Sunrise at Poon Hill

‘All battles are first won or lost, in the mind.’ – Joan of Arc.

I’ve been holding back a wail for about half an hour now. It’s a mixture of emotions: awe and wonder mixed in equal measure with pain and frustration. My entire body hurts and every step I take feels like agony. My lungs are on fire. And yet… Behind me, one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen is opening up. Every metre I climb, the more I can see. I want to get to the top. I want to see the sunrise. I see K waiting for me at the next corner, where this set of steps meets the next set. I pause. I look up.

“I’m going to cry,” I announce.

And with that, I do. A couple of huge wracking sobs, tears coming easily to my eyes. I feel completely overwhelmed. I make it up to K who hugs me.

“We’re nearly there,” he says, “It’s so close now. We can do it.”

So, how did I find myself in this situation in the first place, you may ask. I certainly did, many times, as I climbed the mountain that morning.

I’m not one of those people who enjoys physical exercise. I’d prefer to kick back with a book or watch TV than go for a run or spend an hour in the gym honing my muscles. But sometimes, especially when you’re travelling, exercise is inevitable. And the whole point of us being in Nepal, coming to the home of the Himalayas, was to get ourselves right out of our comfort zones and push ourselves.

We decided to do a 4 night, 5 day trek in the Annapurna Conservation Area, with the pinnacle of the trek being a climb up Poon Hill to 3200m to watch the sun rise over the Annapurna Massif. We set out at 4.30am in darkness.

I was struggling to breathe in the thin air within a couple of minutes of starting out. The only light came from my head torch, which cast a solitary yellow beam up the never-ending steps ahead. Step after step, constantly climbing, step after step until I could see no more. My feeble light could only penetrate the darkness so far.

Despite feeling nervous in the dark before starting the climb, the physical exertion left no room for anything else. I waved the others on to go ahead without waiting for me, although before we began I’d asked them not to leave me in dark. Their lights bob into the distance, ever higher, hinting at the ongoing climb I was facing. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to carry on. Keep pushing.

The sky grew paler as dawn approached. Eventually, I switched off my torch and pocketed it, able to see now in the grey morning light without its beam. There were many others, inching ever higher up the mountain, some worse off than me, others racing ahead. I lost sight of P and J and only caught occasional glimpses of K.

About two thirds up, I paused and glanced back. I was high enough now to see the mountains, dark against the lightening sky. They were huge, incredible, monolithic, silent and steadfast. Their sheer size and beauty filled me with emotion and drove me on, although every nerve and cell in my body ached and screamed in protest.

The Final Push

“It’s not far now,” K says, letting go of me, “Are you okay?”

I nod, wipe away my tears. They have abated as quickly as they came, and I’m determined now, steely. I want, no, I need to get to the top. I can do it. It’s just a case of mind over matter. This is as much a mental challenge as a physical one.

K is right. There isn’t much further to go. I’m going to make it. What’s more, I’m going to be there in time to watch the sun rise over the mountains. I dig deep, and carry on.

Ten minutes later, we reach the summit triumphantly. P and J welcome us to the top, and I feel a rush of euphoria. I laugh and as my muscles relax and I take in the glorious vista that surrounds us on all sides, I begin to forget the climb.

This is one of the most beautiful and humbling scenes I’ve ever had the privilege to witness. Ahead of me, the mountains are turning blue, golden just at their very peaks where the sun has already hit the highest points. There is Annapurna South, with an iconic pyramid peak. Just behind it, the tenth tallest mountain in the world, Annapurna I. To the west lies the bulkier Dhaulagiri massif, with the seventh tallest mountain of Dhaulagiri itself prominent in the centre.

The view is breathtaking.

I feel all the emotions boiling inside me: pride that I conquered the climb and made it to the summit in time for sunrise; absolute joy at the vista my eyes are feasting on; relief that I made it when fifteen minutes earlier the climb felt like it was never going to end. I am utterly privileged to be in the moment, there to witness one of the most natural and yet most extraordinary things in the world. Sunrise over some of the most incredible mountains in the world.

The clouds are sitting heavily in the valleys, rolling slowly through. The rhododendron bushes are in full bloom – hot pinks and dazzling reds adding colour to the scene. Prayer flags flutter gaily in the breeze, leading the eye back to the overpowering mountains looming all around.

All of a sudden, the first golden sun beam punches free across the skyline and we are dazzled by its brilliant light. The sky is burning orange-yellow, and then the sun is there, poking over the crest of the lower mountain slopes. We can see it visibly climbing higher into the sky, and as the light changes and the sky pales and turns blue, a haze begins to descend upon Annapurna. What was so clear only moments before has now faded into the sky, becoming a trick of the eye.

We stay about twenty minutes longer, taking photos from every angle and enjoying the triumph at conquering Poon Hill. However, as time marches on, we begin to think about breakfast, and the fact we have another climb coming up and a full day of walking ahead. It’s time to descend and make tracks. We have a long day that needs tackling.

One of the best moments of my life…

The third day of our trek turned out to be the hardest one I experienced of the five, with seemingly endless walking, difficult ascents, a huge hail-storm that postponed us for nearly three hours and a battle to reach our final destination for the evening before nightfall. But even as I struggled up the final ascent of the day, lungs burning once more, my leaden legs protesting every single step, I kept Poon Hill in my head. It was truly the most magnificent moment of our time in Nepal. Those moments, seeing those mountains just before the sun rose, are something I will remember and treasure forever.

“If you are in a beautiful place where you can enjoy sunrise and sunset, then you are living like a lord.” – Nathan Phillips.

NB: You can view a time lapse of the sunrise here.