Trip Reports

Dhaulagiri Circuit and Dhamphus Peak - October 2018

Written by Leader John Armstrong, November 2018

Having travelled from a variety of destinations including the UK, Denmark, USA and Indonesia the team of nine all met up at the Summit Hotel on Mon 22nd Oct, those travelling from the UK arrived by lunchtime and were able to take in some of the sights of Kathmandu that afternoon. Next morning it was off on the 30min flight to Pokhara, once settled in to the very comfortable Temple Tree hotel we had the afternoon free to visit the lake and surrounding attractions.

Lhakpa, our sirdar, arrived promptly on Wednesday morning to accompany us on the bus journey to Darbang where we met the remainder of our Sherpas and Kitchen crew. Everyone was looking forwards to starting the trek next day and as we did so the team were soon marvelling at the impressive views of the Dhaulagiri range. For me this is one of the many great features of this trek - the fantastic views from the outset. Steady progress over the next few days took us through through farming villages and lush forests to emerge just below Italian Base Camp 3600m. Along the way we were entertained and educated by five of the team who were keen wildlife enthusiasts. They readily shared their extensive knowledge about the many birds we saw, along with small mammals, lizards and insects. The Italian base camp has been sensitively developed to provide very comfortable tent sites close to a small tea house, the owner of which keeps the area immaculately tidy. We stayed here for two nights to aid acclimatisation before heading onto the glacier leading up to Dhauligiri base camp. I should of course mention that, to date, we had enjoyed perfect weather which provided clear skies with warm sun during the day but chillier nights.

Dhauligiri base camp at 4600m was somewhat colder to what we had experienced so far but the team were well equipped with warm gear and enjoyed the impressive views of the glacier and ice fall which gives access to the route followed by springtime expeditions to this 8617m giant. Our comfort and resistance to the cold was undoubtedly enhanced by the superb meals produced by our chef , Geed and his crew who worked tirelessly to look after us. After two nights here, a chilly departure, before the sun hit camp, saw most people start walking with all their warm gear on as we made our way to French Col 5400m. The team were fit and well acclimatised by this stage and reached the col in a little over 4hrs before descending across snow slopes to the Hidden valley camp at 5100m. This was another chilly camp not helped by a steady breeze creating a significant wind chill. By dinner time a few of the team had already decided that they would be satisfied with crossing Damphus pass to the next camp rather than joining the Damphus Peak team. A 0330am reveille saw the summit team depart in darkness before 0530. By 0700 we had reached Damphus pass and were making good progress and continued steadily up scree slopes to the ridge at 5850m where, unfortunately, further progress was thwarted by a difficult snow covered rocky section leading to a steep snow slope below the summit. The team were content that they had given it their best effort and enjoyed the views before descending to camp at Kalipani. Next day it was a happy group of team members, Sherpas, Porters and Kitchen crew who journeyed the long way down to Marpha but a hot shower and a beer in the Transhimalaya hotel made it all worth the effort. The kitchen crew exceled themselves once again that evening serving up chicken and chips with salad.

The next few days were spent making our way back to Pokhara and onwards to the popular oasis in Kathmandu which is the Summit hotel before going our separate ways home.

From a personal perspective, I must mention that I was very impressed by the compatibility of all the individuals who joined this trek, it made my job very easy – thank you. In my view, this is one of the best treks in the world, great views from the outset, a varied journey through spectacular mountain scenery and with an appropriate level of challenge. It can be cold, but as the adage says, there’s no such thing as bad weather, if you have the right gear. If you have an ambition to do this trek, through what is a currently an undeveloped area in terms of tourism, then my advice would be to go sooner rather than later. Each year the motor vehicle road extends further up the valley.

John Armstrong

13th November 2018

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