UKC

I'm planning to trek the circuit alone but the guidebook advises against that and says that i should hire a guide. I'm fairly experienced but it will be my first time in the Himalayas. Any advice please

In reply to John Burns:

A friend of mine died doing this a year ago. He was inexperienced but there are objective dangers.

In reply to John Burns:

I did the AC two years ago but on an organised trek with porters and guides. Whilst it's a different undertaking to Everest Base Camp, which I would feel happy about doing independently, the path on the AC does seem fairly obvious for the most part. Indeed, for much of it the "road" has encroached and continues to do so, thus spoiling any sense of remoteness,

You will have heard of the tragic events earlier this month at Thorong La. This pass crossing should not be underestimated. It is a long day and very cold until you are on the descent to Muktinath. There is also a lot of height to gain both in crossing the pass and on the circuit as a whole and for this reason I would have thought it would be prudent to at least hire a porter.

Re the road there are quite a few sections where you can avoid the road, using footpaths.

In reply to John Burns:

Perhaps it depends on the time of year? I did it in October, 2001, on my own and never felt it was particularly risky at any point. Clearly the weather is unpredictable as is evident this year, but leaving aside those issues, I'd say it was pretty safe going on your own, provided you are moderately fit, adequately prepared and pay good attention to how you feel as you progress.

For what it's worth, despite setting off on my own, I spent most of the time hiking with other people, singles, pairs or small groups, who I met along the way. There wasn't a single day when I would have had to be completely alone if I'd not wanted to be.

On the Thorung La day there were about 15 people who set of from the tea hut I was in, all around the same time and by that stage I knew perhaps 10 of them pretty well. If I'd got in trouble there would have been a lot of people to raise the alarm and fetch help.

If anything, there were too many people. The long strings of Dutch and German package deal hikers marching along in single file close formation was irritating and a bit more solitude would have been very welcome on some days.

Maybe things have changed since then.

In reply to Matt Rees:


Hi,
I am sure that I read last week that the govt had made another knee jerk reaction to ban solo trecking and require all groups to have a local guide and an EPIRB /spot GPS transiver.
I don’t know when this is to come into effect though.
I am at work so cant access much on the web, but it was reported in the mainstream media.
Al

In reply to John Burns:

I had a similar experience to Matt about 15 years ago when doing the circuit in early December I was with my girlfriend, but we made friends with other people and walked together for parts of some days and often saw them again in the evenings. It would have been very easy to walk the whole way with other like minded people if we had wanted to. I imagine if you go in peak treking season you will probably never be out of eyesight of other trekers.

For most of the year the only day with any real objective danger (altitude, cold, avalanche) would be when crossing the pass, and all these dangers can be pretty well mitigated by aclimalisation, equipment, weather forecasts, a basic knowledge of avalanche hazards and common sense.

In reply to John Burns:
Though the recent snow storm that hit the Annapurna region is not as 'freak' as some make out, by and large Oct-Dec weather on the AC is pretty good - that's why it's the high season. Traversing any steep slopes up to/down from a pass after heavy snow will be dangerous but the Thorung La is safer than many (it's quite steep on the western side though). Unfortunately many of those recent deaths were due to poor decisions, inexperience and lack of suitable equipment and information.

When a Nepal trekking guidebook refers to a 'guide' they can be referring to a person of of any one of many levels of experience, from ambitious porter to almost-IFMGA guide. Most trekking guides are former porters who can speak some english and organise the job.

The AC is certainly one trek you do not need a real guide for and you can do with just a porter. Doing it totally alone, carrying all your own stuff, is certainly possible as you need very little gear, but it's also needlessly hard (even a 10kg pack starts to weight at 5000m) and much more pleasant going unloaded. It's also good to provide a local person with work, as the cost is nothing to you but a lot to them.

I'd second what the others have said about other people on the trail. You'll almost certainly not be alone.

Note also that roads have now eaten into all but several days of the traditional AC trek. You only *have* to walk from around Chame to Muktinath, the rest can be done on jeeps, bikes etc if you want. If you want to walk more you can and, particularly on the western side south from Jomsom, the locals have made new tracks off the main road so you can still walk through the villages etc like the old days.

Btw, I personally do not consider cold and altitude to be Objective Dangers in the technical climbing sense as they are quite easy to prepare for and the ways to mitigate them are well known, so minimising them really comes down to the climber. Avalanches and rockfalls are harder to minimise, other than just not being there. So other than in pretty unusual conditions, I would certainly not consider the AC to have any real Objective Danger. The Annapurna Sanctuary / BC trek on the other hand DOES traverse a section that is seriously prone to avalanche in spring time and a number of trekkers have died here, even in recent years.

In reply to John Burns:
i did the Annapurna circuit solo and in the opposite direction to everyone else in march of 2000, probably not advisable (certainly getting benighted on the pass wasn't a good idea) but had an awesome time

In reply to John Burns:

I did the circuit way back in April 1996 alone, met people on the bus to Besisahar (i say 'on' as tourists travelled on the roof and locals inside back in 96). Nice stable weather the whole way round, stayed in tea houses.
Take rest days at altitude. The usual thing is to spend 2 nights in Manang, we trekked higher to Ngawal and descended to Manang.
There are a few books

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trekking-Annapurna-Circuit-Sanctuary-Himalaya/dp/14...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trekking-Annapurna-Circuit-including-NATT-trails/dp...

Chris

In reply to John Burns:
Its easy enough to join up with others for the pass so I wouldn't worry unless its been banned. Dont underestimate it though: altitude sickness catches people out every year (carry diamox....trek high and sleep low as you approach the pass) the weather can turn (I needed boots able to kick steps in december) and if you get a stomach bug the pass is a very hard day out. Theives can be a problem as well.

In reply to Damo:

I did it alone in 1999, although i was only alone on the first day, met heaps of people and ended up walking with some guys who became friends for life...so an amazing experience. I am peturbed to hear that there is now a road half way around...probably progress for the locals, but nostalgically seems a shame.

In reply to John Burns:

What everyone else said - you will meet people on the circuit and can do the dodgy section with them. Going alone was a great experience!

In reply to Bjartur i Sumarhus:


Yes, though some lodge owners and porters have had a reduced income, everyone else gets better transport and access to hospitals, comms, town etc. Re-routing the track off the new road has preserved some trekking income for the lodges and you can still walk many bits if you want. Apparently the final stretches of the jeep road on the east, near Jagat, to Chame, are pretty hairy, even by Nepal standards, so right now it might be another reason to still walk that bit.

On the western side the road will eventually connect with the already-built road in from China through Mustang, so there will be more trade and business for locals that way too. I haven't done the Manaslu Circuit trek but apparently that is being touted as the 'new' Annapurna Circuit as it has great views, a high pass crossing, but less development.

In reply to John Burns:
It's evidently very conditions dependent. Conditions were great when I did it, so it felt like a fairly casual stroll. I had spent 2 weeks in Tibet just before, so that helped with acclimatisation.
Like others I made friends easily on the circuit, including one of my best friends now.

Note, of course, that guidebooks often advise against many things, however many of my most memorable travel experiences (in a positive way) came from going against guidebook advice.

In reply to John Burns:

John,
I did it solo in 1998 including walking the section from near Pokhara to Besisahar through the foothills (recommended if you have time). In terms of safety I remember there had been reports of VERY occasional robberies of Trekkers invariably near trailheads, but I heard that that sort of thing is extremely rare. Walking around a city in the UK carries a much greater risk of assault.

I too heard that the government is proposing to ban solo trekking on the circuit following the recent tragedy, so you might want to check on that.

I was very pleased I did it alone. There's plenty of company on the trail if you want it, and I felt I got closer to the place and people than I would have done travelling in a "bubble" with constant companions.

In reply to John Burns:

Hi John

Although some years ago (spring 88) when I did the AC, it was a memorable experience and more so for doing it solo. It leaves you flexible on tea house stops and you meet so many people along the way.

To reiterate other posts Thorung La, although not technical is a long day, relatively high 5500m and the route is well marked in clear conditions.


Rob

In reply to John Burns:

Thanks for all the great advice, really helpful.

In reply to John Burns:

looks like you won't be allowed to travel alone..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/nepal/11183041/Nepals-n...

In reply to John Burns:

I did it a very long time ago: November 1983, not long after it first opened, with a friend, trekking without a porter or guide (was too poor then anyway). There were no roads at all back then after leaving the Kathmandu - Pokhara highway until you rejoined it. It was great.

The weather was good though cold once the sun went down above 3,500 metres. We spent three nights in Manang to acclimatise, went on to Phedi, then did the Thorung La. Most people left at 3 am, but it seemed to us that would mean missing the view, so we left at about 7. It was a clear, still, sunny day, very spectacular but in no way difficult or dangerous. The descent to Muktinath was a bit of a pain, I do recall.