run with friends (before the TNF race comes up in two weeks' time). I ran to MR and met them inside along the way, then back out again to Zhenghua, up the park connector for a distance, u-turned and retraced the route. I got it wrong and continued towards the Ranger Station for a water refill, instead of towards Jelutong Tower. It was a good mistake anyway because by the last 1 km, I was very low on sugar and energy. Glad to make it back and end the run. 24km. Starving. Iced chocolate milk to the rescue.

Travelling Runs

Lots of things happened in the past two weeks, and I was grateful for a couple of runs to clear my head.

Did the same BT-MR route twice last weekend, and then I was off to Chicago for a few days.

Managed to get only 1 run done while I was there - about 12km along the Downtown lakefront (shoreline). It was a very long stretch of shoreline that linked a couple of parks and residential areas together, and looked like it could extend for quite a bit. I heard it was about 18mi long one way (~28-29km), would have been nice if I had more time. .... Then again, it was rather boring as well, simply going up and down along the coast with not much to see (Imagine ECP extended 3 times one way).

Through my travels, the commonly found running spots in every city tend to be along an extended coastline, or around a river/ lake, or some huge water bodies. While I have since realised that I do not much enjoy those routes, they do make for plan-less, safe and no-brainer runs. No need to figure out directions, just go and u-turn where appropriate. There would be fellow runners, walkers, cyclists and water-coolers (!) along the routes for company. 

In my oft-garang-overly-enthused states, I have gone out running/ jogging in temperatures ranging from 0 degC to the 20s degC. On snow, slush, sand and tarmac. It was kinda fun layering and experimenting with my running gear (I was often the over-dressed runner around...) and taking in the sounds and sights. I see what the locals are wearing, and learn about interesting gear that never feature in the running scene here in Singapore.

The rare few occasions when I had to hit the treadmill in the gyms, it was a pure mental torture. I'm convinced that running on the treadmill takes out the feeling and experience of 'living' that running outdoors provided. Nothing like getting the cold air smack me in the face, waking me up instantly. Or breathing in the cool, crisp freshness of the morning dew and plants. Or listening to the rhythmic crunch of snow-slush under my shoes (never mind that my runners were white-coloured and not waterproof).

That pair of running shoes is the first thing that goes into my luggage each time I pack. They take me places. :)

Second Warrior Weekend

The incessant cough was still around last week. Due to an unfortunate combination of work and coughs, I again was unable to get in any runs for the entire week. But! at least this past weekend was better than last week.

I managed the full loop on Saturday. The trail was surprisingly empty. Many runners must have stayed away to keep their energies for the Army Half Marathon the next day. I did not sign up. It just did not feel worthwhile paying to run 21km, especially since I had no time targets whatsoever and also far from any podium finishing.

On Sunday, we revisited the 32km route from last weekend. I decided to use my supposedly 'race day' shoes - my Salomon XA Pro 5. My word, they weighed and felt a tonne! Perhaps I had been so used to my Salomon Crossmax and TNF trail shoes, both of which were lighter, that I felt the drag on my legs. My quads had to work harder to lift my legs, and I had to concentrate on a proper running posture rather than shuffling and stomping my feet on the ground. Anyhow, by 10km, my legs were totally in fatigue. Another 22km to go, up and down, and up and down!

Despite the shoes, I was in better shape than last weekend. I could still run after the Golf Link and the remaining 5km. Last week, I was pretty much walking on low-batt by that time.

My friends were doing very well with their training plans and conditioning. Everyone completed the distance in better condition than the weeks before. I am so proud of and inspired by them all!

Our Weekend Warrior-ing

For the past two weekends, I tried to complete back to back long runs. Not as long as some of my fanatical friends, but ranging from 20-30km each.

Two weekends ago, I managed my usual 22-23ish km out-and-back route on Sat, followed by 30km on Sun with my friends who were training very hard for TNF and HK100. My waterbag bladder was leaking and within 20min, my shorts were dripping wet, straight into my socks. By the end of the run, my feet were like in a goldfish pond. Everyone finished the run. So very proud of my friends at the strong base that they were building up, consistently over the weeks. Doing very well!

And then I must have over-ran, aka ran too much, over-pushed. I fell sick for a week, in between flu-ish, shivers and hot, and coughs. So I stopped running for 5 full days, a record. The aches and temperatures went away, but not the cough. :( 

When I attempted to run this last Sat, it was anything but easy. It should have been a nice run with fresh legs, but no. It was lethargic, and I did not finish my usual route. Cut short somewhere in MR and ran about 2h+. I reckoned it was 16km. Popped two panadols max that day and drugged myself with cough syrup.

Sunday was a lot better. I had a new hydration bladder (the inner waterbag piece) and new cool-dry socks. We planned a new route for 32km. Incorporated a 4km loop around Durian Loop, and I brought them to Wallace Education Ctr for pitstop. It was a different and tougher route, having more slopes and tricky tree roots. The weather was hot and I was so near to cramping. The last few km I just hobbled and jogged along. I only ate one Stinger waffle and was starting to feel energy-less by then. Again, everyone was able to complete the route despite the pain.Very encouraging!