Trip Reports

Dhaulagiri Circuit - 12 Oct to 1 Nov '19

The Dhaulagiri Circuit having crossed French Col

Written by Leader Mungo Ross, November 2019

A dragonfly rests (or is doing whatever a dragonfly does when it doesn't appear to be doing anything) by the pond, the brightly coloured mini-fish don't seem to mind the dark green-brown colour of the water, nor do the lily leaves floating on the surface. I am sitting in the Garden of Dreams on the fringe of Thamel (the Dhaulagiri Trek team have gone home; I'm staying on for another trek in a couple of weeks). The birdsong is failing miserably to compete with the constant cacophony of traffic, honking horns, sirens, and the whistles of policemen trying to control the chaos on the other side of the garden wall. Tourists are milling about taking endless selfies, gardeners are spraying water all over the vegetation, maintenance workers are chipping plaster off the brickwork. We are living in a culture where we are actively encouraged, indeed positively sold the idea, to "live our dreams". If this is meant to be dream-like, I'm off for a beer! Or perhaps it's meant to be a place that inspires dreams - still think I'll go for that beer!!

The Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek might start off for some as a dream, certainly presenting a considerable

challenge for many, and with the option of climbing Damphus Peak at the end offering the tantalising goal of stepping over 6000 metres, this is a trek not to be taken lightly and is certainly not for the faint hearted. For most of this latest group to complete the Circuit, the trip became a reality check before we'd even got to the oasis of the Summit Hotel - it took around 5 hours to clear the chaotic queue for Visas thanks to air traffic congestion at Kathmandu airport! The flight to Pokhara the next day was straightforward enough, the onward road journey to Darbang becoming progressively hard traveling - where else would you find a main road being completely resurfaced still kept open to two-way traffic?

What makes the Dhaulagiri Circuit such an interesting walk is the contrast of the first week spent trekking in sweaty heat through terraced hillsides, rural villages, fabulous forests, deep valleys lined with numerous waterfalls, then suddenly finding oneself in the cold High Himalaya, a landscape of rock and ice surrounded by seven and eight thousand meter peaks. What makes it particularly demanding physiologically is the sudden transition from being at a relatively low altitude for that first week to managing to cope with crossing the French Col at around 5500 meters, and the even loftier altitude of Damphus

Peaks' summit.

The itinerary, like the trail itself, has been altered and improved over the years enabling those fit for the challenge a reasonable chance of success - though there is still plenty of scope to fall off the path (top tip, don't fall off) and acclimatisation is always going to be the rogue factor on a time-precious itinerary.

Two of this group had opted to not even attempt Damphus Peak, of the other ten only four made the summit but this simply reflects the challenge (dream?) that this trek surly is. To measure this trip by numbers of summiteers is to miss the point entirely. Whether a dream or whatever, the reality has been a group of strangers who have become friends, individuals who have found new personal limits, everyone enjoying the journey over the destination. Blessed with wonderful weather; a superb crew of Sherpas, cooks, porters and ponies; the usual seamless support from Jagged Globe and Summit Trekking; and a collective good humour this has been dare I call it - a dream team!

Thank you for your good company on a wonderful walk through the Himalaya.

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