hike of a lifetime; great geology underfoot and high above

Annapurna II from Lower Pisang

potato fields surrounding the village of Upper Pisang

Prayer wheels and Annapurna II

mass flow deposits, Manang

Gangapurna Glacier, Manang

Tilicho Tal--world's highest lake

return toward Manang from Tilicho Tal

prayer flags above Manang

shrine at Muktinath

Kagbeni on the Kali Ghandaki; Mustang and Tibet upriver to right; Jomsom to left

bivalves in Mesozoic limestone, near Marpha

Kali Gandaki Valley near Kagbeni

Ammonites within concretions, Mesozoic black shale

Kali Gandaki near Larjung

world's deepest valley compared to Grand Canyon

Dhauligiri Ice Fall from Larjung

Erosion by rivers like the Marsyandi and Kali Gandaki allowed the High Himalaya

(right) to rise above the Tibetan Plateau (left).

The view from Poon Hill across the Kali Gandaki toward Dhauligiri

porter, guide, and local workers; near Manang