Last week I posted an update on Philippe Gatta’s attempt to run the Great Himalayan Trail end-to-end. At the time he was hoping to make it to the safety and relative comfort of a nearby village just as Cyclone Phailin was starting to make landfall. As expected, that storm has brought nasty conditions to India, with portions of the weather spilling over to the Himalaya as well. As a result, Philippe is now stranded in place while he waits for conditions to improve, although he has vowed to press on when he can.
The latest update to the expedition’s Facebook page gives an indication of where things are at. It reads:
“Update from Philippe 15th Oct: Still raining. All white around. Ganja La not option bcs cant reach Last Resort after. Must wait for sun & snow to melt to cross Tilman. I will be late but I wont stop GHT. Antibiotica stopped diarrea + eating/sleeping well = feel good!”
Previous updates had indicated that Gatta was dealing with stomach issues and was struggling with vomiting and diarrhea, which had to be just awful while out on a trail in harsh conditions, hundreds of miles away from anything that would bring true comfort.
It could take another day or two before Phailin finally runs out of steam, but it seems like Philippe will be more than ready to get back on the trail at that point. It is clear that he won’t cover the 1700 km (1056 miles) in the 40 days that he predicted as he is now 21 days in and just at the halfway point. Delays and poor trail conditions will likely keep him from that goal but it seems that he’ll still be close.
I’ll keep an eye on his progress and continue to post updates as he goes. but if you want to follow along yourself be sure to read the daily updates posted to the Ultimate Trail Diary at the Berghaus Blog.
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