“We want to trek to the Annapurna base camp as a team and return…”

When I first heard about the Singapore Polytechnic (SP) Team Nepal’s goal on the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) trek, I was confident, then, a little worried.  I was confident because the goal is simple. I was worried because the one liner team goal is so achievable but yet it will not be easy, simply because we have a big team. We have 19 students (age between 18 and 23) and 3 adults (including me). The probability of someone falling sick or be unmotivated to push on will be high. I kept reminding myself, we must have a good strategy to support this feat.

First and foremost, the students had gone through two sessions of workshop conducted by Adventure Quests – the trek organiser. The workshop focused on two main topics – 1) the fundamentals of trekking in high altitude; 2) understanding the risks of acute mountain sickness (AMS). The workshops proved to have a great effect to the outcome of the trek. Mr Christopher Tan, Lecturer, who was part of the staff team on this trek had highlighted to me that he found the pre-trip briefing and the workshops helped him immensely in preparing for the trek. During the trek, students had also consistently reminded one another on the pertinent points raised and shared at the workshops. And so, the pre-trip preparation was crucial, and this included the physical conditioning and training.

We can never be fully prepared, but we want to avoid being ill-prepared. With some careful reminders of the dos and don’ts, good team work, and self motivation, the team of 22 made it up to Poon Hill (3210m) and the Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) as planned. The team returned with the goal met, and in good spirit.

The SP Team Nepal at the Annapurna Base Camp (with Annapurna South on the background)

Our Sirda, MB

Apart from the pre-trip training and preparation we have in Singapore, the team of Nepali guides and porters from Adventure Quests played significant roles to this highly successful trekking expedition. It will be harder without the guides and porters. They were professional at all times in the dealing with the students, ensuring that our trek schedule was timely, and our daily meals were well coordinated. Our Sirdar, we called him MB, had successfully made us understood what it means to trek on a “Nepali flat” ground – a little bit up, and a little bit down …

MB introducing the team of porters to us

Fixing a punctured tyre; A common scene on the highway streets of Nepal

What constitute a good experience? A little hiccup would make the trek more memorable I would say. A few hours into our overland journey towards Pokhara, one of the tyres punctured. We took a pee break, took a stroll along the streets, and be happy to be able to pull away from the butt slumberous pose for a while. You can choose to be a whimpering kid, if you wish. Experience is not what happens to us; it is what we do with what happens to us.

When we finally arrived at Nayapul, it started to rain. We had our first taste of an erratic weather patterns within a span of 30mins; it was warm at first, then it became windy, and then it was wet wet wet.

Nothing beats being prepared! L-R: Clement, Raman and Wai Heng (Habib and Adil the extraz :p)

We rested at Birenthanti for the night, and set off to Ulleri the next day. We had a good start, though we were a little late from our preferred set off time. Looking through my daily entries on my diary, I wrote a liner on Day 1: Their walking pace was good; but they took a loooong time to getting ready in the morning.  I hope I don’t have to be a mother hen to these young trekkers.  

On our way to experiencing the infamous 3000 steps of granite stairs

I wonder who actually did bother to count the number of steps leading to Ulleri. If I did, I would have lost count. The ascent was steep, but we remain at a comfortable elevation of about 2000m a.s.l. The altitude didn’t bother us much, rather it was the mid-day heat that affected some of us. For Azri, he had nagging headache that simply didn’t go away fast. Since we were at an elevation of 2000m, it was highly unlikely that he had been affected by the lack of oxygen; I reckoned that he was suffering from some heat exhaustion.  To ensure that his condition didn’t snow ball down the days, Azri had been drinking diligently. He filled his water with isotonic drinks, and taking in electrolytes to replenish his fast losing sodium body in this hot-in-the-day-cold-in-the-night environment.  His body was certainly working really hard. Apart from that, I was also wary about the others’ overly active behaviour. Especially for the boys, they tend to like to run up the stairs when in the lodge. I made a conscientious effort to remind everyone not to be complacent with their health condition. Good hygiene habits remained as the top priority to staying healthy when traveling in remote areas. Some of them get to enjoy a hot shower at Ulleri’s Meera Lodge, while some had to brave the cold water as the sun set. As usual, I didn’t bother to shower :p, well, I have my wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and powder.

@ Ulleri: Azri keeping up with a big smile despite suffering from some heat exhaustion

Cheryl aka the little chipmunk stayed strong and bubbly the whole time

Staying hydrated and eating well are the key factors to keeping good health at high elevation. My favorite combination had been Masala Tea, and Dhal Bhat for lunch and dinner. Somehow, I didn’t keep up with my Masala Tea this time; instead, Cheryl (I called her the little chipmunk) had been faithfully indulging in it.

Dhal Bhat 24hrs power!

The next best sort after lunch and dinner choices was Pizza. I was indeed impressed with the servings and its varieties of pizza fillings in all forms of combination. Spaghetti and cheese were our top choices too. But for me, I held on to Dhal Bhat, and on the descent, I chose fried noodles. The kitchen at Annapurna region served better food compared to those at the Khumbu region (Everest). I guess this could be due to the elevation of the villages. The food didn’t taste quite as good as we ascent beyond 3000m.

With Dhaulagiri (8167m) in the background, the 7th highest peak in the world

Our itinerary was to climb up Poon Hill as part of our acclimatization in preparation for the Annapurna base camp at 4130m high. The highest point at Poon Hill has been recorded as 3210m. We made the ascent from Ghorephani (2840m) at 4.45am; it took us about 1.5hrs or less to reach the top of the hill. It was a cold morning; we wore our down jackets for the climb, and thankfully we did, it became very windy when we arrived at the top of the viewing tower.

The viewing tower did not look quite the same as the one I set foot on in 1998. The Poon Hill signs were new to me; and the idea of a makeshift drink stall was very enterprising; trekkers could conveniently buy hot drinks for a quick warm up, and to enjoy the scenic 360 degree view of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range.

The viewing tower (far left) on Poon Hill

The sun rises slowly over Machapuchare (6993m), aka Mt Fish Tail

The day we arrived at Ghorephani, we experienced some mini hail storm which got everyone excited about. Before we set off for Poon Hill, it rain and snow the entire night. That made the trail a little trickier to negotiate, especially so for our team when almost all were walking on snow trail for the first time. The descent was made slippery by the morning sun; I saw at least 4-5 of them slipped on their butt. I could see the fear in some of them, including the boys. Most were reluctant to fall, making each careful step that slowed down the descent. We needed to quickly return to the lodge, pack up a little and made our way to our next rest point, Tadapani, before dusk. About 30mins leaving Ghorepani, we were confronted with a series of slippery snow and muddy trails. It made the trek harder than expected. We took a long time to reach our lunch point, shortly after 3pm to be exact. Fatigue already set into some of us, and we had to fuel up fast and push on for another 2-3hrs to arrive at Tadapani.

Mud and snow, all mix up as if we were walking on Oreo land

It had proven to be true that once we had been recharged with food and water, our body performed better. We managed to reach Tadapani by 5pm. The team must have raced against time; our main motivation was not to walk into the cold and the darkness. This could only be possible when the team had good endurance fitness. This brought us back to how we had conditioned our body prior to the trip to prepare for this out-of-the-blue trail thrashing day. We did well; we had sufficient time to enjoy the beautiful mountain range of Machapuchare, Annapurna South, and Hunchuli from our lodge. That evening, I never felt so pleased ever, there was a sense of a little achievement for me, though tired.

A peep into the mountain range @ Tadapani

Leaving Chomrong, a steep ascent awaiting us on our return journey

We already had 4 other members experiencing mild headaches (probably due to heat exhaustion and fatigue) and one losing appetite at Ghorephani. I have been keeping the team’s goal in mind, which was to have everyone arrived at ABC. By now, I was already sure that all had arrived at Poon Hill, but getting to ABC together remains questionable. The trek ahead would get tougher; we would have to trek longer hours each day with steep stairs to manage, and would be staying at higher elevation after Chomrong – our next destination after Tadapani. Chomrong was like a mini Namche Bazaar (Khumbu Region), it was bustled with trekkers and climbers, school children, and tea lodges. Like Namche, the village requires some steep ascend when approached from the last village.  After leaving Chomrong, we made a descent and climbed up to the hill trekking along the Modi Khola (Modi River). We were making a gradual ascent of 300m towards Dovan (2500m) with what our Sirda, MB, would described the trail as, “Nepali Flat” – a little bit down and a little bit up.

After Dovan, our immediate destination would be the Machapuchare Base Camp (MBC) at 3700m.  From Dovan, the trail was mainly a traverse, passing the iconic Hinko’s Cave before arriving at Deurali (3230m) for lunch. With mainly a traverse before lunch, the steep ascent happened after lunch with deep snow trail to battle with.

Traversing the Hinko’s Cave

Walking on snow trail is not exactly that difficult, but walking it for the first time and on a slope with a drop on one side can be very intimidating. That was exactly what happened to the team when heading towards MBC. The trail was not only slippery to walk on, the visibility had drop to less than 10m – not to mention that the team slowed down tremendously once again. When we arrived at MBC after 5pm, the sun set shortly. The cold set in, but the evening skyline that filled with stars was rewarding.

Jian Wei negotiating on the snow slope carefully, trekking poles became indispensable

Walking on near whiteout condition

The sun set casting a glow on Machapuchare (Mt Fish Tail)

Machapuchare Base Camp (MBC)

Yun Ting, a little tough cookie

My memories of the MBC had been that it was a huge snow field with little facilities, except for a big toilet container which I would need to climb up to. It was cold and unfriendly. Now, the MBC has 3-4 lodges, and even ABC has lodges that served meals. Good development indeed, at least it would not seem like a barren land.

We spent the cold night at MBC with temperature dipping to -5 degree celsius. After a check with the team, one of the girls, Yun Ting, had some terrible headache; she was feeling nausea, losing her appetite. It was definitely a symptom of high altitude sickness.  We shared the same room, so it was convenient for me to monitor her condition. That night, I didn’t sleep much; I kept myself alert the whole time in case her condition got worst. In her midst of fighting to stay calm with her heavy head, she shared with me that she had suffered the same when she was in China, and that she felt very miserable back then.  The next morning at 4am, I woke her up to check on her condition. I wondered if she even gets to sleep at all. Anyway, I would not want to decide for her if she should push the last bit, or to stay at the lodge while we moved on to ABC. I had wanted her to own the experience; she had to make her own decision.  So I posted the question to her in my usual stern manner. I must say, she was one hell of a tough cookie. Or perhaps, my words were like a command to her, or somewhat very aggressive. Without much hesitation, she started to change into her trekking attire. Soon, she was ready to start her morning trek to ABC. I wasn’t sure if her decision was good, but I knew that she was better that way than to continue to sleep and rot her time away feeling miserable without the team.

The sun finally emerged behind us

We left MBC at 5.15am, and soon, we found ourselves plodding on the snow field. We had random stops as we breathe through the cold thin air. Our feet were dragging for sure, our breathing was heavy, but our goal was clear. We were so close to our destination, yet so far.

My last visit was in the autumn of 1998; I did not experience so much snow back then. Chatting with MB, our Sirda, he said that the last winter was a bad one in Nepal.  There were pouring snow all over the Annapurna Region which caused the base camp and its trail to be piled up with deep snow. It was rather unusual.

The team finally saw the lodges that anchored the Annapurna Base Camp

As we moved higher, the team started to split into smaller groups; we arrived at ABC sporadically. There were no fanfare, but I could see the satisfaction in everyone’s face. As for Yun Ting, she was already in tears when I met up with her. I supposed it was her tears of joy, hardship and for the road to resilience.    

Need not to say, the snow field behind the lodges soon became our battlefield for snowball fights.

My alti-meter (Polar )watch, last calibrated on Ama Dablam in Nov 2011, and Clement,  the Leader of the SP Team Nepal (who enjoys giving out flatus on the go ..hiak)

Pang Chuen making a call home using the satellite phone provided by SP

Yun Ting, miserably surrounded by trekking poles, with her supportive team mates, Hafiizah (L) and Sarina (R) For Yun Ting ~ it takes courage to move beyond your comfort zone ~ Thank you, Yun Ting.

Reflection of lifes on Alvin’s shade

Azri jumping for joy – no more headaches

We have arrived at ABC, that was only half the journey; the safe descent complete the program

Benjamin enjoying his coke of the day. One of the most popular cold drinks that we all hit on with on our return journey.

Dennis (L) and Christopher (R), thank you for your unwavering support during the trek.

For me, I have made trekking and climbing as part of my life. Each journey marks a unique experience; it didn’t matter where I was going, what matters most was the people that came along with me. I have the privilege to be part of the SP Team Nepal expedition, I treasure every moment. Each of them gave me comfort and strength, and a chance to build on new friendship that would last a lifetime.

Last but not least, my greatest joy was to have seen the students falling on snow, sending their butt sledging stunts on the snow trail. From having the fear of falling to mastering the art of balancing on snow, I witnessed them trek with confidence day by day.  Life is not about how fast you run, how high you climb or how hard you fall; it is how hard you bounce that makes your life purposeful.

Namaste.


The Singapore Polytechnic Annapurna Base Camp Trek was organised and managed by Adventure Quests. I would like to thank Ms. Vinnie Tan for her support in providing meaningful workshops to prepare the students for the trek; thank you Jerry for all the pre-trip administration work that contributed to the smooth operation of the trek; thank you AM (Amin) for coordinating the visa application that made things easy after, and the last minute training replacement for me.