Crank up the volume for music and see the Annapurna Circuit through the eyes of a mischievous 11-year old boy. Watch us deteriorate as we drag ourselves over Thorong La 5,416 meters (17,769 feet). We trekked around Annapurna in Nepal with Lionel over Christmas (yes, boy with long hair!). Lionel was really determined to make it and was actually faster and stronger than his parents ... We were all pushed to our limits and left gasping for breath the day we crossed the high pass – but felt a real sense of achievement.
The Annapurna Circuit is widely regarded as one of the top 10 treks in the world. It has an incredible variety of landscapes. You start below 1,000 meters (3,280 ft) in rice paddies and banana plantations, go through pine forests, past Tibetan Buddhist villages, before tackling the high altitude pass of Thorong La. On the other side, you discover the high altitude desert of Mustang and the deepest valley in the world, the Kali Gandaki.
Lots of research and training went into this two-week trek. We love the great outdoors, and Lionel has been a keen hiker from a very young age. We’ve taken several family trips to the Tibetan plateau in winter, and Kirk and I trekked to the Gokyo Lakes in the Everest region 13 years ago. But this was the first time we tackled such a challenge as a family.
Most travel agencies recommend you should not take children above 3,000 meters (9,840 feet). We looked into easier options, including the Annapurna Sanctuary and Kopra Danda – but Lionel was very keen to scale Thorong La. And we felt he was ready to do it, and we had the experience to guarantee his safety. We played it safe, hiring a guide and two porters to help us -- and we would not have been able to make it carrying all the gear ourselves.
Winter offers clear blue skies and stunning views of the Himalayas. You only meet a handful of people every day, and it's easy to get a room in lodges. A total of 60 people crossed Thorong La on Dec 27, and only 30 the next day.
On the down side, it's bitterly cold at night in unheated lodges. And snow storms can cross the pass at any time. This would mean waiting for a few days for the pass to reopen, or turn back and hike for a week.
This is a high altitude trek. Best to resist the temptation to take the jeep road high up, as you increase your risk of suffering from acute mountain sickness. Give yourself time to acclimatise, and watch out for signs of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), or worse - HAPE or HACE. It is also essential to have proper equipment to trek in snow, not just for yourself, but for your porters and guide, if you have them.
Remember that over 40 people died around Thorong La on October 14, 2014 when a massive snowstorm hit the Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Mustang areas. Hiking at that altitude always carries a risk.
We organised this trek through Friends in High Places Himalayan Trekking, who provided a guide (Pasang Dawa Sherpa) and two porters (Sonny and Pinju). We would not have been able to complete this trek without them.
++ALL VIDEOS/EDIT COPYRIGHT CORINNE VIGNIEL++
Location: Upper Pisang, Manang, Yak Kharka, Thorong Phedi, Thorong High Camp, Thorong La pass, Ranipauway, Muktinath, Lupra, Nepal
December 24-28, 2016
Camera: Panasonic GH3
Edited on Adobe Premiere CC2015
Music:
Little Drummer Boy Lyris lyrixpixie
Amazing Grace Pipes And Drums Of The 1st Bn. Scots Guards
Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre (YouTube Audio Library)
Om Mani Padme Hum Buddhist music
Beethoven - Egmont Overture (YouTube Audio Library)
++ALL VIDEO FOOTAGE COPYRIGHT CORINNE VIGNIEL ++
++MUSIC DOWNLOADED FROM YOUTUBE, SEE CREDITS ABOVE++
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