WINTER /SPRING2016
MOUNTAINLIFE
47
AHimalayanBike-packingEscape
By Steve Shannon
S
tep, step, breathe. Step, step, breathe. Breathe. BREATHE. Leaning againstmy handlebars,my eyes draw level
with the surrounding peaks. I struggle to keepmoving as I carrymy loaded bike up the last fewhundredmetres
toThorung La Pass. I’m 5,416metres above sea level, it’sOctober in theHimalayas, and I still can’t get her words
out ofmy head… “We need to talk.”
• • •
It was early July 2015when, after almost three years of on-again, off-again turmoil, the girl ofmy dreams walked
out the door and out ofmy life. I was left alone inmy darkest hour and compensatedwith a summer lost in the
mountains, a new bike, and a last-minute ticket toNepal, booked on awhim to join three friends on a self-supported
bike-packing trip.
The planwas simple: load all of our gear onto regular full-suspensionmountain bikes andpedal threeweeks and 500
kilometres around theAnnapurna trekking circuit, through theThorung La Pass, then follow theKaliGandaki River
into the restrictedMustang regionup to theTibetan border.The goal was to simply “get over it.”
InApril 2015, a devastating earthquake killed 9,000people, destroyed entire villages and addedmore than a bit of
chaos toNepal’s tourism industry. But I figured the earthquakewould alsohelpputmy problems into perspective.
Figuring two pairs of underwear aremore than enough for amonth-long tripwhen you’re single, I got on the plane.
Arriving inKathmandu at night, our senses are overwhelmed. Rolling blackoutsmean electricity is at a premium and
streetlights are out of the question.The van ride to our hotel is a blur, dodging piles of rubble and stray dogs in the
dark.Withdawn’s light, we see just howhardNepal is hurting.
The earthquake damage goes far beyond crumbling buildings and infrastructure; in fact,most of the country has little
tonodamage.Themore devastating aftereffects are the social, economic andpolitical situations.Tourism is down and
a blockade by Indiameans fuel is short on supply.Gas has skyrocketed to five dollars per litre and in a landwhere the
average income is less than tendollars per day, that leavesmany families devoidof transportation, heating or cooking
options. And yet, despite the hardships, the people ofNepal are resilient andquick to smile. It feels like the perfect
place tobe.
