Annapurna Circuit Day 7

Sitting at 3,519meters the city of Manang is one of the largest villages that we visit. NGOs  have setup various accommodating features such as two movie theaters (more on that later), fresh water stations, and free AMS informational seminars. The accommodations are much better here as well as the food served at these guest houses. The garden burger at our guesthouse is a specialty and is actually surprisingly good. By the way, in the picture below I am wearing my Ski Dubai gloves, they turned out to be a good purchase afterall =).

One of the first things I am see upon entering the gates is the free informational AMS and mountain safety seminar. I check out the first one available and a volunteer doctor from Chi-town gives a presentation about AMS or Acute Mountain Sickness or more commonly known as altitude sickness. I actually hadn’t had much information about this dangerous effect. We were going to take a day to acclimatize, as suggested in our old school Nepal guidebook, but I didn’t really understand why. I’ll go over some of the info I learned in the session.

WARNING: I am by no means a doctor or qualified to give medical advice on AMS. None the less here are some of the things that Mr. Chi-Town Doc went over in the seminar. Different people have different susceptibility to AMS and it is not determined by differentiating factors such as age or physical fitness; although it is said that AMS affects less in elders compared to younger people. AMS starts to show its effects at different altitudes in different people, but the usual consensus is altitude above 2500m will be grounds in which AMS can be felt. The oxygen percentage remains at a constant 21% up until 20,000m, but the concentration of oxygen molecules decreases. This causes a smaller amount of oxygen per breathe. At Manang’s altitude we are already breathing 40% less oxygen molecules per breath.  This will decrease more and more the higher we climb. In addition the decrease in pressure causes fluid leakage which causes some of the symptoms of AMS. This is also why elder people are less susceptible to AMS; they have a larger gap between their brain and skull where these fluids collect. This is also the reason why it is important to keep hydrated and to pee out these extra fluids.

The effects of AMS include fatigue, dizziness, headaches, shortness of breath, and loss of appetite. Some of the things that we can do help adjust to altitude is acclimatize as soon as we cross 3,000m, take a day trip to ascend to a higher altitude and then come down and sleep at a lower attitude, ascend slowly, drink plenty of water, pee frequently, no more beers, and being alert to the symptoms. If AMS is ignored and the symptoms continue it could lead to CMS, Chronic Mountain Sickness which is fatal if left untreated. There is also a pill you can take called Acetazolamide that helps with the effects. Joe, Nate, and Christine ended up buying some so I can’t really attest to its effectiveness. Besides the shortness in breathe, I wasn’t really affected by AMS, I guess It is because of my large spaces in my head between my brain and skull =).

Taking that informational session into heart, I tell the boys  to stop drink as they have beering it up with each meal since we left. I start to conscientiously drink more water and slow my pace. And as planned previously we take a rest day in Manang thus spending two nights. During our rest day I take a hike up the mountain top to see the glaciers with two Brits that have been with our pace since day two. The peak we are climbing has a coffee shop (more like a shack) up top. There are stumps that have been shaped into benches and a view point for the glacier. The trek up was not too bad but the melt snow makes a pretty muddy descent. Nepalese prayer flags drift with each gust of wind and the view into the distance makes this place feel much colder and desolate.

During the afternoon Joe and I play chess in the lounge area of our guesthouse. The chessboard is wood and there is a missing pawn so a bottle cap is used in its place. There are also cards and connect four. The chess game goes on for hours and soon the match ends with a score of 2-5 me. Soon the daylight is gone and dinner is served as a crowds gather in the lounge to have supper. We sit scattered between the various trekking groups since we came down late for dinner. I sit with a group of Irish that have taken the day to trek to a frozen lake. I think to myself “next time” and enjoy my boca burger and coffee.

After dinner the weather changes and snow begins to fall. Joe and I have a look up on the roof. Our rooms are two penthouse suites, with a paper thin wall which I can hear Joe and Nate snoring through. Right next to our pad is the top of the roof with exclusive access via our window. So Joe and I decide to have a snowball fight up on in which we both almost slip off. Nonetheless it was totally worth falling to our death because of the views were amazing.

Later that night we are all bored with nothing to do. We were surprised to find there Manang actually h as two theaters and my theaters I mean various small rooms with a tv, benches, coal/wood heating playing pirated DVDs. We round up a few more people from our guesthouse and watch 7 years in Tibet which seemed to be a pretty suitable movie for the situation. The other choice was Everest, but none of us really wanted to get depressed in our trekking. During the middle of our movie the guy that was keeping our TV room warm fell asleep and started to snore. He woke up when the burner door came crashing open and resumed working.

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