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STORYBOOK TRAILS OF NEPAL

Kate Dzienis • February 28, 2018

Contributed by Kirra Balmanno, AURA Member, Ultra Runner

The Story

It began as an idea to do an easy hiking recce over of the course of three to four days for some upcoming treks that Monsieur Puri has planned, but it soon turned into “Let’s get to Base Camp in a day because that would be fun!” kind of challenge.

This is usually how my outings seem to pan out.

The adventure began from Phedi, a small town just a quick taxi drive away from Pokhara (the Byron Bay of Nepal). We ascended with the sun, up the rocky steps, through the dense jungle, and passed a few villages over the next few hours before the first checkpoint. Then it was up and away to Forest Camp, where we experienced some wild jungle single track that was seriously sweet.

Jungle Ridgelines

We ascended higher, along the jungle-clad ridge over the winding roots, occasionally snatching glimpses through the trees of some of the snowcapped giants – Annapurna IV to our left and the mighty Machapuchare to our right, which would disappear for a while behind dense foliage, magically growing in size with each reappearance as we climbed closer.

Middle and High Camp

The scenery began to change from the dark greens of the jungle to the drier, Rhododendron Forests and big berg views as we popped out on top of the ridge at Middle Camp. The stunning Annapurna was directly in our foresight, and a spicy ridgeline that just beckoned to be run! The air was thin up there, especially since starting at 800m+ and moving fast all day. We travelled along the spine of the ridge, passing some Nepalese children blasting Nepali pop music as we moved up.

We climbed higher and higher along ridge to High Camp where we found spectacular views of the sacred Machapuchare and Mardi Himal, lit up by the setting sun. Weary mules fed on the pastures as the sun set behind their silhouettes. Weathered and ancient Nepali men chiselled stone into squares to build a new lodge. There are no roads up there, no pollution, and it was an incredible feeling to be immersed in the dramatic mountains.

Momos and spicy pepper masala tea was consumed around a warm fire with a worldly mix of new friends from around the globe. The view from where I sat showed pastel pinks and blues as the light changed the colour of the giants surrounding us. Breathtaking moments like these ones change your life.

Base Camp 4500m+

The sun rose and we headed up to Base Camp. It was only about 4kms to the top, but the going was slow with the high altitude and constant climbing.

The Long Descent

After a short stop to soak up the achievement of reaching the top, an emergency Snickers was inhaled and we were running back down to high camp for another meal before the long descent.

We took the fresh new trail that would make this route a loop instead of an out-an-back, following the trail down another ridge which dropped into a Rhododendron Forest. The track was new, and the blue and white paint marking the trail was regular and easy to find.

We trickled down the mountain, sliding through the 30cms deep and slippery leaf litter, and down tight switch backs that felt more like skiing in deep powder rather than trail running. At first it was fun. Around every bend was a new laugh as it was something really unique and technical, but after an hour of this, it was starting to take its toll on my concentration, especially as there were rocks and logs hiding beneath the masses of dried orange leaves.

Then we entered the jungle! The environment had a mixed essence here that reminded me of something between Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book, but instead of following the white rabbit, I was following a black Nepalese trail bunny, flitting through the forest in front of me. We passed caves and giant tree hollows where it felt like Shere Khan could be watching us from. Ram let me know that tigers lived in these jungles, but I wasn’t sure if I believed him.

We ran over rock pools on the sides of mountains halfway down waterfalls. A runner’s paradise of flowing, downhill single track in the middle of nowhere or what could be anywhere. It was wild. There was not another sign of life apart from the monkeys scattering in the foliage above as we made our way down the mountain side.

Getting Lost in the Valleys

After what seemed like an entire storybook adventure of a day, we were spat out into rice paddies and fields up high in the valley. We could see tiny villages dotted into the mountain sides, and Machapuchare was to our backs, looking a long way from the proximity we viewed her from at sunrise in the morning.

We ran down rock stairs, hungry and dehydrated, to a small village with hot tea and biscuits. From there, it was another three hours of racing the sun to reach our final destination for the night – Eco Village, Lwang. We weaved in and out of jungle, back onto fire trail, and through villages and rice fields, over bridges and beside waterfalls until finally just as the sun was setting, we made camp in the serene homestay overlooking the valley back to Pokhara where we were greeted by the locals and treated to locally grown vegetables and of course, the mainstay of Nepalese cuisine, Dal Bhat.

Namaste.

Kirra Balmanno has been an AURA member since 2010, and is an Australian ultra and trail runner now travelling the UK and owning her own veterinary locus company. While working as a vet, she spends the rest of her time running in the the Alps and Himalayas. She won the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa 116kms last year, and has a sweet lineup for 2018, starting with the Trail du Petit Balon in March before Maxi-Race Annecy in May and UTMR again. She’s currently immersed in planning her biggest project yet, a multi-day running tour through the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. Kirra started racing ultras at age 21, with her first ultra being the Glasshouse 50kms.

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AUTRA News Report 19-02-2025

By Kate Dzienis • February 19, 2025

The latest in race results, covering Cradle Mountain Run, City Run, Oscars 100 Hut 2 Hut and Yaberoo Trail Ultra.

Final 2024 Points Competition Results

By Alexis Oosterhoff • January 30, 2025

Results for the 2024 AUTRA Points Competition have been finalised, and are available on our Points Competition page. Full details of the top 10 (as shared on Facebook during January) are detailed below, and results for all participating AUTRA members can be found in the documents at the above link. It was a real battle throughout the year between our top two finishers, Phil Gore & Kevin "BK" Matthews, with both giving it their it their all at events, and through contributions to the community - volunteering at multiple events, and submitting articles to our monthly newsletter, Ultramag. They finished within 2km of total distance for the year (Phil on 1203.087km, and Kevin on 1205.510km), and it was only Phil's final volunteering effort on 6 Inch Trail Marathon in December that gave him the that very narrow victory. As you'd be aware from previous communications, this marks the end of the Points Competition. With trail running (of all distances) now incorporated into AU T RA's constitution, and after careful consideration of the costs of the competition payouts in it's current form, the committee felt it was time for it's retirement. This marks my seventh and final year of delivering the points competition to membership (2018-2024), after taking on the role from Cheryl Symons. It has brought me great joy in doing so, and I feel like I've had an opportunity to get to know so many of our members through seeing their race (and volunteering) performances over the years! I'm continuing in my role as the AUS/NZL statistician for DUV (from whom we shared the data for the points comp), and you can expect to continue to find your ultra-race result on their site. 1st Place - Phil Gore (WA) - 86 points Phil's achievements this year have included a massive 265.653km (and 2nd place) at the IAU 24h Asia & Oceania Championships, wins at the Red Dirt Backyard Ultra (33 laps), the Australian leg of Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship (96 laps), and the Soochow/Taipei 24h Ultramarathon (270.826km). He also knocked out an easy (!) 72km at the Light Horse Ultra 24h in between supporting his amazing wife Gemma. Those two 24h wins netted Phil new Oceania 24h Open Male records, IAU Level 1 qualifiers, and pushed him to the top of Australia's 24h trophy board (with only the great Yiannis Kouros having run further). Phil topped-up his points by contributing one article to Ultramag, worked as an Event Director at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, and volunteered at a further five events through the year. He finished on 86 points. 2nd Place - Kevin Matthews (WA) - 84 points Finishing in 2nd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Kevin Matthews. He monstered his way through the year with finishes at Australia Day Ultra 100km, Delirious WEST 200mi, 24 laps at Herdy's Frontyard Ultra, 190km at Light Horse Ultra 24h, 23 laps at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, and also completed Feral Pig 100 miler, Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km. And to top things off, he contributed five articles to Ultramag, and volunteered at five events. BK ran 1205km in Ultramarathon races this year, all of them AUTRA-listed, and surpassed 100 marathon finishes (including 51 Ultramarathons!) Kevin finished the year on 84 points, a massive 34 points ahead of our 3rd place finisher Sue Robertson. 3rd Place - Sue Robertson (WA) - 50 points Finishing in 3rd place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Sue Robertson. Sue completed the Ultra Series 100 miler trilogy of Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST, and rounded out her year with the Sandman 50km and Six Inch 47km races. She received 30 points from the racing at AUTRA-listed events, and was awarded a further 20 points by volunteering across eight events and contributing two articles to Ultramag, for a total of 50 points for the year. Thank you Sue! 4th Place - Margie Hadley (WA) - 47 points Finishing in 4th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Margie Hadley . She was the top-female finisher at both the No Time to Die Frontyard Ultra & Wild Dog Backyard Ultra, 2nd at Birdy's Backyard Ultra, ran 182km at the Australian 24h Track Invitational and placed 3rd at Coast to Kosci. Margie received 47 points in the competition 5th Place - Melissa Robertson (NSW) - 44 points Finishing in 5th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Melissa Robertson. Melissa took out 1st place at Irrational SOUTH 200 miler, 2nd place at Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place at Hume & Hovell 100 miler, 3rd place at Rumble in the Jungle and 6th place at Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko 100 miler! She also volunteered at the GNW 50km event, receiving 44 points in the competition! 6th Place - Aaron Young (WA) - 42 points Finishing in 6th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Aaron Young . Aaron finished in 1st place at each of the Ultra Series "Triple Crown" of 200 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), 55 laps at Big Dog's Backyard World Team Championship, and rounded his year out with Feral Pig 100 miler. Aaron receives 42 points, just nudging ahead of Maree Connor (who also finished on 42 points) on a count-back 7th Place - Maree Connor (NSW) - 42 points Finishing in 7th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is NSW's Maree Connor. Maree had an outstanding year, achieving 2nd place with 221km (and an IAU Level 1 qualifier) at the IAU 24th Asian and Oceania Championships, 1st place at the Lakes Trail Festival 100km, 1st place with 67km at the Southern Sydney 6h race, and 1st place with 116km at the Narrabeen Allnighter 12h. Maree also competed at Spartathlon race this year (for which she contributed an article to the September Ultramag on her experience), receiving 42 points in the competition. 8th Place - Darren Linney (SA) - 41 points Finishing in 8th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is SA's Darren Linney . Darren completed 34 laps at No Time to Die BYU, 199km at the Adelaide 24h race, and 814km at the Australian 6 Day race, for a total of 1241km raced and 41 points . 9th Place - Tristan Cameron (WA) - 40 points Finishing in 9th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Tristan Cameron. Tristan completed the Ultra Series Triple Crown of 200 mile races (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), along with Feral Pig 100 miler, for a total of 1154km raced and 40 points. 10th Place - Jen Millum (WA) - 39 points Finishing in 10th place in the AUTRA 2024 Points Competition is WA's Jen Millum . Jen finished 1st at all three of the Ultra Series Trilogy of 100 milers (Delirious WEST, Irrational SOUTH and Unreasonable EAST), and was 2nd female with 35 laps at the Wild Dog Backyard Ultra. With a volunteer stint at the Yaberoo Trail Ultra, Jen finished the year with 39 points in the competition. To view the complete list of members who secured points in 2024 click here and then follow through to Points Summary under the 2024 tab. All winners have already been contacted, with cash prizes distributed for 1st - 7th places, and AUTRA Store vouchers sent for 8th, 9th & 10th.