A Friend in Spirit

Machapuchare (fish-tail mountain)  in the Annapurna region of Nepal December 2005. Altitude: 6993 meters (22943 feet).

This photo was taken on a day hike from our trekking high camp. In the lower right hand corner is Damien (a fellow trekker from the UK) admiring the view from our  high point on a ridge I estimated to be between 5000 & 5500 meters (16,400 – 18000 feet)  high using a topo map and compass triangulating with other peaks.  I regretted (accidentally) leaving my GPS unit at home. This image always reminds me of the immense scale of the Himalaya.

The mountain itself  is sacred & off-limits to climbers. Sadly , it is commonly believed that a New Zealand climber illegally reached the summit in the 1980’s.  It would be nice to think there is some summit in the world that still remains un-tred upon by humans.