The family in front of Annapurna South taken slightly below Poon Hill.  From left to right Gary, Nathan (16), Ann, Nolan (15), Andrea (11).  Poon Hill, in the Annapurna Sanctuary is one of the panoramic points from which many pictures are taken.  A few of the party got up early to see sunrise from Poon Hill.  At sunrise there were 50 people mostly up from Ghoripani.  One hour later there were only our party of 14.  It seemed so 'Western' to hurry to see the event and then rush on to the next important event.  In our case, the early risers had to wait for the rest of the team that came in about 1.5 hours later.  The prayer flags above our heads release their wishes for good karma into the ether as the wind blows through them.  They are visible everywhere through Nepal.

Poon Hill View - Dhaulagiri is the mountain to the left of the two stacked clouds.  It stands 8167 meters high and is the 7th highest peak in the world and one of 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.  Maurice Herzog, who was the first to climb Annapurna I (not visible, but behind Annapurna South which is the tallest mountain in this picture), first tried to climb Dhaulagiri but it was too difficult.  The valley between Annapurna S. and Dhaulagiri is considered the deepest valley on earth as there is a drop of 22,000 feet between the summit of Annapurna South (28,000 ft)  and the river at the bottom of the valley.  We hiked from Poon Hill to Goripani and down into this valley dropping about 3,000 ft in elevation. This picture was taken in three separate shots and stitched together using Photovista.  I have to say I was disappointed with the hazy weather.  It interferred with many of my scenic shots.