Seven Summits

After Nepal, im dreaming mountain dreams. I'm in love with mountains, all the snow and ice and clouds and peaks up 8000 metres into the clear blue Himalayan sky. Falling asleep in the sanctuary, Macchapucchare, Annapurna South, Fang, Gangapurna, Hiunchuli, around the little cosy lodge, surrounding it, rising to the heavens. Like a baby in a (cold) cradle of ice we slept, coccooned under two layers of thin mattresses (aka blankets, in Nepal) and pashminas, sprinting to bed after warming ourselves in the kitchen where the only source of heat in miles was; a brazier placed under the dining table, and everyone seated meditatively in lotus position around it, playing cards, stoning, reading (Shantaram apparently flavour of the month), talking...

Good morning...

Ive learnt to know my mountains - going out for a (very cold) wash up in the morning it was usually Macchapuchare's distinctive fishtail peak that greeted me first, amidst the rolling seas of white clouds. Then we started to see Annapurna South's blunt peak, then Tent, the lower peak beside it, and Hiunchuli and Singachuli soon emerged. In Nepal sunrise was usually the coldest time of the day - we made the dash into the mess hall after the sun rose, sitting content with our hands around our (2 dollar!) mugs of hot chocolate and authentic Nepali wood fired pancakes/bread/pizza - which is awesome, by the way - the Nepali Margherita is a revelation, with fresh creamy yak cheese, rich tomato paste (no basil though) and the wood fired crust. If i made a food list one day this would certainly be in the contention for top spot. Plus coming in hungry from the trail, dhaal bhaat for lunch - dhaal i.e. legumes with rice really gives you wings on the trail, but after 10 days you start to have meat hallucinations... And tought, leathery (not to mention hairy!) buffalo meat doesn't cut it at all - in fact i found it hard to swallow; you have a right feast in the making.

Thought i might start with Kosciuzko (ok, ok i'm a wimp i know (but at least i finally got my tetanus jab) and actually, ahem, i do stand with the Carstenz Pyramid crowd on this one), Kili, and then graduate to some of the tougher peaks - maybe do a technical mountaineering course, and then try Elbrus before going for the big boys of Anconcagua and Carstenz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya - a nicer name). And then (i like to dream) Denali in Alaska, the Vinson Massif in Antarctica and the holy grail of Everest.

I will try, actually, for Kilimanjaro next year, and maybe it will be the start of it all, after i get some funds from my internship - something good has to come out of it, no? (As much as i dislike waking up at 7 and being a part of the morning crawl to the office, and in all probability learning all the skills needed to make a good coffee while resisting the urge to poison my superiors...)

The Mont Blanc Technical Mountaineering Course (TMC) is on the cards, maybe in the next few years when i have more cash but less time - would be a perfect 2 week European jaunt from the office and then back. I am already mentally prepared for cubicle life for the next 5 years to pay off debts and save up enough to have my own little bistro, somewhere that catches my fancy, where i could stay for a while. To those who know, the Nepali guesthouse scheme is still on! (it has already replaced the sugarcane plantation in Argentina plan...)

Current status check: 0 out of 20,000 USD.